New Bridge for the Monkey Capuchin Community

Over the past few months, Alturas Wildlife Sanctuary have been monitoring a wild group of Capuchin monkeys in the area of Dominicalito. We noticed that this troop crosses the main road every day, often coming close to death due to the heavy traffic on the Costanera road. After receiving community support and collecting over 200 signatures from local businesses and residents, together with ICE (National Institute of Electricity), we have installed a wildlife bridge in the area.

Aerial crossings have the purpose of saving the life of wild animals like monkeys, sloths, squirrels and kinkajous that would otherwise been forced to cross the road to get from one part of their habitat to the other. Thousands of animals are injured or killed by cars every year in the area. Some of these injured animals are rescued by our sanctuary and receive veterinary care, with the hopes of releasing the animals back into the wild.

Unfortunately, however, the number of animals that are killed by cars is higher than those that are just injured. Here at Alturas Wildlife Sanctuary, we are trying to address the issue before more animals get hurt or killed. ICE has previously installed over 60 biological crossings in the South Pacific in order to reduce the number of road traffic accidents as well as wildlife electrocutions. We are proud to partner with ICE to improve the lives of our local wildlife.

Over the next year, together with ICE, we plan to repair existing wildlife bridges and build more crossings in the area. Such collaborations between institutions, organizations and communities are crucial for the success of such initiatives. Come and see the monkeys who were rescued or run over and badly injured, now they are now recovering. Many of these accidents happened before the great invention and the construction of the aerial passages. The Wild Sanctuary of Villas Alturas is open every day, with the exception of Monday. Please book your visit in advance!


By Amy Whatley

INFO: education@villasalturas.com

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