The Speaker Method: A Novel Release Method for Offspring Mammals and 5-Year Study on Three Costa Rican Mammals

• Published in: Animals (Basel) Vol. 13; no. 23; p. 3669
• Main Authors: García-Vila, Encarnación, Such, Roger, Martín-Maldonado, Bárbara, Tarròs, Elena, L Sorribes, Elisa, Calvo-Fernandez, Cristina
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Switzerland MDPI AG 27.11.2023
• Subjects: Alouatta palliata; Analysis; Animals; Behavior; Biodiversity; Bradypus variegatus; Choloepus hoffmanni; Diet; Endangered & extinct species; Environmental protection; Forests; Habitats; Methods; rehabilitation; release; rescue center; Wildlife conservation; Wildlife rescue; Spain; Costa Rica; Bradypus variegatus; Choloepus hoffmanni; conservation; rehabilitation; Alouatta palliata; release; rescue center; wildlife
• ISSN: 2076-2615; 2076-2615
• DOI: 10.3390/ani13233669

Nowadays, wild animals are threatened by humans, with the number of species and individuals decreasing during recent years. Wildlife rescue centers play a vital role in the conservation of wildlife populations. This study aims to describe a new release technique, the Speaker Method, to rescue and facilitate the reunion of different baby mammals that arrived at a wildlife rescue center with their mothers within their natural habitat, avoiding the need for captivity. This method is based on a recorded baby's cry played on a speaker to make a "call effect" in the mother. The efficacy of the Speaker Method for babies' reunion with their mothers was 45.8% in Hoffmann's two-toed sloths ( ) and 91.9% in brown-throated sloths ( ). Among the mantled howler monkeys ( ), 50% of the babies could be released using this new technique. The findings suggest that the method could be helpful in the early release of young individuals, highlighting higher release outcomes in these three species compared to traditional nursery care provided by human caretakers, who face inherent difficulties in raising young animals without their mothers.