Saving manatees and monkeys in Belize

Wildtracks celebrating!

Since our last update, we have made a number of important steps forward, and are delighted to share these with you

In March, Wildtracks signed the updated Memorandum of Understanding with the Ministry of Sustainable Development for management of Belize's Primate Rehabilitation Centre. We value the strong collaborative partnership that we have developed with the Belize Forest Department over the 30+ years since we first added wildlife rehabilitation to our conservation tool kit - and our commitment to the conservation of Belize's primates and other threatened species is still 100%!

We were also honoured to receive an award from the Forest Department in recognition of...“exceptional service, untiring effort, and continuous contribution to wildlife conservation and rehabilitation for the last thirty three years.” This deserves a ‘Congratulations’ to all of you - the Wildtracks Team - staff and volunteers, our other wildlife rehab and veterinary partners and our donor family over those 33 years who have been a part of building Wildtracks and ensuring that it has been able to provide support in the areas of wildlife conservation and rehabilitation.

The howler monkey census at our release site continues as part of our measures of success monitoring and evaluation, with the identification of 15 troops to date, and over 80 individual monkeys...Alisha and the survey team have taken photographs, GPS points, observed troop dynamics...and are starting to recognize individuals. Then there are the surprises, like the arrival of a mother with her tiny newborn. Each trip brings a new experience. Join Alisha as she documents her adventures in her blog:

Tracking in the wind - the howler monkey census at Fireburn

Manatees, too, have featured in the good news over the last three months. It was a pleasure to share a small part of our manatee rehab stories with the World Wildlife Fund, and we are delighted that they have highlighted our work on their website:

A wildlife rescue project that protects Belize's threatened seascapes and wildlife - one manatee at a time

We have also been successful in applying for a grant from the Belize Fund for a Sustainable Future towards strengthening management of manatees within protected areas, building capacity for manatee rehabilitation of the wildlife management authorities and for the upgrading of the Manatee Rehabilitation Centre building. Find out about the work that we have been doing towards manatee conservation in Belize, and will be doing under this project. We are celebrating by sharing our proposal video - enjoy!

 Project Video: Helping Secure the Future for Belize's Iconic Manatees

Thank you for being a part of the Wildtracks story!!

Links:

• Tracking in the Wind - the howler monkey census at Fireburn
• Helping to secure the future for Belize's iconic manatees