If you couldn’t already tell from posts like my reindeer encounter, I’m a big animal lover.
Sky diving, bungee jumping, completing a four-day hike? Nah. I’d much rather gawk at some exotic animals or swim with dolphins (still on my bucket list, unfortunately). When I visited New Zealand, two of the main things I wanted to do was to go and visit the glowworm caves in Waitomo and see the penguins in Otago (we all know how that one turned out). Even though I did go zorbing in Rotorua, that was pretty much the extent of the adrenaline-fueled activities I completed.
So when I found out that the little beach resort we were staying in on the west coast of Mexico had an animal refuge which was trying to educate local people about how to nurture and approach their indigenous wildlife, I wanted to take a look for myself.
I am a big fan of animal shelters and refuges. At home, I regularly visited my local animal shelter (even though it constantly broke my heart) and even sponsored animals who couldn’t find good homes of their own.
In Mexico, these types of centres are crucial in educating the younger generations about wildlife. Coatis, for example, are regularly killed by locals who see them as aggressive and dangerous. They try to keep them as pets when they are small babies (and cute to boot), but once they grow into adulthood and start trying to claim their own food and territory, people feel they can no longer handle them. By this point, the coatis don’t know how to adapt and live in the wild by themselves and so die.
The refuge offers heavily discounted admission rates to locals, as well as open days for schoolchildren, in the hopes that they will come and learn more about how to care and treat lizards, birds, turtles and much more which are constantly in danger due to outdated customs and beliefs.
I’d happily give any money I could spare to causes such as this.
The highlight of my visit? I got to cuddle this little cutie – a Kinkajou honey bear, who had been brought to the rescue by a well-meaning expat living in the area. Kinkajous are an endangered species who are usually hunted for their fur and meat, but in Mexico they are often left homeless due to deforestation.
He was the most adorable and friendliest little guy. He even moved me to get up on my soapbox and write this post to urge people to support local animal refuges and shelters, no matter where in the world they are. Animals are suffering the world over, mainly due to lack of education and overbreeding. If just one centre like this can help reduce the effects of these things, it will have been worth it.
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