At Wildtracks in Belize there is an air of quiet excitement as the replacement Wildtracks Endangered Species Rehabilitation Centre building reaches completion and equipment and operations are transferred from the temporary operations base to the new facility.
This year has seen the replacement of the original facilities, constructed to support environmental education activities more than 20 years ago, then repurposed in 2000 to support manatee rehabilitation, and then primate rehabilitation in 2010. The new facilities provide separate, dedicated spaces for manatee and primate food preparation, a big step forward, as is having dedicated storage areas for both. It also includes a new ‘fruit room’, with holding space for the multiple crates of banana, papaya, melon, dragon fruit and mango that arrive each week for the animals. This has made delivery and unloading easier, and provides direct access for use in the food prep areas – with less handling and moving of fruit.
Completion! The new building ready for occupation!
The Manatee Food Prep Area
The largest room is the clinic, providing a dedicated, equipped space for health assessments, first aid, intensive care and on-site veterinary procedures by partner vets, as needed.
The construction and equipping of the purpose-built Centre has been supported by a joint investment by the Belize Fund for Sustainable Development, Twycross Zoo, Burger’s Zoo and Save the Manatee Club, significantly strengthening Wildtracks’ capacity for ongoing rehabilitation of these endangered species.
A huge thank you to these donor partners, and also to the Fisheries and Forest Departments, the Sarteneja Alliance for Conservation and Development (SACD) and Corozal Sustainable Futures Initiative (CSFI) for their continued support in the reintroduction of these endangered species back into the wild.
