Greetings from all of your friends here at ARCAS. With this report we would like to share with you some of our accomplishments in this the first half of 2023.
PETEN
With the lifting of COVID-19 restrictions, we have resumed our veterinary education course in Peten and in 2022 counted with the participation of 43 students from the US, UK and Canada in 6 courses. In 2023 we expect that number to surpass 100.
We are celebrating our third year of operations at our Biodiversity Education Center in Peten. We know that education is the most powerful weapon that we can use to end wildlife trafficking and change the world for the better. It is for this reason that we will continue fighting for the conservation of our environment.
The COVID pandemic reminded us all of the importance of wildlife veterinary medicine and conservation and, in general, the interconnectivity of the world in which we live. Under its One Health project, ARCAS continues taking samples of animals received at the Rescue Center and other parts of the Maya Biosphere Reserve, and offering training workshops on One Health, biodiversity conservation and illegal trafficking to our counterparts in Peten.
In November, personnel of the Peten Rescue Center and CONAP relocated a total of 27 mantled howler monkeys (Alouatta palliata) who were stranded in a patch of forest in the Izabal area that had been surrounded by agroindustrial plantations, cutting off their access to food trees. The process took four days with the capture of family groups with darts and the conducting of clinical examinations. These monkeys have been transferred to another area where they will be able to continue their natural life without the threat of changes in land use.
CERRO ALUX
We also continue to make progress on our campaign to establish a permanent rescue center and central offices in the Cerro Alux Reserve on the outskirts of Guatemala City. The ARCAS central office and rescue center is currently housed in San Lucas in a rented house that is much too small for its needs, especially for the needs of the confiscated animals it receives. The San Lucas Municipality has granted us an usufruct for a 2000m2 piece of land in the Cerro Alux Reserve, and to date, we have built the perimeter wall and a guardhouse for the site. (Due to its remote location, security is unfortunately a concern.). We have also installed electricity and water hook ups. We are now in the process of building the main office and animal clinic and soon hope to begin construction of the wildlife enclosures and flight cages. The objective of the new Cerro Alux facility is to give animals received by ARCAS the humane care they need as well as to construct permanent administrative facilities for the ARCAS Central Office. Our many thanks to Michael Bostelmann, Glenda Salazar, Hidrotecnia, Fundacion Luis von Ahn, Humane Society International and other friends in this very important project.
We are also continuing our participation in Loros Sin Fronteras (Parrots Without Borders) focused on saving the last yellow-naped amazon parrots in Central America and Mexico. With our colleagues in that consortium, we carried out a regional social media publicity campaign against wildlife trafficking that reached over 5 million residents of Central America and Mexico. https://lorossinfronteras.com/
HAWAII
On Saturday 15th July we celebrated the inauguration of the marine turtle conservation season in Hawaii Park. More than 120 members of the communities who live inside the Hawaii Multiple Use Area, volunteers, and government representatives participated in this activity to mark the beginning of the sea turtle egg collection season. The event included interactive games, piñatas, raffles and a lunch. Our thanks to the staff of CONAP, CONAPAC, Greg Free and his group of volunteers, to the staff of Parque Hawaii and COLORES for their support in making the inauguration a success. With the support of the communities of the area, this year, we hope to fill the Hawaii Hatchery with more than 30,000 sea turtle eggs. If you would like to help, come visit the Park or donate to sponsor a sea turtle nest.
If you would like more information about these and other ARCAS activities, we just completed our 2022 Annual Report which can be downloaded at https://arcasguatemala.org/wp-content/uploads/ARCAS_Annual_Report_2022.pdf
You can also find updates on our sea turtle population monitoring and yellow-naped amazon conservation efforts.
Thanks very much for your support for our wildlife conservation activities in Guatemala, especially in these difficult times. Your donation helps us continue our efforts to save the wild ones of the earth.
Links:
Greetings from all of us here at ARCAS in Guatemala. We continue our efforts to save Guatemalan wildlife and habitat. We would like to share with you some of our recent accomplishments.
