Rescate Wildlife Rescue Center (former Rescate Animal Zooave) is a registered non-profit wildlife rehabilitation facility founded in 1989 and located on 34 acres of natural tropical forest in the province of Alajuela, Costa Rica.
Our mission is to protect and restore the country’s biodiversity through wildlife rehabilitation, endangered species breeding, habitat preservation and the provision of lifetime care for non-releasable animals.
Protect, conserve, restore the biodiversity of the country through rescue, rehabilitation, release of wildlife, and reproduction of endangered species. Promote environmental education, and the care for the wildlife that can not be released.
Over 3,000 wild animals are admitted to Rescate on an annual basis including sloths, jaguars, monkeys, tapirs, pumas and coyotes as well as a wide variety of birds, small mammals and reptiles.
Roughly 3% of the birds, mammals, and reptiles that have been rescued cannot be released due to health or behavioral reasons. Non-releasable endangered species are maintained in the Endangered Wildlife Reproduction Center, where they have an opportunity to contribute to the survival of their species through successful breeding and release of off-spring. Non-releasable wildlife of more common species are provided with lifetime sanctuary in the Conservation Park Sanctuary.
The Wildlife Rehabilitation Center consists of a veterinary hospital with separate care units for various species, including primates, parrots and psittacines, raptors, small mammals and reptiles. Each care unit is equipped with an intensive care clinic, incubators, a fly-proof enclosure and a series of step-by-step acclimation enclosures. All intensive care units have separate refrigeration, medical supplies and equipment.
From the veterinary hospital, rehabilitated animals are moved to larger rehabilitation enclosures in the surrounding forest. The hospital is equipped with a surgery suite, a laboratory and three intensive care units, each with incubators and separate supplies and equipment.
The sanctuary provides life-time care for over 800 non-releasable wild animals including jaguars, tapirs, pumas, coyotes and monkeys as well as a wide variety of birds, small mammals, reptiles.
The Lifetime Care Sanctuary is open to the public and serves to educate the local people about wildlife issues. Animals housed in the Lifetime Care Sanctuary are provided with very large, naturalized enclosures and always have the opportunity to move out of view of the public if they choose to. See here to learn more about our Lifetime Care Sanctuary.
Rescate Wildlife Rescue Center has been maintaining these release sites since the late 1990’s and have released tens of thousands of animals at these sites including a number of globally threatened species. These include:
• Geoffroy’s spider monkey (Ateles geoffroyi)
• Black-crowned Central American Squirrel Monkey (Saimiri oerstedii)
• Great Curassow (Crax rubra)
• Great Green Macaw (Ara ambiguus)
Also several locally threatened species’ population could be stabilized by reintroducing, such as:
• Grey-headed Chachalaca (Ortalis cinereiceps)
• Orange-chinned parakeet (Brotogeris jugularis)
• Scarlet Macaw (Ara macao)
Geoffrey’s spider monkeys are the most endangered primates in Costa Rica. We have developed many highly successful soft-release practices that result in excellent integration into the wild and high survival rates.
In addition to the rehabilitation, breeding and sanctuary facilities in Alajuela, Rescate Wildlife Rescue Center also maintains two release sites; Bosque Escondido Wildlife Refuge, a almost 2,000-acre (809-hectare) dry tropical forest in the Nicoya Peninsula and; San Josecito in Golfo Dulce, a 32-acre (13-hectare) tropical rainforest on the Osa Peninsula, where wild animals are returned to their natural environment.
Campaign launched to educate the public on the dangers of purchasing fledglings from nest robbers. This would be the first of multiple educational campaigns over the years.
“We've done several public service campaigns in Costa Rica. Some might still remember them, but don't know they are actually made and paid by us. For us it was always more important to educate the people than getting more visitors. We want to raise awareness for the animals,” - Dennis Janik
Campaign launched to implore people to leave nature in its place with the slogan: “Si ama la naturaleza, dejalo en su lugar.”
Rescate Wildlife Rescue Center becomes the first rescue center in Costa Rica accredited by the Global Federation of Animal Sanctuaries (GFAS)
Toucan “Grecia” arrives at the sanctuary after several adolescents shattered her upper beak. This act of severe animal cruelty sparks a wave of public awareness, protests in San José, and international media coverage. BBC releases a documentary covering Grecia’s journey and her new prosthetic beak (watch a short video here).
This social movement is crucial for the passing of the Animal Welfare Law of 2016, a milestone in the legal protection of Costa Rican wildlife.
In November, an elderly lion named Kivú arrives from the Simón Bolívar National Zoo. Here, Kivú is able to live out his remaining days with dignity and an improved quality of life. In his new enclosure, he enjoyed more space, attention, and a better diet. Kivú’s special off-exhibit enclosure includes 4,000 square feet of forested area. Today, this space is used to help rehabilitate wildlife.
Read more about his story HERE.
The short film “Uncaged” makes its world premiere at the Catalina Film Festival in California. “Uncaged” follows the journeys of the animals that arrived when the last state-run zoo was closed. Produced by Wildlife Cinematographer Brian Moghari.
In January, a baby manatee is discovered struggling in the waves off the Tortuguero coast. Böëna is brought to Rescate, where she is bottle-fed around the clock by our dedicated team. This is the first recorded instance of a manatee rescue in Costa Rica.
A new playground for children, including swings, slides, and a jumping platform, opens in January. This improvement also offers plenty of seating and a small refreshments stand, as part of our ongoing commitment to improve the sanctuary for wildlife and visitors alike!
The Scarlet Macaw, Great Curassow and Spider Monkey are all species which became extinct in the Nicoya Peninsula more than 70 years ago. The Spider Monkey is the most endangered primate of Costa Rica, and can be seen again today in the wild thanks to the efforts of our foundation
More than 500 released
Great Curassows
More than 500 Great Curassows (Crax rubra) were bred through our Endangered Animal Reproduction Center (CRAVE). These individuals have been successfully re-established in the area and have grown into a thriving population with individuals now seen more than 20 kilometers from the original release site.
More than 50 released
Spider Monkeys
In addition, Rescate Wildlife has rehabilitated and released over 50 Spider Monkeys (Ateles geoffroyi) that had been previously kept as pets. Since the beginning of the project to date, this reintroduced population is now thriving and 80 Spider Monkeys have been born in the wild where they live freely.
More than 380 released
Scarlet Macaws
In 1997, we began the Scarlet Macaw (Ara macao) reintroduction project in San Josecito, in the Golfo Dulce area near Piedras Blancas National Park. By 2014, we had released 330 Scarlet Macaws. Today, they are breeding independently and their range extends from the Río Esquinas to south of Golfito.
Due to the project’s success, we relocated it to our second release site in Nicoya. Since then, we have released over 57 individuals (as of 2023). Our goal is to release around 300 Scarlet Macaws over the next 10 years, reestablishing a stable and healthy population in the area.
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