Protecting Wildlife from Electrocutions
On average, Refuge for Wildlife responds to over 100 electrocuted howler monkey rescue calls each year. Over half of these were either killed outright at the scene or, following a comprehensive veterinary assessment, had to be euthanized due to the severity of their injuries. Because survival rate for electrocution victims is low, we feel that focusing on prevention is the best solution. Refuge for Wildlife recently purchased over $14,000 USD worth of wildlife protection equipment that will be installed on dangerous transformers in areas where electrocution injuries and deaths are a high risk.
With many areas experiencing a surge in human development, fragmented habitat has lead to several wildlife deaths and injuries because monkeys are using electrical cables to access food resources. With our local electrical company, ICE, we recently insulated 14 transformers in North Guiones to help prevent further electrocution incidents with plans to insulate dozens more in the coming months. We trimmed tree branches in several locations, including Playa Guiones and Playa Pelada, to prevent arboreal wildlife from gaining access to dangerous power lines and transformers. After trimming branches, we also provided several rope bridges to give wildlife a safer way to travel to their habitat. Over the past few months we have also been working closely with MOPT to provide safe crossing for our wildlife by installing bridges all along the main road so that wildlife can now safely cross the road without having to risk getting hit by cars.
If you’re interested in learning more about this issue, we invite you to view the attached comprehensive document which details the problems we are facing: Wildlife Electrocutions
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