Please, please visit the donkey sanctuary when you are visiting Bonaire and make a generous donation as Marina is not seeing as many tourists because of the bad road to the sanctuary. As a result, she is running into difficulty bringing in enough money to feed all those donkeys rescued. I know for hardy BTers, the road will be an "adventure." I worry that without adequate funding the donkeys rescued may have to be released because Marina will not have the money to feed them all. HELP!

hey pauline, going on our 9th trip in june will certainly go by the sanctuary again, it does seem to bee such a worthy cause, and a far as the road goes, don't know if it has improved, but the long drive around the park was to say the least challenging, so surely the road to the sanctuary can't be that bad

My children are so excited about visiting the sanctuary! My daughter has gotten some money from her piggy bank to donate, she loves all animals. A few bumps in the road won't stop us from getting there!

I would support this thread a visit to the Donkey Sanctuary is very well worthwhile. Don't worry about the trucks - they are pretty strong, you should try driving them across the park were the roads are a lot more extreme (ie makes the road to the Donkey Sanctuary seem like a motorway)

Hey Pauline,

I will bring my Mom there soon..how many donkeys are in the park approximately and what do they primarily eat?

Ann

Hello all! I would like to know the answer to Ann's question as well. I know apples (cut up without seeds) and carrots are good treats, but what else do they like?

I do have to admit on our first trip to Bonaire, we headed out to the sanctuary and turned around because of the road. Some others in our group made it all of the way and told us about it, so we went back and tried again. Getting there during the rainy season is a real hoot! However, it is so worth it! I especially like the young donkeys. Too cute!

You can make donations to the sanctuary over the internet. So if she is in desperate need right now, we can all send funds via www.supportbonaire.org. You can use your credit cards, but be sure to mark that you want it to go to the donkey sanctuary.

Can wait to visit again in May!

Hi Ann!!! they eat hay and horse feed as their main meal, which as you can imagine is very expensive to procure (shipping, etc.). and, yes, for treats, they love apples and carrots. But few people know how much they love to eat palm fronds--amazing I know that they could eat even the ones with needles! But I regularly trim the palm fronds at my house and give them to Marina. Perhaps if more people with houses and gardens on Bonaire gave Marina their palm fronds, that would also help!

Gotcha..how many are housed at the sanctuary approximately and how much land does she have now...what an endeavor...great Marina and the donkeys have you for PR.

There is also a "back" road to get to the sanctuary (not the one off the main road from the airport/Sorobon). We took this last time and it is dirt, and was rough, but not as rough as the main road. Of course, I don't remember how we got there (we got lost and had to call friends for directions again). I'll see if I can get those directions and post. Maybe Pauline knows. Aren't there over 300 donkey's at the sanctuary? Most live in the "Safari" park and live off the land (someone please correct me if this is not right.) This is what Marina told me last time. We adopted "Sandy" when she was a baby and when we went to see her for the first time she was grown and had been set free in the Safari Park so we didn't see her. The sick one's or mothers nursing are the one's we see on the cams. Then there is are the babies. They are housed in another area

When you leave Bonaire there is a donation box at the airport for the sanctuary. Just drop all those extra coins in the box and you can get through the metal detectors just fine. I always seem to have a pocket full at the end of a trip despite my best efforts to spend them.

You may have to look around for the donation box as it seems to have different locations some that are not easy to find.

Jim, I couldn't find it this last trip in February at all. Must be hiding. LOL! I did stop by the sanctuary and gave a donation there in person though.

So glad that you all are supportive!!! There are over 300 donkeys in the sanctuary now, and very soon the sanctuary will become a wonderful safari park through which you can drive, visit the donkeys, see iguanas and flamingos, and even stop for picnics in these beautiful picnic areas in the shade that Marina's husband Ed has built with his two helpers, Genaro and Georgio.
The safari park will be quite the experience with all the animals in their natural habitat.

