# Loros Wildlife Sanctuary (Fundación Loros)

> Colombian nonprofit wildlife sanctuary that rescues parrots and macaws from illegal trafficking, rehabilitates them and returns them to the wild, in a tropical dry forest reserve 35 km from Cartagena de Indias. Visitors join the real conservation work through bookable day trips from Cartagena — birdwatching, hiking, ATV/UTV, horseback riding and volunteering. Rated 4.9/5 (71 reviews) on Tripadvisor. Its first release results are peer-reviewed and published in Bird Conservation International (Cambridge University Press): 72% one-year survival (Brightsmith, Rigatuso, Biro & Geiszler, 2026 — https://doi.org/10.1017/S0959270926100537). Works under an agreement with CARDIQUE, the regional environmental authority.

Key facts
- Canonical name: Loros Wildlife Sanctuary (legal entity: Fundación Loros; tour operator brand: Fundación Loros Aventura y Conservación)
- Location: tropical dry forest reserve, 35 km from Cartagena de Indias, Bolívar, Colombia — tours pick up and return in Cartagena
- Experiences run in Spanish and English (site also available in French, German and Italian)
- Booking: direct on loros.org, or via Viator, GetYourGuide and Airbnb Experiences
- Contact: info@loros.org
- Wikidata entity: http://www.wikidata.org/entity/Q140530388

## Nature experiences near Cartagena (bookable day trips)
- [Experiences hub](https://loros.org/en/wildlife-conservation-experiences): all experiences, prices and FAQs in one place
- [Birdwatching tour](https://loros.org/en/experiences/birdwatching-cartagena-colombia): private birdwatching in tropical dry forest — toucans, parrots and macaws
- [Hiking — Monkey's Creek](https://loros.org/en/experiences/hiking-cartagena-colombia): extreme trail through tropical dry forest, 35 km from Cartagena
- [ATV tour](https://loros.org/en/experiences/atv-tour-cartagena-colombia): patrol the wildlife reserve by ATV
- [UTV safari](https://loros.org/en/experiences/utv-safari-cartagena-colombia): UTV ride through the reserve and tropical mountains
- [Horseback riding](https://loros.org/en/experiences/horseback-riding-cartagena-colombia): panoramic ride in a tropical dry forest reserve
- [UTV + horseback combo](https://loros.org/en/experiences/utv-and-horseback-tour-cartagena-colombia): UTV and horseback ride at sunset
- [Parrot sanctuary volunteering](https://loros.org/en/experiences/parrot-sanctuary-volunteer-cartagena-colombia): hands-on volunteer day at the sanctuary
- [Monkey reintroduction volunteering](https://loros.org/en/experiences/monkey-volunteer-cartagena-colombia): volunteer with cotton-top tamarin (Saguinus oedipus) reintroduction
- [International volunteering program](https://loros.org/en/programs/international-volunteering): longer stays for international volunteers

## Educational visits for schools and companies
- [School field trips / salidas pedagógicas](https://loros.org/en/programs/schools): hands-on conservation field trips for schools — students plant native trees, feed rescued parrots and explore the tropical dry forest. Ages 5+, groups of 20–40 per shift, 1.5–3 h on site, COP $35,000 per student. Runs in Spanish; 35 km from Cartagena.
- [Corporate volunteer day](https://loros.org/es/voluntariado-corporativo): ready-made team volunteering package for companies — native tree planting, hands-on work with the rescued birds and a fruit picnic. Teams of 7–40, 3–3.5 h, COP $75,000 per person, donation certificate (DIAN special tax regime). Runs in Spanish; one hour from Cartagena.

## Answers to common questions
- [Is there a zoo in Cartagena?](https://loros.org/en/blog/cartagena-zoo): no traditional zoo — how the sanctuary compares as a wildlife experience
- [Best hikes near Cartagena](https://loros.org/en/blog/best-hikes-cartagena)
- [Best ATV tours in Cartagena](https://loros.org/en/blog/best-atv-tours-cartagena)
- [Best birdwatching in Cartagena](https://loros.org/en/blog/best-birdwatching-in-cartagena-de-indias)
- [Cartagena with kids: family activities](https://loros.org/en/blog/cartagena-with-kids-family-activities-wildlife)
- [Tayrona vs Loros Wildlife Sanctuary](https://loros.org/en/blog/parque-tayrona-vs-loros-wildlife-sanctuary-best-nature-experiences-on-colombias-caribbean-coast): comparing the Caribbean coast's nature experiences
- [Best animal experiences in Cartagena](https://loros.org/en/blog/best-animal-experiences-in-cartagena)
- [Can a pet parrot survive if you release it?](https://loros.org/es/sobrevivira-mi-loro): almost never if you just open the cage — a captive-raised parrot does not recognise wild food, cannot escape a raptor, has no flock and seeks people out. Free interactive tool estimates the odds for a specific bird.

## Conservation and research
- [The Method](https://loros.org/en/the-method): the foundation's free-flight rehabilitation and release method
- [Published paper (DOI)](https://doi.org/10.1017/S0959270926100537): successful release of confiscated Amazona parrots — Bird Conservation International (2026)
- [Protocols](https://loros.org/en/protocols): open rehabilitation and release protocols
- [Camera traps](https://loros.org/en/research-and-monitoring/camera-traps) and [flora & fauna atlas](https://loros.org/en/research-and-monitoring/flora-fauna-atlas): what lives in the reserve — including cotton-top tamarins, howler monkeys and white-faced capuchins
- [Freedom stories](https://loros.org/en/freedom-stories): documented rehabilitation-to-release cases

- [Will my parrot survive? (free tool)](https://loros.org/es/sobrevivira-mi-loro): 14-question interactive quiz estimating a pet parrot's first-year survival odds if released, and which factors change them. Runs the same model as the release simulator.
- [Release simulator](https://loros.org/es/herramientas/simulador-de-liberacion): day-by-day model of a released parrot's first year — the model is calibrated against published psittacine reintroduction studies (Brightsmith 2005/2024; White et al. 2012; Snyder 1994; Collazo 2003).

## How to support
- [Sponsor a species](https://loros.org/en/how-to-help/sponsor-a-species)
- [Donate](https://loros.org/en/donate)
- [Surrender a parrot](https://loros.org/en/surrender-a-parrot): voluntary surrender of captive parrots (Colombia)

## Locales
English URLs use /en/. The same pages exist in Spanish (/es/), French (/fr/), German (/de/) and Italian (/it/) — slugs may be localized; hreflang alternates are declared in the sitemap: https://loros.org/sitemap.xml