New arrivals and fun visitors!

Meet Andy sloth!  Andy is our first three toed sloth to arrive at the Toucan Rescue Ranch.  He was found on the ground after a couple of males were fighting over a female, his mom, who lost him in the fight and took off from the males and the area.  Very sad, but fortunately someone found him and he is now safe and doing well here with us.  He is so different from the two toed's it's like having a completely different species.  Very slow, only eats leaves and is more awake during the day.  We will keep you posted on his progress.  Initially he was very weak, but with some good formula he is now really doing well.

Ty is really climbing and doing well, he has an obsession with his blankets and tries to take them with him when he climbs!  Twili also just started to climb the perch, so they are learning to share some space!

This poor keel billed toucan was found on the ground in the town near our farm by some of the children.  The mother called us, and we transported him to the Toucan Rescue Ranch.  He came in totally blind from the lacerations on his face and eyes.  We are not sure what these were caused from.  Initially it looked like someone had trapped him in chicken wire (I have seen similar cuts like this from the thin wire) or maybe he was in a fight with another toucan.  After a long recovery period, I am happy to report that he has gained his vision back in one eye.  The other eye keeps changing daily, and he might be able to see something now.  We are waiting for the next vet visit to confirm his progress.

If he recovers sight in both eyes we will happily take him to the farm to release!  Keeping our fingers crossed.

We have many wild birds that live and visit our property, this is a young blue grey tanager.  We found her on the ground, the parents would fly around and come feed her, but it was obvious that she was getting very tired and weak, so we found this abandoned clay colored robin nest, and put her in it near the parents, up off the ground.   They came and fed her for two days, and she left flying with them!

Our good friends, Frank Todd (of penguin fame) Jerry Jennings (famous toucan breeder and conservationist) and Paul Bratescu, professional photographer all visited.  They were here with us for several days, traveled around and returned and now it is weird that they are gone!  We had some great late night conversations about birds, breeding and conservation, I always learn so much from them we enjoy the visits.  Here are some photos of them at the farm and of some of the animals on the farm, that I took.  We had a great few days, monkeys, sloths (5 in one day) toucans and more!



Find the sloth hidden in the bromeliads!



Frank Todd had some photo sessions with Quilla the porcupine and Georgie our sloth!  They posed very nicely for him.  Quilla needed some kisses in between shots, take a look!  Enjoy the blog!  Remember, your kindness and generosity with funding keep us going and able to received these  injured animals, please consider adopting an animal or bird in our program.  On the blog you will find a tab for adoptions.  Thank You!!

Please "Adopt" us for the Holidays

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Please consider the gift of life and hope to our rescued animals this holiday season!
Years ago I "adopted" a whale and the group that was protecting them sent me photos and updates, I really looked forward to hearing about where "my" whale had been seen, how far he had traveled. It was fun and I learned all about whales. Now we have blogs and internet to help us learn about wild animals and the joys of supporting such efforts :)

Adoption is a great option for those who would like to support our efforts...We have released 5 sloths to date and several this past year. Each sloth that comes into our program is here for a reason: an injury, abandoned, fell from a tree, fights, burns and mistreated by humans.

All of them have to be evaluated by our veterinarian, fed and cared for.

This can add up and we are looking for support for our various sloths.

I will give you some good news!! We have donations for Millie and Georgie enclosures, and will begin these in Jan. Thank you!!

Adoption certificates will be sent along with a photo of your favorite sloth,

Twili, Millie, Milo and Georgie. (I finally found a nice certificate-one that I can print up here...)

Eight years ago we began accepting toucans in need, and we have become known for the excellent work we do recovering these beautiful birds. We have had to say no to some animals, but we will never say no to the toucans. Currently we have 35 in our care. We are setting up a breeding program for release, and have been successful in reproducing the Emerald Toucanets.
Owl Fund! Please do an office pool, or a challenge for support, match the donation, for our 15 owls. We have to purchase from a poultry farm 700 chicks a month to feed them along with supplementing them with rats and mice that we breed here. Some of the most beautiful raptors in Costa Rica, and not many rescue centers accept these owls. We receive owl babies since they are very difficult to raise, and every adult owl that has come into the program has come with severe injuries that require extensive orthopedic surgeries and a long recovery process.

Many of you contributed to Isadora Spider monkey's enclosure and I can tell you that she is so happy and appreciative of her new space. Thank You!! She needs constant food since she is so High Energy, to put it frankly, she eats like a horse! Much of the fruit that we purchase weekly goes to her, little miss piggy. She is doing great and is a joy, loves to visit when we do tours and always shows off her acrobatic skills. Adopting Issy would help us keep up the fruit supply!

Jou Jou is just like Issy in a way, constant energy, totally recuperated and loves her new enclosure!


Pokey is back from the vet's, he lived with them for about a month...now you can imagine if your dog or cat stayed at the vets for that long, you would have a huge bill, well, we considered this a huge bill, but compared to the states, this is not costly at all. $120.00 for all his treatment, and as you can see he is doing so much better after his horrible infection from some animal attacking him. He is finally getting new quills and fur, but will probably have a bald backside :( We hope Quilla our beautiful girl will fall in love with him anyway. Pokey still needs medical treatment, so please consider adopting him!

Adopt an endangered Scarlet Macaw! Our macaws are at breeding age, and we are going to set them up for breeding for release. Young macaws will be placed with other release programs in the country. So, if you are a bird person, please help us support the 30 some parrots in our care! The seed mix and nuts that we feed, (along with fruits and vegetables) are imported, and anything imported is extremely expensive, We use a 23 kilo sack, around 50lbs per week, and this costs around $48, add in the nuts and we are up to $60.

300 pounds of Papaya per week, 20lbs of green beans and 25 lbs of carrots!

Farmers market fund! We can easily spend $150 per week on fresh fruits and vegetables for all the birds and animals.

Overwhelmed? I am, whew! I include all these figures so that folks have an understanding of what is involved in the day to day life at the Toucan Rescue Ranch. It's a constant influx of animals, food, bills, medicines, vet checks, operations, love and endless sleepless nights.

Please help us to keep up the momentum, continue to be able to rescue and care for Costa Rican wildlife, begin our breeding programs, continue our educational programs in the local schools and, I will end with a quote from a recent visitor, "I have been to other rescue centers around the world and this is one of the best. Their care for the animals is exquisite, the animals have space, enrichment and the place is sparkling clean."

Donations can be made to Pay Pal on our website, then please send us an e-mail to let us know who you would like to adopt, or what program your donation is helping.

Thank you from all of us, Leslie, Jorge and all the birds and animals of the Toucan Rescue Ranch and may you have a wonderful holiday season filled with joy and a great New Year.