Category: Non classé

It has been a busy month at EV in which even Douwe and Geiler got to join in the feeding-tours. Rainy season is in full swing, but luckily the mosquito population has decreased.

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Monkeys

Nera (female adult capuchin) gave birth this month to a healthy baby, of which the gender is still unknown.
Milana, the baby of Mica is growing fast, and has even been seen carried by the alpha male Maku, which is not an ordinary thing within capuchins.
It is amazing to walk outside at EV and see all these monkeys of different species swinging through the trees. We now have 14 brown capuchins, 2 white-fronted capuchins, 12 woolly monkeys, 4 howler monkeys, 3 spider monkeys and 1 night monkey. So far they all get along well.
Of course there are some quarrels but our ‘king’ Kamari (alpha male woolly monkey) has it all under control. The three howler monkeys, Darwin, Cesar, and Kaya (only female) are doing well within the group. They are outside during the day and sleep at night in the Roko-cage. There they are joined by Mayantu (female young brown capuchin) at night. All four happily in a sleeping box! The now young night monkey Luna (female) has been moved to an outside cage to get acquainted with the outside monkeys.
Sira (our outside female night monkey) has been visiting her already. Otis, the young male is still being kept at the family house but is brought daily to spend some time with Luna, till he moves around confident enough to join her full time.

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Other Mammals

We hardly every mention them but our peccaries Quintisha, Kohana and Timo, are doing well. We tried moving them to the Rincay-enclosure, so we could move Ringo (male deer) to theirs, but they wouldn’t have it. They are strong willed and are very capable of digging under the fence to get back to their own enclosure! So for now we have given up trying, and Ringo stays (temporarily) in the enclosure surrounding the family house.
Rabito (male deer) is doing fine in the deer enclosure. Unfortunately he still copes with a skin problem, so we decide to stall the introduction of Ringo for now.
Ruena (female tayra) was moved to the Zambo-cage, and has been taken on her first walk outside with Douwe to get to know the forest.
After a full recovery and gaining sufficient weight, Lulu (female two-toed sloth) has been released again.
Kila and Kiko (female and male kinkajous) have been released again, and so far so good. We found out that Kila has been in a fight with an adult wild female, and we just hope that at some point they come to an understanding!

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Birds

Neo (orange winged amazon) has found the company of the two white-eyed parakeets (one of them a well-known bird named Pichu) in the non-flyer cage (IGOR). For some time there was a white-eyed parakeet on the outside. We assume this is one of a group which we released more than a year ago, and decide to visit his old friends.

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SUST Animal Orphan Hospital

With the three howler monkeys, Darwin, Cesar, and Kaya having moved out, as well as Ruena and Lulu gone, the clinic has been quiet for a while. However even with most of the cages empty in is still always busy enough at the clinic. Milk is being prepared and distributed from there, faeces samples are being examined, and a general deworming of all outside monkeys has been carried out.
New young Ronya (female brown capuchin baby) has been moved permanently to a small cage in the clinic, and is taken on daily walks through the forest.
For a week we closed in Samara, Uma and Maruja. Especially Samara had several botflies and lost a lot of weight. All three were treated for Prosthenorchis Elegans, a parasite that regularly causes health problems and is very difficult to get rid of.

Donna Simmons (an Australian veterinarian and old friend) came back for a visit, and together with Douwe and Janneke (our student volunteer) they performed several castrations of dogs in the village. Several families from the village have been asking for our help, so as soon as Donna arrived we put her skills to good use. We set up an operation table in our building in the village. Thank you Donna for doing a great job!

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New Arrivals at the Hospital

One new arrival this month was Koru, a purple gallinule or purple swamphen. It is very young and still has baby feathers, so it was taken in at the family house for intensive care. After a week he or she was already eating on their own and could be moved to the clinic.

2018 at Esperanza Verde is off to a busy start! With both new animals and old animals, exciting things are always happening here.

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Monkeys

Mica (female adult capuchin) and her baby which has been named Milana (female) are doing great! They are both healthy and Milana was recently seen spending time off of her mother and practicing pushing up on her arms which is excellent progress for such a young capuchin.

