Help us fund pygmy raccoon conservation initiatives!
Hi friends! I am back with another request to fund ongoing pygmy raccoon conservation initiatives. Here are the details:
I am currently working in partnership with the Cozumel Municipal Ecology Department to find actionable ways to keep critically endangered pygmy raccoons alive. Right now, there is almost no infrastructure for rehabilitating and releasing orphaned and injured animals. We are working on changing that. Thanks to previous donations, we have already been able to purchase a small plot of land and hope to start building sanctuary enclosures soon. However, we hope to conduct an ongoing study to determine the efficacy of new rehabilitation procedures and protocols in development. Part of this involves tracking the animals to see if these changes are actually working, and finding any issues so that we can fix them.
Right now, a baby pygmy raccoon named Mapas is in the care of my research partner (who oversees all animal rescue on the island). Mapas is being raised with the intent to release under current procedures and protocol. Nobody has any idea how these current rehab methods are working, so we hope we can track Mapas after release to get a baseline of efficacy.
To do this, we need about $1,600 to purchase a receiver ($1,099), an antenna ($210), a collar transmitter ($225), and shipping ($50). While the collar is kind of a one time use thing (that lasts up to a year,) the receiver and antenna will be used going forward during the formal study next year when I return to Cozumel, and in the years to come. This is a very worthwhile investment to let us track the species.
If you are interested in donating for this project, you can do so in the following ways:
Venmo (Please leave a note about a donation for pygmy raccoon tracking)
Paypal (Please leave a note about a donation for pygmy raccoon tracking)
Credit or debit card on the Nature Conscious Tourism Initiative website
All donations through all platforms are tax deductible, and I can provide a receipt if needed. Just send me a message here or through the contact form on the NCTI website.
If you have any further questions, please let me know!
jacobvanloon
jbbartram-illu
yousharknotpass
prguitarman
dailybridgerton
gummygunk
