Saving Wildlife On The Cayes of Belize

Wow, it’s incredible to think that 2024 is now in the rearview mirror! The last quarter of 2024 has kept us busy, focused, and inspired. We admitted 65 patients of 33 different species, bringing the final year total to 227 admitted patients of 58 different species to our wildlife clinic! Our hotline rang off the hook with requests from people all over the country looking for advice on how to coexist with our local wild neighbors and concerns for animals who appear to be in distress - over 400 of these calls were received and responded to. As has been the trend since our rescue was established, this year has once again proven to be the busiest to date, confirming just how crucial the work is to our growing community. We are so proud to be serving a country who cares so deeply for the fauna who call it home and are committed to continuing this service into the future!

A shining highlight of this quarter was the rescue of an endangered Yellow-Headed Amazon Parrot who suffered decades of illegal captivity, poor husbandry and neglect. We welcomed him into the rescue and showed him what it meant to be cared for properly, loved, and likely for the first time, put his needs first over the entertainment he previously was expected to provide. Thanks to a wonderful collaborative effort, he now resides at a sanctuary in a large aviary in which he can fly, socialize, and form relationships with a flock members of his same species. We beam with joy when we get reports of how active, chatty, and spunky this once depressed bird now is. Our hearts are full knowing he will never have to be alone, scared, or restrained ever again.  

While we had a wonderful quarter of successful releases of recovered animals back into the wild, we were met with a complication. Our only response vehicle broke down and its repair would cost us an unexpected $15,000 bzd to complete. This meant that since October rescues have been done on motorbike, in borrowed vehicles from generous friends, and even in the back of the police department’s pick-up truck. While not having a vehicle has made our operations a tad bit more difficult, we are so grateful to have a wonderful community that quickly rallied around us in this hard time and helped us raise the funds to complete the repair. It will still take a few months before repairs can be completed as parts must arrive from abroad, but we are comforted in knowing we now have the ability to afford this expense and get back on the road properly again soon! 

As we reflect on the closing of 2024, we cannot help but feel an overwhelming sense of gratitude for our team’s perseverance and dedication in the face of such adversity as was felt this year, as well as the unwavering support from you! The tragic loss of Chris Summers, Aces’ cofounder, wildly inspiring director, and crocodile specialist, shook us. Each word of encouragement, each handshake, each wave, hug, donation, volunteered hour, like, share, comment of support, etc., has been the motivation we needed to keep going this year. Each day was hard, but you made it a bit lighter with each of these moments. Thank you for giving us the support we needed to continue on. Thank you for helping us continue to carry out the services that Chris was so proud to have built up, we genuinely could not do it without you. We are ready to say goodbye to 2024 and welcome in a new year that we can fill with joy and love for the wild world we live in.

From all of us at Aces Wildlife Rescue, we wish you a happy, healthy, and wild New Year.

-Christina Manzi and the Aces Team

The last few months have been the most difficult in Aces Wildlife Rescue’s history. It is with profound sadness that we announce the untimely passing of Chris Summers, the co-founder and director of operations of Aces Wildlife Rescue. Chris selflessly dedicated 14 years of his life to wildlife conservation on Ambergris Caye. His commitment to helping the community learn to live in harmony with the natural world was infectious and inspired many to join him in spreading this mission. Day and night, weekends, holidays, Chris was always available to help an animal or community member in-need. He made a difference in the lives of local residents, native wildlife, and visitors who came to the island. If you ever had the pleasure of attending an educational event or rescue and got to listen to Chris speak, you were likely completely entranced by his animation, knowledge, and compassion. He was the perfect person for the role of wildlife activist and we are forever grateful for his years of dedication to the cause. We miss Chris everyday.

Since his passing, Aces Wildlife Rescue has continued the course, staying committed as our leader taught us. We have taken in 72 rescues of 25 different species since our last update in May. American crocodiles took up a large portion of these intakes, as an entire clutch of eggs was accidentally unearthed on a construction site. As the development on Ambergris Caye continues, there has been a reduction in suitable nesting sites for our vulnerable American crocodile population. One mama croc thought she had adapted though, and decided to lay her eggs in the construction sand pile that was on the edge of the lagoon. When the sand was sold, a digger began excavating the pile for transport, only to find eggs starting to tumble out, and this movement triggered them to start hatching! The caring employees gathered all the eggs and hatching baby crocs they could find and called us immediately. In our care over the next few days, all 19 of the viable eggs in the clutch hatched into healthy and active crocodiles and together as a group, they were released in a location where they can grow and thrive without threat from people. 

Chris started his journey with Aces inspired by a facination with crocodiles. It’s only fitting that in the days after his passing, new crocodilian life emerged, were rescued, and set free to begin their lives. May his soul swim as freely as these crocs now do. 

Thank you so much to our supporters, especially those who have donated in the past few months. As we grieve, it has been a huge relief to know we have your support to help us get through this incredibly tough transition. Your support means the world. Thank you for continuing to believe in our work.