About Us

A baby Red Howler Monkey that was a victim of wildlife trafficking arrives to our rehabilitation center..

Colombia has 10% of the worlds´ biodiversity; in other words, one out of every 10 plant and animal species exists in the country. (Conservation International). Habitat destruction due to agricultural expansion and drug plants cultivation is a very serious problem in Colombia imperiling the survival status of a great number of species. Countryside poverty plus the displacement of great number of peasants due to the internal civil war has increased the illegal wildlife traffic and poaching activity furthering the pressure on species already considered endangered or critically endangered. Environmental authorities have increased the confiscation of wildlife but no official, sound nationwide plan exist for the rehabilitation and release of the confiscated individuals. Some of the local zoos serve as recipients only for a few of the animals due to lack of adequate housing facilities and space.

Some of the zoos in the country serve as quarantine and holding stations for wildlife confiscated by the environmental authorities. Due to the high number of seizures, programs and centers for the rehabilitation, reproduction, reintroduction of these individuals are clearly needed. The magnitude of this traffic also determined the need of implementing sustainable economic alternatives for the people and communities that make a living from illegal hunting and trade of wildlife, accompanied with educational programs in such a way that these programs could be implemented and maintained in the future. The need for an organization to plan and develop these projects was determined and consequently, Fundacion Ecolombia (now Santa Fe Ecological Foundation), a private, non-profit institution, was created in 1.999.

Our Mission

An abused baby Red Howler Monkey is nursed back to health.

Santa Fe Ecological Foundation, a nonprofit, private institution, and sister organization of the Santa Fe Zoo in Medellín, was created with the following goals:

To rehabilitate and release confiscated/donated wildlife, particularly primates and develop conservation studies and plans for these species.
To reproduce critically endangered endemic species.
To offer the individuals and communities involved in the illegal wildlife activity an alternative source of income.
To promote environmental education programs to teach responsible behavior and attitude towards the environment.
To create a sustainable future in which people and nature can live harmony.
To promote sustainable economic alternatives to illegal wildlife traffic of fauna and flora, specifically for the communities that live off this activity.
To promote and manage rehabilitation and reproduction centers for native wildlife particularly for those species with risk of extinction.
To promote educational programs that prevent the hunting, capture and trade of wildlife.