To mark Mother’s Day on 14 May, we’re celebrating the women who work at our center in Costa Rica, saving sick and injured wildlife. As well as being mothers to their own young children, they also act as surrogate mothers to the orphaned babies and infants brought into the center’s clinic for treatment and care.
Our center in Nosara takes in a constant stream of bird, mammal and reptile casualties. These frequently include howler monkeys that have been electrocuted on uninsulated power lines and transformers and, while the adult females are often killed, the babies clinging to them may survive, though they often suffer burns and other injuries. Their road to recovery is a long and perilous one, with many losing their fight for life along the way. Caring for these orphaned monkeys and the many other animal casualties at the center is not for the faint-hearted. In a video made and released by IAR for Mother’s Day, three of the women describe how much they love their work and explain how they have managed to come to terms with the high numbers of animals that lose their fight for life.
Estefany Gutiérrez Zúñiga is mother to six-year-old Leo. Gerardina Patricia Mora Villegas has three daughters named Ashley, Shelby and Alexa. Sabrina Jiron Hernandez is the mother of six-year-old Thomas and three-year-old Mara.
The women are united in their love of animals and the desire to help those that are sick or injured. While Estefany and Gerardina particularly enjoy tending to those that are sick, Sabrina loves the contribution that their work makes to conservation and sustainability. Her favorite aspect of it is the release of recovered wildlife back into its natural habitat.
Over time, the women have had to get used to the fact that, no matter how hard they try to save them, a substantial number of the animals being treated won’t survive. They admit that at first they found this very stressful and sad. However, now they understand that, while some animals die, there will always be others that need care and attention and that keeps them going.
Gerardina adds that she has learnt that, no matter what happens, as long as they know they have done their utmost to save each and every case, that in itself is a success of sorts.
When it comes to caring for the young orphans, Sabrina acknowledges that they can’t replace their mothers but the women keep the infants quiet, warm, well-fed and safe, and treat them with tenderness and patience. This level of care helps to repair some of the mental as well as the physical damage their charges have suffered. And they clearly become very attached to their young charges.
Gerardina is particularly fond of Indira the howler monkey who can be identified by her droopy eye. She is soon to be released after many years in care and Gerardina will be there to wave her off.
Sabrina recalls going on the rescue of a pregnant female iguana about three months ago. After some time in recovery, the iguana was fit enough to be released and Sabrina returned her to the place where she had been found. Sabrina sums it up: “I think that’s the most beautiful story that has happened to me because I was able to help her so much and then set her free once more!”
Alan Knight OBE, President of IAR, says: “The dedication and resilience of these women is truly inspirational. They know that their work is often going to bring them sadness and heartache but that doesn’t stop them from giving each and every one of their charges all the loving care and attention they need to fight for survival. As mothers, they are ideally equipped to care for the vulnerable
animals in our center and Mother’s Day is the perfect day to celebrate them. They are the backbone of the center and it simply couldn’t function without them!”