Adopt a Cat-Cam
RAFIKI CAT-CAM PROJECT · SAVEGRE VALLEY, COSTA RICA
Help students launch a wild cat camera-trap program in the Savegre Valley, in Costa Rica's Talamanca Mountains, part of a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve. Ten cameras. Young scientists from everywhere. One $25,000 goal.
Why wild cats
Six cats. One valley.
Wild cats are the ultimate introverts. You could walk the forest for a week and never see one. That's what makes them so special, and so hard to protect: you can't care for neighbors you never get to meet.
Pumas have been seen on the Rafiki reserve. The Savegre Valley is home to five more of Costa Rica's six wild cats: the ocelot, margay, oncilla, jaguarundi and the elusive jaguar. So far, only pumas are confirmed on the reserve. Our camera traps will help us find out who else is out there.
Some of our wild neighbors are getting a second chance, too. With our friends at Alturas Wildlife Sanctuary, Rafiki releases rehabilitated jaguarundis and margays back into the wild on the reserve. Rescue, rehabilitate, release: that's friendship in action. The cameras will help us see how they're doing once they're home.
Costa Rica's six wild cats
Puma: seen on the Rafiki reserve
Jaguar: the elusive giant of the forest
Ocelot: a spotted night hunter
Margay: a tree-climbing acrobat
Oncilla: one of the smallest wild cats in the Americas
Jaguarundi: a sleek cat often out by day
The camera-trap program
A camera trap never blinks.
A motion-triggered camera waits patiently, day and night, for whoever wanders by. The Rafiki Cat-Cam Project puts 10 Reconyx camera traps in the forest of our reserve, and students do the science.
Our reserve is an outdoor classroom where up to 20 kids and students from everywhere, with scholarships for those who need them, learn conservation by living in the forest. Cat-Cam turns them into real field scientists.
Learn. Students learn how camera traps work and choose sites with a local Savegre guide.
Set. They mount the cameras in steel security boxes along the reserve's trails and ridgelines.
Check. They swap memory cards and batteries, then sort the photos, with free AI help from Wildlife Insights.
Share. They ID species, log real records and share what they find with our partners and with schools back home.
Will a margay tiptoe past? A jaguarundi? Nobody but the forest knows, and that's what makes checking the cards so exciting.
Schools and groups: Bring your school, camp or program to set and check the cameras with us. Cat-Cam fits Rafiki's 1-week, 2-week and advanced custom programs.
What $25,000 buys
Every dollar goes to the Rafiki Cat-Cam Project: cameras, computers, equipment, local guides and sharing the project so more students can join.
10 Reconyx HyperFire 2 camera traps, one for each forest station: $5,700
Steel security boxes, cable locks and mounts for all 10 cameras: $1,800
A year of lithium batteries and memory cards for all 10 cameras: $1,800
Field laptop, backup drives and cloud storage, so no photo gets lost: $1,960
Shipping, import duties and customs to get the gear to Costa Rica: $1,450
32 field days with a local Savegre guide who sets and checks cameras and leads student field days: $3,040
Student field kits, ID cards, lesson plans and virtual sessions, so students from everywhere can join: $1,800
Data analysis, a year-end report and a student showcase: $900
Training 2 educators and presenting Cat-Cam at the Association for Experiential Education (AEE) conference: $3,000
Showcasing Cat-Cam at the American Camp Association (ACA) National Conference in Louisville, Kentucky, February 2027: $3,200
Contingency for price changes, exchange rates or duty surprises: $350
Total: $25,000
Most costs are planning estimates. The camera line is pending a Reconyx education-discount quote.
Your gift also helps us share Cat-Cam with educators at the AEE conference and with camp directors at the ACA National Conference in Louisville in February 2027, so even more kids and students from everywhere, with scholarships for those who need them, can join.
Sponsor levels
Be a friend to a wild cat
Rafiki means "friend" in Swahili. Pick a piece of the project to sponsor, or give any amount. Every gift goes to the Rafiki Cat-Cam Project fund.
Adopt a Cat-Cam
$600
Helps put one Reconyx camera trap in the forest. You name the camera, get its best photos (picked by our student scientists) and receive a "Certified Rafiki" certificate. Only 10 to adopt: a wonderful gift for a family, a class or the cat lover in your life.
Student Crew
$400
Helps give ten student scientists their field kits, with a notebook, headlamp and ID guide, including scholarship students.
Field Week
$475
Helps cover five field days with a local Savegre guide, setting and checking cameras with students.
Lock It Down
$180
Helps protect one camera with a steel security box, cable lock and mount.
Power a Cat-Cam
$180
Helps keep one camera running all year with lithium batteries and two memory cards.
Every gift helps, from $25 up. The forest decides who shows up: we can't promise a wild cat on any camera, but every photo becomes real student data.
Partners
Working together for wild cats
Alturas Wildlife Sanctuary: our partner in rescue, rehabilitation and release. Together we release rehabilitated jaguarundis and margays on the Rafiki reserve.
RADICAL (radical.eco): the alliance building a wildlife corridor across Costa Rica from the Pacific to the Caribbean, so wild cats have room to roam.
ASANA: our local Costa Rican conservation partner in the region.
Reconyx: maker of the HyperFire 2 camera traps at the heart of the project.
Give
Be a Rafiki today
Give a wild cat a friend. Your gift puts cameras in the forest and puts young scientists, from everywhere, behind them. Together, let's find out who's out there.
Questions, school groups or sponsorships? Contact Vanessa Boshoff, Founder & Executive Director, at wildernessa@mac.com or 307-200-5424.
Rafiki Safari Foundation is a Wyoming 501(c)(3) nonprofit, EIN 42-3563292. Donations are tax-deductible to the extent allowed by law.