In the planning stages is a cassette recorder and taped description of the flora and fauna of Bonaire for each car (in 3 different languages!), kind of what they give folks who tour museums, so you can stop at the numbered markers and get all kinds of information about the history of the donkeys, various plants, types of lizards, etc. There is even a unique round house for volunteers to live while helping Marina. p.s. she needs those also!

OK, now i've really got my curiosity up as to just how bad this ole road is, being a country boy i'm gonna have to go back just to see what all the fuss is about, that's what everybody did on sat nights in louisiana, had to find the worst roads just to see if you could get down them, the donkeys will just be an addded treat!

We are going to Bonaire end of June for two weeks. I'm as anxious to visit the donkeys as I am to dive. Definitely will contribute. In the states my two main places to contribute are the national parks conservatory and the humane. We always have dogs around and they are all dogs that someone has chosen to discard and or abuse. They are the most wonderful dogs because they have an innate sense that you love them and will keep them safe. Please keep the sanctuary going. The one thing that I am fearful of in going to Bonaire is not the crime, but how I will feel if I see neglected animals. Just have a very hard time with that. I am what in California is called a "tree hugger." (Not usually meant in a positive way.Can't wait to see the donkeys. If available, maybe Grasshopper could post back road directions. Thank you.

We are going to Bonaire end of June for two weeks. I'm as anxious to visit the donkeys as I am to dive. Definitely will contribute. In the states my two main places to contribute are the national parks conservatory and the humane society. We always have dogs around and they are all dogs that someone has chosen to discard and or abuse. They are the most wonderful dogs because they have an innate sense that you love them and will keep them safe. Please keep the sanctuary going. The one thing that I am fearful of in going to Bonaire is not the crime, but how I will feel if I see neglected animals. Just have a very hard time with that. I am what in California is called a "tree hugger." (Not usually meant in a positive way.Can't wait to see the donkeys. If available, maybe Grasshopper could post back road directions. Thank you.

Is it really necessary to remove the seeds from apples for the donkeys? I eat them myself.

Hi Jenny! Animals do not process food the way we do. I'm sure you know about caffeine and chocolate being bad for domestics. Avocado will kill parrots. Apple seeds contain cyanide and whereas humans can usually handle the amount in seeds, it varies with animals and within species. The variation within a species is determinate upon the age and health of the animal. As a rule at our animal sanctuary we de-seed everything to ensure we do not accidentally injure someone. We have 2 horses and a pony - no one gets seeds. Better to be safe than sorry. (Especially since we have one very old horse who has digestive problems.)

Perhaps if the donkeys ate apple seeds by the bushel they could be harmful.... but a handful of apples (with seeds) from a tourist won't be injurious.

I am glad you care so much for your animals, Prof. Tribs.

Jenny are you a vet? Have you ever seen what happens to an animal that was fed food that a person thought was alright because they, the person, were able to eat it? Just curious. You seem to patronize me with your last statement. Those who care about the animals, regardless of if they are tourists or not, would not let the few minutes it would take to cut up the food properly deter them from visiting. I stand by my original statement. It is not worth the risk. You might be correct in that most of the donkeys will not be harmed; but, unless you are a vet and can check out the donkey to determine its health before hand why take that risk? I care for sick and injured wildlife daily and because of that, I won't take the risk. Wouldn't want to do that to the donkey nor Marina.

I know, the majority are young and healthy at the sanctuary, but I am not trained to tell the difference so I take the five minutes and cut up the apples. The other thing good about cutting up the apples, you have more to pass around so that everyone gets a little yummy treat.

Prof. Tribs,

I wasn't trying to patronize you at all. I'm sorry if I came across that way. I was honestly stating that I'm glad that there are people like you who care so much about animals...

