Primate Rehabilitation and Release - Lessons Learnt and Shared

As a Twycross Zoo partner, Wildtracks recently participated in the Primate Society of Great Britain winter meeting, presenting on 'Primate Rehabilitation and Release in Belize - A Model for Successful Reintroductions'. Primate rehabilitation at Wildtracks is not just an animal welfare issue. The two species Wildtracks works with, the Yucatan black howler monkey (a regional endemic) and the Central American spider monkey are both globally endangered - the spider monkey is considered one of the 25 primates at highest risk of extinction in the world.

In being committed to accepting every monkey confiscated from the illegal wildlife trade, Wildtracks and the Belize Forest Department have been able to partner to significantly reduce the number of illegal primates in captivity to a handful a year, taking them through rehabilitation to release.

Reintroduction into protected forests is an essential strategy towards safeguarding primate populations in Belize. Rehabilitation is focused on ensuring each individual gains the knowledge and skills it will require for a successful release, and is integrated into a social group with others that grow and learn together through rehabilitation, forming strong bonds that last into the release stage.

We are very pleased to be able to share the presentation with you

Tales from the Primate Nursery Unit

Do you remember Inca? He was comatose on arrival - near to death.... but now he is fully integrated with his troop, he may not be the leader of the band of four Nursery monkeys, but he is energetic, inquisitive, and excited by the start of each new day!

He and his troop (Inca, Jet, Gilbert and Millie) have started going out to the Forest Enclosures for the day, returning to the Nursery Unit at night - another step towards their lives back in the wild!

Twycross Zoo Supporting Spider Monkey Reintroductions in Belize

Celebrating partnerships!

Twycross Zoo has supported the reintroduction of endangered Central American spider monkeys (Ateles geoffroyi) by Wildtracks, and released a short video celebrating the spider monkey release in the North East Biological Corridor in Belize.

Rewilding the North East Biological Corridor with these large, very mobile seed dispersers is not only an important strategy in the long term viability of this endangered species. It is also an important step in building resilience of the forest to climate change, ensuring that the drought-resistant trees and plants of northern Belize can move south over time to reinforce forest structures and ecosystem services as less resilient tree species are lost.

It is only through partners such as Twycross Zoo, investing in species conservation action in countries like Belize, and through the actions of individual donors, supporters and volunteers, that important species conservation work can be implemented on the ground.

Thank you, Twycross Zoo, for investing in the future of biodiversity in Belize!

Belize Manatees Under Threat

Boats and coastal development are both impacting Efforts to protect them include effective management of critical protected areas - and manatee rehabilitation. Part of this short video captures Tess, one of the orphaned manatees, soon after she arrived at the Manatee Rehabilitation Centre at Wildtracks. Manatee calves are often so fragile when they come in, and need 24 hour critical care. Critical care is not just about dealing with the physical issues of dehydration, cuts, bruises and emaciation, but also the mental issues - calves are in constant contact with their mothers in the wild, and being orphaned adds additional stress for these calves.

Tess is now recovered and on her path through rehabilitation towards release back into the wild in another two years. Each returned calf is important to a wild population that has such low numbers - an investment in the future for this species in Belize...

Thank you, The Nature Conservancy - Belize, for highlighting Belize's manatees!