Stop The Shocks

Project Summary

The Stop the Shocks program works to prevent wildlife electrocutions, particularly among howler monkeys, caused by uninsulated power lines and transformers. While burying cables is the ideal solution, unfortunately it is very costly and extremely difficult to do in retrospect.

We have collaborated with the Instituto Costarricense de Electricidad (ICE) to implement solutions like insulating power lines, insulating transformers, installing rope bridges, and strategical tree trimming.

We are also collecting data on electrocution incidents to guide interventions and push for better law enforcement. With the number of electrocution cases we respond to rising every year, these efforts are crucial to protecting local wildlife.

Local Partner: IAR Costa Rica

Project aims and impact:

The Full Story

Rapid economic development and increased tourism in Costa Rica have disrupted the connectivity of the landscape through land degradation and habitat fragmentation, which poses a severe threat to Costa Rica’s wildlife. Electrocution is the number one killer of howler monkeys in Costa Rica. Sadly, the monkeys don’t know the difference between electrical wires and natural vines and will often travel across wires to get to feeding grounds.

The ultimate solution would be to bury all electrical cables underground, eliminating the risk of wildlife electrocutions altogether. Unfortunately, this is a very expensive endeavor that requires significant financial resources and infrastructure investment, making it an improbable option. Therefore, we focus on implementing preventive methods to mitigate the risk.

ICE refers to the Instituto Costarricense de Electricidad, which translates to the Costa Rican Institute of Electricity. It is the government-owned electricity and telecommunications service provider in Costa Rica, responsible for generating, transmitting, and distributing electricity throughout the country.

Legally, ICE is the only entity authorised to install protective materials and wildlife bridges on or over electrical infrastructure. Therefore, IAR facilitates these initiatives by working closely with ICE and approved suppliers.

Mitigation Activities

TREE TRIMMING

To prevent howler monkeys and other wildlife from accessing power lines, tree branches near electrical distribution lines need to be cut. This reduces the risk of wild animals reaching and coming into contact with live wires.

ROPE BRIDGES

In areas of deforestation, rope bridges are installed to provide safe aerial pathways for arboreal wildlife to travel between habitats. These bridges must be placed strategically to ensure they create a specific path that keeps wildlife from needing to go down to the ground. This placement is crucial to prevent wildlife from encountering other dangers, such as car strikes or dog attacks, and to ensure they have a safe passage.

INSULATING POWER LINES AND TRANSFORMERS

Installing insulated cables and wildlife protection covers for transformers helps prevent electrocutions, reducing the risk of harm if wildlife comes into contact with these structures.

Explore The Data

Reporting every wildlife accident is an essential part of protecting the animals of Costa Rica. With accurate information, we are able to prioritise dangerous locations and stop wildlife injuries and deaths. We use the data to identify hotspots of particularly dangerous electrical infrastructure and pass this information on to ICE for a speedy resolution.

The data collected is also submitted to the government to lobby for change in enforcement of the wildlife protection laws.