No I'm not a vet, but I'll soon (next month) have a degree in animal behavior & organismic biology. So I stand by my statement... A few apple seeds won't hurt a human, so they definitely won't hurt a donkey. Last time I was there I fed the donkeys cut up apples and did not remove the seeds. None of the employees/ volunteers checked my apples to make sure they were seedless. It just seems a bit riduculous to me. maybe if the donkeys ate apples all day long it might be worth your time, but this doesn't seem to be the case.

And to answer your question, I have never seen an animal get sick from human food. I have kept dogs my whole life & they LOVE chocolate. If they ate it by the pound, it might cause a problem, but a Hershey's kiss here and there has no effect. I have kept plenty of other animals, and I also have worked with manatees and we don't remove the seeds from the apples we feed them.

But this is a stupid arguement, and I 'm sorry for participating. It doesn't hurt to remove the seeds, and the conscientious donkey feeder should probably do this, just in case. I would hate to be wrong and see a donkey get sick, but I feel this is highly improbable and there really is no risk.

Prize winning race horses are permitted to eat apple seeds.

Dogs and Chocolate? Not good! My kids gave my JR a little piece of chocolate and she got very sick and threw up, had the runs all from a little piece of chocolate. Guess it shows you that every type of animal is different, my kids got very upset that they "thought" they were doing no harm to their little dog, but learned a lesson from it just the same. Took her to the vet and he confirmed she was not sick, but it was from the chocolate the kids gave her. Just thought I would add my little story about chocolate and dogs since I saw this.

Actually, I am a veterinarian and in my toxicology course we were taught that as little as 1/4 cup of apple seeds will KILL an adult dairy cow (1400-1600# - much bigger than a donkey). The seeds contain a cyanide compound.

I don't recall at the moment exactly how toxic they are to donkeys and horses... but as Jeanine said... better safe than sorry for the health of the donkeys.

Horse and cow digestive systems are more efficient at digesting plant material than ours is, and they can erode through the seed coatings to the toxic compounds much more readily than we can.

And yes, chocolate is toxic... milk chocolate not as bad, but the darker the chocolate, the more dangerous it is to dogs, and if you've ever seen a dog die from chocolate toxicity - you would never give it to them again!

Oh, and I'm not pulling rank, just passing along first hand information.

Apple seeds are deadly to our parrots so I can see why some animals could have a reaction to them. Chocolate and guacamole is also a no no for the birds.
We went to the sanctuary twice, it was nice to see that Marina has so much land now. The drive through park was great. Finally the donkeys have a place that is safe and the tourists have a drive up donkey feeding station! Our second visit was rained out. We managed to find two lone donkeys near the mangroves and put food way into the interior so the donkeys did not have to come near the road.
We did not see many "stray donkeys" on this trip. The ones we did see looked hungry! So please help Marina in donating money so she can feed and capture these last few strays!, plus maintain the wonderful park she has created.
Thanks again Marina and staff!

I will be visiting Bonaire in mid-June, and I will definitely visit the sanctuary. I just love that place. Like you, Sandy, I'm a tree-hugging, abandoned pet-rescuing, dirt worshipper, and proud of it! If Marina will let me, I also plan to volunteer at the sanctuary. I have no veterinary training, but I am hoping I can do something useful for the donkeys.
-- Anke

Anke, thank you for thinking of the donkey's You might want to give Marina a heads up in regard to when you are coming and when you would be available to volunteer. Last I heard she had a couple of people that were helping her out, and I know if she has advance notice it helps with her volunteer scheduling (at least this is what I was told) You can email Marina at info@donkeysanctuary.org.

Good advice,
I did some work at the DS last year, it was one very special day for me. I will be doing so again this trip. The job Marina has done, and still doing is OUTSTANDING!

P.S. I two am a tree hugger.

We visited the donkey sanctuary when we were there 2 weeks ago and someone has done a lot of work on the road. Not one hole all the way out - nice smooth dirt road.

I took a test drive out last night and it's true, the road is near perfect..a little bumpy at the beginning..if my ole beater can make it your rental can. Go see the donkeys...