Day 8: KSTR volunteer day

Monkeys at breakfast today!  They were crawling all over the restaurant, and each table had a water bottle we could use to deter their approach.  This little guy was hanging out in the rafters.

Today's activities in Costa Rica were a total surprise for H.  We've been referring to it as 'H's special surprise day,' and last night she hypothesized that it was either something to do with butterflies or with sloths.  So, she was excited if not entirely surprised when we drove up to the facilities at the Kids Save the Rainforest program for a full-day volunteer experience.  We met up with two other families (the Bostonians and the New Yorkers each had two girls) and our guide Dorian to start the day with a tour of the facilities, which includes the kitchen area, enclosures, and nursery.  

Dorian quizzing us on skulls.

The kitchen also had perscriptions for the animals who needed medication.

We spent most of our day caring for the animals that were in enclosures ('jail,' as Dorian liked to say).  These animals all had some sort of extenuating circumstances that meant that they couldn't live in the wild.  One bird couldn't fly, a few animals were missing limbs, a few had paralysis, etc.  The organization mostly does rehab and sanctuary work.  We didn't get to work with the rehabbing animals, but we did get a lot of time with the sanctuary animals.

Voldi (short for Voldemort) lost a fight and came to the sanctuary missing a lot of blood and half his face.

After the tour we prepped medicine and snacks for the animals.  Quite a few had regular medication needs, and we needed to find ways both to give the their medicine (such as grinding up a pill, mixing it with peanut butter, and spreading the slurry on a banana) and also to make sure that the unmedicated animals didn't get jealous (which typically meant that they also got a snack).  The snacks were often presented in a way that challenged the animal to get some exercise.

Chopping fruit for animal snack!

H giving medicine (mixed with watermelon juice) to Gummy the marmoset. 

The docents wove grass into cricket shapes and then hid sunflower seeds inside.

After our lunch, we headed back to the enclosures to give the animals their big meal.  We helped the keepers place the food in the enclosures.  Sometimes, that meant placing the food in a secure area and then using an airlock-like system to give the animals access (we did this for monkeys, marmosets, and cuati).  

H tying up a food snack while whitefaced monkeys look on expectantly.

Sometimes, we could enter the enclosure with the keeper and the animal (birds and sloths).  

H and Dorian feed a snack to Señor Donna, a two-toed sloth paralyzed from the waist down.

After we fed the animals, we helped do a bit of tidying and were released. All told, we worked from 9-3, which a short snack and an hour for lunch.  H was overjoyed and couldn't stop talking about the different animals.  She bought a stuffed sloth and named is Señor Donna, pretended to be her in the pool, and is in general bowled over by the experience.  What a hit!

This toucan came to hang out at lunch.

After the volunteer experience, we took a dip in the pool, got cleaned up, and had dinner at Rico Tico Jungle Grill, which was not what I was expecting.  With a name like that, I was expecting a happening bar with live music and a happening vibe.  Instead, the restaurant was quiet and tasteful.  Excellent food and service.  And another sunset view!