Tasikoki Wildlife Rescue Centre is based in the northern most province of Sulawesi, the strange K-shaped island next to Borneo in Indonesia.  Sulawesi the largest island in Wallacea, which is rich in biodiversity and unique endemic wildlife, although often does not receive much attention for conservation.  North Sulawesi is a strategic location to deal with the regional issues of the illegal wildlife trade for three main reasons.

1) Due to the close proximity of the international border to the Philippines, wildlife from all over Indonesia have been smuggled through this point to reach the global market.  Manado and Bitung are major trade hubs from Indonesia to the rest of Asia.  Hence species from Sumatra, Kalimantan, Java, Papua and other parts of Wallacea have been confiscated here.  Due to the scale of the trade and habitat loss, it is often difficult to return these species back to their native habitat.

2) North Sulawesi is also a major trading hub between the rich west of Indonesia (Java) and the poor east (Muluku and Papua).  Several large bird markets in Jakarta, Yogyakarta and Surabaya have been infamous for selling protected species and many of the colourful parrots and lories as well as cockatoos come from Muluku and Papua.  Hence many species in the illegal parrot trade have been confiscated at this point.

3) The local people of Minahasa have a long tradition of hunting and consuming wildlife.  National laws for protection of endangered species are still difficult to enforce in this region, where babirusa and anoa have already been eaten out of existence and now locally extinct.  Many other endemic species are still under threat, thanks to habit loss and fragmentation combined with hunting for bushmeat.  Here sometimes monkeys are caught by accident in traps set for other animals, and are sold as pets where they spend their life either chained to a pole or in a small cage.

Tasikoki is along the coast just south from Bitung.

Directions are given below.