LVR Volunteers at ARCAS, Guatemala

This is so exciting finally sharing our ARCAS adventure with you!  The two of us, LVR founder / CEO Eric Clarke and LVR Sales/ Marketing director, Anastasia Mazula, journeyed to Central America to volunteer at the ARCAS wildlife rescue center in Peten, Guatemala, an experience Eric was thrilled to relive after volunteering there 10 years ago.  In 2001, ARCAS secured its spot in Eric’s heart and inspired one of LVR’s missions to contribute funds and raise awareness in the US for this amazing organization – a dream of his now coming true.

We began our journey by boat, crossing a stunning lake separating Peten from one of Guatemala’s most scenic islands, Flores.  When we arrived at ARCAS, we were immediately greeted by the purity of the forest… it was MAGICAL.  Hiking our way to ARCAS’ facilities and the volunteer house, was our first opportunity to immerse ourselves into ARCAS, checking out the deer and parrots along the path.

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We’d learned that  over 1,000 Latin American animals of more than 40 different rare and endangered species inhabit ARCAS’ 100+ acre rescue center, including spider monkeys, howler monkeys, scarlet macaws, various species of parrots, toucans, ocelots, owls, alligators, and even a jaguar.

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It was the most surreal experience being welcomed by wild howler monkeys our first night.  Eric, having been to ARCAS before, was so excited for Anastasia’s first impression of them, whose howl is so loud and frightening that it was used to imitate that of a T-Rex in the movie Jurassic Park!  Just imagine how ridiculously insane it was, being in the pitch black of the jungle with only a mesh window separating us from the wild!  The sounds of ARCAS would only get more supernatural as other animals chimed in, thus kicking our adventure off to a rockin’ start!

Click here to listen to the sounds of the howler monkeys we recorded that night.

Our first day volunteering included an in depth info session on the animals, their welfare, and the goals of ARCAS.  Anastasia was naturally curious, “So, where do these animals come from and when can they be released?”   Most of the animals at ARCAS are rescued / confiscated from illegal animal traffickers, some are abandoned pets whose owners gave them up, and others are brought in by authorities when they find their way into backyards for example.

ARCAS’ mission is to quarantine, rehabilitate, and release these animals back into the wild. The rehabilitation phase varies by animal, and can last from 1 to 7 years before re-introduction into the wild. Sadly, some of the animals can never be released either because they are too wounded while being trafficked or were domesticated and are no longer able to survive on their own in the wild. But fortunately for these animals, like scarlet macaws that have been blinded or only have one working wing, they are well cared for, mated with other scarlet macaws, and are able to live as happy  a life as possible given their conditions.  Their offspring can be released into the wild to increase the drastically low numbers of some of these species that are still living in the wild.

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ARCAS also makes it their priority to educate people on the horrors of animal trafficking trade, which is a serious problem in Guatemala and many other countries.  Poachers and smugglers capture exotic endangered animals from the wild and sell them as pets to rich individuals, foreigners and foreign companies. Many of the animals are smuggled across borders in a similar way to illegal drugs – in suitcases, trunks of cars, and in crates barely big enough for the animals and disguised as something else underneath buses and other vehicles. Many of the animals do not survive the trips, and some of them seized from traffickers are so close to death that if they are not rushed to ARCAS within 24 hours to be nursed by the onsite veterinarians, they will not make it. In some cases, like with spider and howler monkeys, they are captured as infants, which most often happens by a smuggler shooting the mother to let go of her baby, and sometimes the babies don’t even survive the fall from the treetops.

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Learning about these animals and the situations they had been rescued from reenergized our mission to help ARCAS.  Working alongside the hard working staff, advanced veterinarians, and animal loving volunteers from all over the globe with the same mission felt amazing.

Each day of volunteering was organized around three main feeding times for the animals.  Sunrise marked the first feeding time – our favorite.  Waking up with the animals was such a thrill.  If you weren’t fully awake when you got to the rehabilitation center, the LOUD squawking Scarlett Macaws and screeching spider monkeys would definitely do the trick!

Anastasia was responsible for prepping food, administering vitamins, feeding, and cleaning the cages of the parrots and toucans in quarantine.  Being so close to the animals made it extremely tempting to interact with them.  Unlike volunteering at domestic animal shelters, where human interaction and petting are encouraged, the goals at ARCAS are the opposite. Volunteers are directed to avoid speaking to the animals and to keep their distance, since the goal is for each animal to stay as wild animals that can be released back into the jungle and not be inclined to interact with or approach humans. Though we wanted nothing more than to hold the monkeys and chat with the parrots, we understood how important it was to resist, since it could mean the difference between life and death for these animals in the wild.

