SAN DIEGO — Returning animals to the wild is the best part of the job for Andy Blue.

He’s the director of Ramona Wildlife Center, a part of Project Wildlife and San Diego Humane Society that takes care of sick, injured and orphaned wildlife. The facility focuses on rehabilitating and releasing native apex predators, including bobcats, coyotes and bears. It is among the four licensed bear rehabilitation centers in California.

Blue said a big part of the job is assessing whether an animal is ready to be returned to the wild, or if they need more time to heal.

“Not only their size, but also how they act,” he said. “We want to make sure they can hunt and forage on their own.”

Blue’s passion for helping wildlife is on display all around his office: a photo of him leading a zebra to a medical procedure, another of him looking after a baby rhino with an injured leg, a plaque commemorating 37 years of dedication to San Diego Zoo Global.

Blue started working at the San Diego Zoo Safari park when he was 16 years old, working his way up to a curator. Throughout his long career at the zoo, he helped design many of the animal enclosures while transporting animals internationally between zoological facilities. He also played a key role in many reintroduction programs among various organizations around the world.

Blue is a powerhouse in the zoological community, improving animal welfare in Russia, Ukraine, Southeast Asia, Latin America and the Middle East.  

“Most of my vacations are spent going to other places,” he admitted with a chuckle.

Cuba’s national zoo extended a rare invitation to Blue to help with their black rhino breeding program. Black rhinos are critically endangered because of the demand for their horns. The zoo in Havana is hoping to reproduce more in captivity, helping to preserve the species if it goes extinct in the wild.

Blue said the embargo against Cuba makes it hard for staff to travel to learn animal welfare knowledge at other facilities, so he came to them. He funds almost all of his trips out of his own pocket, collecting supplies where he can and accepting any donations. For a recent trip, he packed suitcases full of things like medications for zoo animals and domestic pets, as well as vitamins and over-the-counter medications for people.

Blue said items Americans take for granted, like heartworm medication for your pet or ibuprofen, are hard to find in Cuba.

“Animal people look out for each other,” he said. “Them thinking that I’ll come all the way there and bring all these supplies. They’re so appreciative. To me, that really makes it. I just want to get everything there. I don’t even care how I get home. I just want to get my stuff, get it delivered, help them as best as I can, and then go home.”

Blue held workshops on animal welfare and enrichment, and shared his knowledge on how to make enclosures more comfortable for the animals and ways to take care of any babies that are produced through their breeding program.

Alexander Arango, a Cuban zoo specialist in exotic wildlife, knows the history of every rhino under his care.

“He’s very tame, he’s very meek,” Arango said of one of their male black rhinos. “He’s 14 years old. He’s one of two males that came from Namibia. They all came from the same area.”

Arango hopes Blue’s visit will help them continue to take care of their animals and increase their success with saving threatened species.

“At first they’d fight, but not anymore,” Arango said, describing some of their challenges to Blue. “But he’s matured. [The rhino] was more immature, and I’ve read that’s one of the reproductive issues they have in the U.S. too. Let’s hope that the info you gave us will help!”

Blue is now back at work, keeping a watchful eye on the animals under his care, but he’s already planning his next trip to go somewhere else to help.

“We all just want what’s best for the animals. And Cuba, I would say, is one of the most welcoming and most appreciative people that I’ve worked with,” he said. “If I can provide the most minimal improvement for an animal in an enclosure, it’s worth whatever the cost to get there.”

Blue says he would love to go back and help the Havana zoo once a year. He is trying to figure out how to ship more supplies to them year round.