When you think of a wildlife rehabilitation center, an image of a lethargic animal on the mend may come to mind.  At Tree of Life, I experienced happy, energetic animals that if you’re not alert and paying attention to the rules, will take a swipe at you.

We had planned to take a day trip into Cahuita, Costa Rica to spend the day snorkeling and frolicking among the underwater life.  However, after taking the bus in from Puerto Viejo, we learned that the visibility was low and on a whim decided to visit the Tree of Life Wildlife Rescue and Botanical Garden.

When we arrived at the center, were given a self-guided map and began exploring the botanical gardens, leisurely at our own pace.  Then, on to the animals.

This little guy looks cute and innocent right?

He’s not!  After ducking under some bamboo poles and taking the short route to catch up with my friend, a monkey came out of nowhere and swiped my arm.  Hard, drawing blood!  This, I believe was an attempt to grab my camera.   Stunned, appalled and downright hurt that my cute, adorable friend would try to hurt me, I sat staring at him in disbelief.  How could he do this to me and why?!  As I stared open mouthed at my betrayer, I looked down to assess my wounds and noticed a small little detail of a sign that I had over looked.

Oops.  Although I didn’t actually “stick my fingers through the fence”, I obviously was way too close and had inadvertently went under a protective barrier.

As I looked back up, I couldn’t believe my eyes.  He was trying to lure me in again, being all cute and adorable.

After enjoying several different types of monkeys that had the freedom to run around in huge rehabilitation areas, we moved on to the sloth, Minu.  Minu was found clinching onto her mother on the electric line who was dead from electrocution.  Patricia and the team are getting reading to introduce Minu back into her natural environment in just a couple of weeks.

Next, we met Prince Charles, an Indian Peafowl that is native to India, that someone had bought as an exotic pet and abandoned.

Shakira is a jaguar that was found at only 3 weeks old, when her nest was dug up by a bulldozer and she was the only survivor.  It is very rare to see jaguars as they are considered to be in danger of extinction.  She was so adorable, I wanted to let her lick some milk off my finger.

After seeing several other animals and an abundance of fauna and flora not only native to Costa Rica, but from around the world, we were fortunate enough to spend time with the owner Patricia Vermeulen.

                  Patricia has a deep love for all animals and her passion is very transparent the moment you meet her.  In fact, she showed us a Rat that was missing an eye and likely had a cataract in the other that was brought in to rehabilitate.  To Patricia, this rat deserves the same love and care as the beloved monkeys and sloths of Costa Rica.

Patricia explains how the center got started, how they rehabilitate and introduce animals back into their natural habitat and why it’s important for us to visit and support rehabilitation centers like this.

How to Get There

There are buses that run all day long between Cahuita and Puerto Viejo, I used the Off The Grid Traveler app to find the times and it is about an hour bus ride with just a few stops along the way.  Once in to Cahuita, it’s a short cab ride or a 45 minute walk to the Tree of Life facility located on the outskirts of town.

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This post was written by OffTheGridTravel