ARCAS has broken ground in its long-term capital campaign to establish a permanent rescue center and offices in the Cerro Alux Reserve, on the outskirts of Guatemala City. The ARCAS central office and rescue center is currently housed in San Lucas in a rented house that is much too small for its needs, especially for the needs of the confiscated animals it receives. Animals received at the central office are often the result of confiscations on the part of its government counterparts, the National Council of Protected Areas (CONAP) and the Guatemala “green police” (DIPRONA). Under Guatemalan law, if there has been an arrest of a trafficker, the animals are considered physical evidence in the trial and ARCAS must maintain the animals in its San Lucas facilities until the trial has been concluded, something that may take years. The central office also receives ex-pets and injured animals from the highlands that need special care and rehabilitation.
The objective of the new Cerro Alux facility is to give these animals the care they need as well as to construct permanent administrative facilities for ARCAS
To date, we have built the perimeter wall for the site. (Due to its remote location, security is unfortunately a concern in Cerro Alux) We have also installed electrical and water systems, and are currently building housing for the nightwatchman. We hope to begin construction of the new office in the coming weeks and in the fall, the construction of the clinic, holding enclosures and flight cages.
We are also continuing our participation in Loros Sin Fronteras, and with our colleagues in that consortium, are carrying out a regional publicity campaign against wildlife trafficking. https://lorossinfronteras.com/
We are celebrating our second year anniversary at our Biodiversity Education Center in PetenCeBio! We know that education is the most powerful weapon that we can use to end wildlife trafficking and change the world for the better. It is for this reason that we will continue fighting for the conservation of our environment.
Also, you can help by becoming an ARCAS monthly donor. You can do this via GlobalGiving. Recurring donors – even for small donations – are especially helpful as these are resources that we can count on from month-to-month to help us continue our work.
Thanks very much for your support for our wildlife conservation activities in Guatemala, especially in these times of crisis. Your donation helps us continue our efforts to save the wild ones of the earth.
Links:
Dear Friends,
Greetings from all of us here at ARCAS in Guatemala. We continue our efforts to save Guatemalan wildlife and habitat. We would like to share with you several documents summarizing some of our recent accomplishments.
Attached we are sending you our Sea Turtle Situational Analysis. We attach the full Spanish version as well as an English language summary. I know it's a lot of numbers and data, but it's really important as it is the only long-term data set on the marine resources of the Pacific coast of Guatemala. Our many thanks to the US Fish and Wildlife Service, the Columbus Zoo, the New England Aquarium, WIDECAST, USAID and See Turtle for their support for this program over the years.
Also, after years of delays thanks to various crises, including the Covid pandemic, we have finally written our Annual Report; actually, Annual ReportS, covering the years 2018 - 2021. I hope you enjoy it. Without the support of people like you around the world, we could not have met the goals that we did, so THANK YOU.
Finally, we are gearing up for Giving Tuesday, November 29th. This year we are initiating a campaign to establish a rescue center and offices in the Cerro Alux Reserve, on the outskirts of Guatemala City. We are currently housed in San Lucas in a rented house that is much too small for our needs, especially for the needs of the animals we receive. After over 3 years of searching for a suitable site, negotiating, and jumping through bureaucratic hoops (Building permits, EIAs, ect.), the local municipality ceded us a plot and we are launching our campaign to rebuild! We are really excited about this project as it will allow us to provide appropriate and humane facilities for the animals we receive in San Lucas. We receive a lot of highland animals (Foxes, hawks, owls) that need larger enclosures and flight cages for their rehabilitation, so we will be able to build them there.
If you could help us out during Giving Tuesday, that would be great. Just follow this link: https://www.globalgiving.org/projects/wildlife-rescue-centre-cerro-alux/ GlobalGiving is matching any donation up to $2500, but they won’t determine the % match until the campaign is over. Any help would be much appreciated and if you could share this with your friends and family, I would appreciate it.
