PROGRAM RESCUE MONKEY
Electrified by power lines, a crippled, burnt, howler monkey laid by the side of the road. Brenda Bombard will always remember this moment as she wondered how often this occurred. Not long after she arrived in Nosara in 1998, Brenda realized that without intervention, the monkeys would soon disappear.
When electrified, the monkey’s internal organs get cooked, the equivalent of being put into a microwave oven. Contact with the searing voltage fries fur and flesh to the bone, burning fingers to nubs as its victim tries to push away from the transformer.
Four years ago, Brenda started the Refugio Animales de Nosara, a refuge dedicated to caring for orphaned, injured or displaced wildlife, and a local clinic with a licensed veterinarian on site is being planned. In response to Nosara’s development, Brenda also consults with property and real estate owners on howler-friendly development practices, such as planting fruit trees in gardens.
In October 2005, an unprecedented number of howler monkeys were electrocuted on the existing 17 kilometers of power lines - the howler troops were diminishing in alarming numbers. Brenda decided to create the Save the Howlers program. The Costa Rican Electricity Institute (ICE) offered 2 employees and 17 kilometers of insulated electric lines. Brenda dedicated $6,000 to dig 105 holes for the installation of stabilizers to support the better-insulated electric lines. Yet despite these positive developments, progress has been slow because of lack of funding, equipment and materials.
Protect what you’re coming for, help us conserve the most abundant primate species of Costa Rica!
Contact us here for more information on how you can help.
The Harmony Hotel’s Community and Sustainability Projects promote the development of the community without compromising the environment.
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