Since 2008, the Jaguar Rescue Center has been dedicated to the rehabilitation of Costa Rica's wildlife, with a focus on reintroducing injured and orphaned animals to their native habitats.

Located adjacent to the Gandoca-Manzanillo National Refuge in the Costa Rican state of Talamanca,  the Center sees a steady influx of injured and orphaned animals, including sloths, monkeys, anteaters, birds and reptiles.

Santino, a mantled howler monkey, during one of his daily visits to the rainforest by the Center.

Human interference too often plays a part in why many of these animals are brought into the care of the Jaguar Rescue Center. The dangers the wild animals of Costa Rice face include exposed power lines, vehicular traffic, domestic pets, and the illegal wildlife trade.

The Jaguar Rescue Center is not a zoo; the aim of the Center is to care for and prepare each and every animal for release back into the wild. Sadly some animals can never be released into the wild and, in such cases, the Center provides the animals with shelter for life and makes every effort to maintain a fulfilling environment for them.

Nimba, a young white faced capuchin, enjoys her time on the climbing frame where she learns what life in the trees will be like.

Almost half of the mammals brought to the Center are sloths. Many of them are orphans, separated from their mother's care, and frequently arrive at the Center suffering from dehydration, malnourishment, and even injuries. Without the assistance of the staff and volunteers at the Jaguar Rescue Center, these young animals would have no hope of survival. 

Ensuring the health of these young animals requires more than time and attention, it also demands a high level of medical care.

The goal of this  fundraising drive is to enable the purchase of veterinary incubators, which will help provide this high level of care for infant sloths brought into the Center.

A young sloth ventures out of the safety of its basket to explore the climbing frame. 

The Jaguar Rescue Center is a non-profit foundation. Although closely regulated by the government of Costa Rica to ensure the health and safety of the animals it cares for, the Center receives no governmental funding. The operating income for the Center is generated in large part by providing educational tours to the public. The Center also receives some additional funding through the generosity of corporate and private donations.

The funds raised through this campaign will be used exclusively for the purchase and delivery of two veterinary incubators for use in the Sloth Rehabilitation and Release program. Similar to neonatal incubators used for at-risk human infants, a veterinary incubator provides a safe and secure environment to aid the growth and recovery of an infant. Any funds raised in excess of this need will be earmarked for additional medical or other animal care supplies for the Center.

These infant sloths spends most of their day outside, sleeping in a basket and eating hibiscus flowers.

The need is now and the need is constant. Newly injured and orphaned animals are brought into the Center every week if not every day, and the equipment and supplies that your donation will provide will have a real impact on the lives of these vulnerable animals.

When the sloths are a little older, like Chocolate Chip, they move to the Center's Sloth Garden where they spend more of their time in the trees getting ready for release. They also nap a lot!

To learn more about the Jaguar Rescue Center, its history, its mission, the animals it cares for, and other ways in which you can help, please visit their website and Facebook page.