ARCAS, CONAP, and Over 24 Years of Guatemalan Conservation

Captain's Log, Day 183: I'm long overdue for a little summary and review, here in my second week of Guatemala volunteering. For starters, ARCAS is a wildlife rescue organization that works with Guatemala's largest environmental protection agency, CONAP. CONAP was established nearly 25 years ago to protect the land and parks encompassed in the Mayan Biospehere Reserve (3.9 million acres), and is responsible for anti-trafficking rescue and rehabilitation projects run through ARCAS. Between 300 and 600 reptiles, mammals, and birds of over 40 native species go through ARCAS annually, and an extensive cadre of internationally trained veterinarians and volunteers.The center in Peten is located on Lake Peten Itza in the tropical humid forest; a mix of North and South American biodiversity with a touch of Yucatan Peninsula endemism...

...and CRAZY PEOPLE who LOVE ANIMALS. Like any good wildlife center.

I have a wealth of wild stories, but I'm going to leave those for the next post and give you all a brief photo tour of the journey to and around ARCAS for the time being.

Without further ado, ARCAS.

I flew from Brazil to Flores. That took a while. 

...but I had my Gaiman book from Brazil! I've found one at a book exchange in every country I've been so far. Travelers in latin america seem to have good taste in authors. . 

(I was picked up at the airport in Santa Elena (the largest town next to Isla del Flores, Lake Peten Itza, and ARCAS) by Alejandro, the assistant director of the veterinary clinic and erstwhile volunteer coordinator, on a clear night. Snapped no photos until the next day.)

ARCAS! We have a large number of Scarlet Macaws in the center, as well as a breeding program. There are only about 300 wild Macaws left in Guatemala...they're followed extremely closely. 

It's wild: ARCAS has had 25 years worth of experience with international volunteers. We all meet here in the morning after the 6:30 shift for breakfast and a review of the animals we've been assigned. 

When I first arrived, the volunteer base was Norwegian and German, but now we're more United States heavy. They get a lot of people from Europe and North America. The vet techs interning here are from Canada, Mexico, and Guatemala. 

I've never seen a Macaw with an underbite before. This guy might be my favorite animal in the whole center. 

Camila, a Danish volunteer here for two months, gave me my first tour. This is the library!

...and the rattlesnake that lives in the library. For education purposes. 

They have an ARCAS in the news wall. 

The ARCAS property sits on just under 48 hectares of land bordering Lake Peten Itza. Huge! 

They have a seperate area for mammal and avian quarantine, an area called 'recuperation' for animals just out of  quarantine, pre-rehabilitation with larger cages, and rehabilitation, which is located quite far from the main clinic and quarantine, with enclosures the size of football fields for the animals nearing release. 

A jaguar and two jaguar cubs are currently in quarantine: the domain of the vets and CONAP workers. Beautiful, though. 

Camila leading me towards the main comissary and area where the volunteers work--recuperation and pre-rehabilitation!

The animals' cages in this area are large enough for breeding successes with deer and monkeys. It's really impressive. 

The comissary! We start here for our three shifts of the day: 6:30am, 11am, and 2pm. 

A quick picture of the vet clinic.

Map of the property. Lake Peten Itza is the blue on the bottom part. 

And man, is Peten Itza gorgeous. This is a path leading to where we can catch the ARCAS motorboat into Isla del Flores every Monday and Thursday between 3 and 6. 

This is the volunteer house! Equipped with 48 bunks, showers, and hammocks for quieter afternoons. Quite the capacity. 

They're in the process of building a breeding center for those younger animals that arrive needing special care. 

More volunteer house! We have a laundry machine and handwashing tank available to us. 

Funny....White-tailed deer breeding program. They aren't as common down here as they are in the states. The fawns are adorable. 

We have a large number of Spider Monkeys, and many with babies. 

I'm not as partial to the primates....but loooooook at that face. What a cutie. Baby Spider Monkey, just of the age to explore away from mama a bit. 

More macaws! The flight aviaries are quite large. This is in the pre-rehabilitation area. 

Great Curassows! 

Plain Chachalacas. Also birds we have in pre-rehab. 

Aside from the care areas, ARCAS also has an education center that's 15 quetzales for the public to visit. 

They have a number of informative installments, as well as many of the animals we can't release. 

Overfed crocodiles being some of those animals. 

Ocelot. 

...and any parrots that can talk or whistle. Such behaviors could be learned by wild populations if they were to be released, which could disrupt breeding. They're well-cared for by the CONAP staff here, at least, but it's sad when a bird arrives talking and can't be released. 

Outdoor flight aviaries for the non-releasable parrots. 

ARCAS also keeps a sheep paddock down by the lake. They get an awesome vista from their front porch. 

Exhibits detailing what happens on the arrival of mammals or birds in the education center. 

The bird species we have at ARCAS....

...and the mammal species. The vast majority of these animals are seized from illegal trafficking activities, or are surrendered pets. 

They maintain a pretty cool natural history collection as well. 

And someone liked Harpy Eagles. Hehe. 

At the shore of the lake and the education center, there's a dock where we can swim when we get off work. 

It's probably my favorite part of the entire center. Lovely to swim across the lake in the heat of the afternoon. 

It's been an excellent first two-plus weeks for many reasons. (My room, complete with a gazillion macaw feathers in the window from previous volunteers decorating.)

An insider's view of the rooms.

Spanish and the newest bird book to fill the free hours. This is when the computer decided it didn't want to turn my pictures around any longer...

The volunteer  handbook has a bunch of profiles of current CONAP workers. 

And current staff, as well! More on Fernando, the directing vet, Alejandro, the assistant vet, and Anna, the volunteer coordinator, in a bit. They're an incredibly dedicated team; they work around the clock, more or less seven days a week. 

Whereas we, the volunteers, escape across the lake to spend some time in town in the afternoons. This is the lower part of Lake Peten Itza!

Isla del Flores is across the bridge from Santa Elena. It's fairly touristy, but also quite quiet. Good street food. 

And colorful houses.

Most of the volunteers as of late have been hanging out in Hostel Amigos. I've had the pleasure of meeting a history professor from my home town, an ex-girlfriend of one of my study abroad friends, and an Italian Vet couple who know people I knoe in Ecuador there. Yay for international travel! 

Guatemala's version of sugarcane liquor is aguardente. So Costa Rica's Guaro, Ecuador's Zhumir, Brazil's Cacacha, and now this...

The lake is at its highest levels in over half a century. The lower waterfront is currently submurged...kids swim off of it, hanging on to the rusting streetlamps. 

Sunsets have these crazy crepuscular rays coming from the east---if any of the readers have an explanation for this, I'd love to know why! 

Pied-billed Grebes, American Coots, a number of mysterious seagulls, Neotropical Cormorants, grackles roosting at sunset. 

More on ARCAS and CONAP's progress with conservation in Peten to come in the following posts.  

In the meantime, I'll be watching all these USA-bound migrating birds coming and going from the ARCAS property. It's not too long now before I'll be following them!

Cheers, all.