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Eric took care of about half of the scarlet macaws and parrots at ARCAS, as well as large black birds called Guams, a huge native wild rodent called a Paca, and a young howler monkey who had just arrived a week before we came.  Because Eric’s most powerful and emotional memories from his 2001 trip at ARCAS were with spider monkeys, it’s not surprising that his favorite animal that he took caasdasdre of this trip was the young howler monkey. The howler was still scared after one week of being at ARCAS, but Eric could see and reported daily improvements, especially shown when the howler started feeling comfortable enough with Eric to jump onto his shoulders!  Eric also got the chance to help with feeding the older howler monkeys and spider monkeys during this trip, special experiences which helped him relive those incredible memories from 2001.

Click here to see the young howler monkey at meal time.

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In between feeding times were OUR meal times… ice cream that was available for purchase was a highlight J.  Chores were also fit into the morning activities which included maintaining the premises etc., definitely adding to the sense of a tight family community at ARCAS.

The days we spent volunteering seemed to fly by… it’s no wonder volunteers typically spend about a month at ARCAS, but range anywhere from a week to 6 months and sometimes become permanent staff!

We hold this experience very close to our hearts, and hope we have the opportunity to spend more time volunteering at ARCAS in the coming years.  As our way of supporting ARCAS from the US, LVR has set up a partnership with ARCAS where we are able to contribute financial aid.

ARCAS + LVR

After volunteering at ARCAS in Peten, we set off for ARCAS headquarters in Guatemala City to discuss the LVR / ARCAS partnership with one of their behind-the-scenes heads, Colum Muccio. We went over ARCAS’ goals for the future, gave suggestions on how to grow the ARCAS in Peten volunteer experience, and discussed ARCAS’ immediate needs for funding.  We represented LVR’s pledge to make monthly donations to ARCAS in support of their mission, with each month’s amount growing as LVR grows.  As we concluded our meeting, we gave our second and third donation checks from LVR to ARCAS.

After the meeting, we set out for ARCAS’ second wildlife rescue center location, in Hawaii, Guatemala. It is a very small beach city right next to one of Guatemala’s most visited beaches, Monterrico.

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ARCAS Hawaii is mainly focused to counteract threats to two species of sea turtles that have been over-harvested by local egg collectors. The sea turtles are endangered (less than 1000 remain of one of the sea turtle species in the Western Pacific Ocean), yet virtually all sea turtle nests in Guatemala are poached to sell the eggs. Over 50,000 eggs are collected each year from ARCAS’ efforts to release back into the ocean, which is nearly 40% of all eggs collected in Guatemala. ARCAS Hawaii also cares for a few species of lizards, alligators, and fish, and aids in reforesting in nearby areas of mangrove forest.

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What an amazing and eye opening trip, seeing firsthand the results of poaching and animal trafficking on top of other environmental issues in Guatemala and other parts of Latin America.  We are so grateful for ARCAS, going above and beyond to save the lives of so many of these incredible endangered animals. Like so many non-profits, ARCAS is in dire need of funding just to feed the animals in their centers, and we are so thankful to have the opportunity to help them financially and to help raise awareness of their organization through LVR.  Eric Clarke has been hoping to provide funding and to raise awareness for ARCAS ever since he visited and volunteered at ARCAS Peten back in 2001.  This 2 decade dream of establishing a successful business that could also function to help worthy animal rescue organizations such as ARCAS is beginning to come true for him.  We urge you to spread any knowledge you have learned from our trip and even take a trip of your own down to ARCAS.

We leave you with  some more photos and videos of the animals we met at ARCAS:

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Phoebe, a jaguar at ARCAS

Click here to see our video of magnificent Phoebe.

one of the ocelots just hanging out

baby owls that were rescued from a forest that was clear-cut. the mother owl will not return to care for her young once the nest has fallen from a cut down tree.

Scarlet macaws are breathtakingly beautiful in person. Many people have seen them at high-end hotels as pets unfortunately, because of their beauty. There are only around 300 left in the wild in Guatemala, and there are 81 at ARCAS currently. Some are not able to be released because they are too injured, but their offspring and the majority of the macaws will be released into the wild, like so many already have been by ARCAS over the years in protected areas.

 Click here to view our video of the scarlet macaws at meal time.

two young spider monkeys

Click here to see our video of these wild howlers in action.

Quite a few aligators make it over to ARCAS. These were found near people’s homes and brought over before they can be released again. They are kept for a shorter amount of time than other animals. These two actually stood in the same pose like they were about to fight for a whole day.

an anteater

Thank you, ARCAS! 

<3,

LVR