Tamandua Rescued From Power Lines

In late January, we received a call for a juvenile Northern tamandua (anteater) that was stuck on the power lines. At first, we were worried that she might have been electrocuted, but it seems she just thought it was a good place to take a nap. Playa Guiones has become more developed in recent months which means wildlife often use the dangerous electrical cables to travel between fragmented habitat.

Thanks to ICE and our Stop the Shocks program, the cables, and the transformer had covers installed and were safe for wildlife.  Although she wasn’t likely to be electrocuted at that particular location, the cables are a dangerous place for any animal. We decided that she needed to be relocated to a safer habitat where there are no electrical cables, roads or human development.

We called the electrical company, ICE, to help us safely rescue her from the cables using fiberglass hot-sticks.  After thoroughly assessing her at our wildlife clinic and confirming that she wasn’t sick or injured, we relocated her to a heavily forested area in the remote hills behind Nosara. Here she will make a safe home for herself with plenty of habitat and food resources.