Thanks and happy holidays,
Collum
Guatemala is home to some of the world's most endangered wild animals and habitats. Some of these animals exist nowhere else in the world. This project is supporting the food and medical costs of wild animals rescued, rehabilitated and released by ARCAS. The majority of these animals have been confiscated by Guatemalan government authorities from illegal wildlife traffickers. ARCAS also helps managing protected areas for wildlife, including the Hawaii Marine Protected Area, and protected areas in Peten and in Cerro Alux. Your generous donation has helped us keep our rescue centers running by purchasing food and veterinary medicines for the animals.
We are also preparing for the upcoming sea turtle nesting season by renovating our sea turtle hatchery and other facilities at the Hawaii Park. The nesting season starts in July, and ends in November, so if you'd like to help, let us know.
And, as part of our COLORES Yellow-naped amazon project and as a member of the Loros Sin Fronteras consortium, we have just finished up a publicity campaign aimed at reducing demand for the purchase of the critically endangered parrots. You can get more details at www.lorossinfronteras.com
Finally, we are initiating an exciting new project to build a permanent office, and rescue and research center in the Cordillera Alux protected area, so please stand by and get ready to help! The local municipality has granted us a concession for a piece of land in the protected area, and we have begun work installing electricity and a water system. We look forward to having better facilities and more space to care for the increasing numbers of confiscated wild animals we are receiving at the central office.
On a special opportunity from our partner, GlobalGiving, to get donations of $100 USD and up matched on Wednesday, July 20, 2022, starting at 9 a.m. ET. The higher the amount, the higher the match while funds last. Thank you so much for your ongoing commitment to ARCAS and the wildlife of Guatemala
In addition to donating directly to our projects, GlobalGiving allows our supporters and ex-volunteers to create their own fundraising pages to invite their networks to support ARCAS’s wildlife conservation efforts, so if you can help in this way, let us know. Celebrate your birthday, run a race, or start an employee competition!
Also, you can help by becoming an ARCAS monthly donor. You can do this via GlobalGiving. Recurring donors – even for small donations – are especially helpful as these are resources that we can count on from month-to-month to help us continue rescuing and conserving the wildlife of Guatemala.
Our many, many thanks to all our donors and friends around the work who share with us our desire to see all wild animals free and healthy.
ARCAS
Links:
Project report for “Save Guatemalan Wildlife and Biodiversity!!! (54727)”
March 17, 2022
Guatemala is home to some of the world's most endangered wild animals and habitats. Some of these animals exist nowhere else in the world. This project is supporting the food and medical costs of wild animals rescued, rehabilitated and released by ARCAS. The majority of these animals have been confiscated by Guatemalan government authorities from illegal wildlife traffickers. ARCAS also helps managing protected areas for wildlife, including the Hawaii Marine Protected Area, and protected areas in Peten and in Cerro Alux.
During the last four months, and despite the continued disruptions caused by the Covid pandemic and a lack of volunteers and interns, we continue our work rescuing and conserving Guatemalan wildlife. Between our rescue centers in Peten, the Parque Hawaii and our San Lucas office, we received 34 confiscated animals, including scarlet macaws, yellow-naped amazons, white-fronted parrots, spider monkeys and a cara cara. We finished up the 2021 sea turtle season on the Pacific coast and collected and incubated over 12,000 olive ridley sea turtle eggs. In December, we released out rehabilitated Pacific green sea turtle at Hawaii. She seemed to have recuperated nicely and swam straight out to sea. As part of our sea turtle population monitoring program, we collected crawl count data at 6 sites along the Pacific coast from July to December, adding to our data base of data stretching back to 2003. We also received the wonderful news that our nomination of Pedro Viteri as Disney Conservation Hero was approved, which will bring much needed attention to the plight of the critically endangered yellow-naped amazon as well as fulfilling Pedro and his family’s dream of establishing a protected area on their farm.
Finally, we are initiating an exciting new project to build a permanent office, and rescue and research center in the Cordillera Alux protected area, so please stand by and get ready to help! We look forward to having better facilities and more space to care for the increasing numbers of confiscated wild animals we are receiving at the central office.
Our many, many thanks to all our donors and friends around the work who share with us our desire to see all wild animals free and healthy.
ARCAS
Links:
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