Tawaki and Naka (woolly monkeys) are also doing well. They spend their days outside playing and exploring with the other monkeys and go to sleep at night in Pepe cage.

The two baby night monkeys, Luna (female) and Otis (male), are still being kept at the family house but now spend some time each night in an outside cage with a volunteer to help them get used of being outside. Luna will be the first to be moved outside and Otis will soon follow once he grows a bit bigger.

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Other Mammals

We are excited to announce that Rufus (wild male porcupine) has successfully been released from Zambo cage into the wild with his tail healed! Good job Douwe and Donna!
Lulu (female two-toed sloth) has unexpectedly had to return to the clinic due to an abscess in her nose. She is currently receiving antibiotics and being monitored.

Due to Kila being found with an injured tail, both her and Kiko (both kinkajous) have been enclosed but she has just completed getting treatment and they are going to be let out again so they can roam in the area around their cage.

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Birds

We have some very sad news that unfortunately Churi (many-banded aracari) has passed away. We know this news will be sad for many volunteers as it has been for us: he will be greatly missed. He had ongoing problems with his feet which seemed to be doing well for a while but in the end took his life.

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Reptiles

Vivil (male yellow-footed tortoise) just completed his three month quarantine and is now parasite free. He has been moved to the reptile cage to be with the other tortoises.

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SUST Animal Orphan Hospital

The three howler monkeys, Darwin, Cesar, and Kaya (only female) have been doing great. They are currently transitioning out of the clinic into Roko cage full time. They have been spending most of their days outside playing and climbing with the other monkeys.
Mayantu (female young capuchin) has also been spending most of her days outside but still sleeps in the clinic. She often joins the capuchin group outside and stays with them for long periods of time playing and following the group.

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New Arrivals at the Hospital

On a recent trip to Pucallpa the ministry gave three new animals to Esperanza Verde. The animals were donated to the ministry after a recent campaign working to educate people on why wild animals’ shouldn´t be kept as pets.

The first is a baby female capuchin (on arrival about 6 weeks old) that is doing very well. She has just received a name after much collaboration and will be called Ronya. She is currently being cared for by volunteers at the volunteer house at night and then in the clinic during the day.
The second was a baby male tamandua which unfortunately passed away a few days after arriving possibly due to an infection in his intestines.

And thirdly we received a young female tayra that has been named Ruena. She has been keeping the volunteers busy trying to come up with new enrichment to satisfy her high energy. Ruena is completing a quarantine period in the clinic after which she will be moved to the Zambo cage. From there we will start to introduce her to daily walks through the forest.

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Volunteers

This annual newsletter comes to you in a new form and layout. We decided to share with you only the most important happenings over the last year, as the rest is shared with you through our regular  month-updates on our blog.

We received very good news from our Communications Manager in England, Lauren Young, that Lush Cosmetics was willing to finance several of the necessary constructions. Some that have been  finalized are the new deer enclosure for Rabito and Ringo, the reptile pond and a new release cage for small mammals/birds. Thank you Lush Cosmetics !

From Holland we got news from the  “Jaap van de Graaf” foundation for the welfare of animals. They decided to contribute to the welfare of the animals at Esperanza Verde with a huge donation for the general animal care taking. After meeting them in Holland, they decided to help us build the so much needed quarantine and as if this was not enough they also committed to helping us  with the general animal caretaking costs for the next three years! Thank you foundation “Jaap van de Graaf” !

Thanks to the continuous support of the Susy Utzinger Stifting, in Switzerland, we have been helping many animals in the clinic. This year the “Susy Utzinger Stiftung” also financed one of our  release cages, the Tiliku cage. Thank you !

But not all was good this year, as we had some severe loses, some of them happening within a month. We had to say goodbye to one of our favorites, our beloved tapir Rincay. As well Zambo,  Willow and Camila were among the ones we lost in this short time. Those moments make it very hard; especially with the ones we so intensively took care for in the beginning and were doing so  well.

Unfortunately the illegal animal trade is still a huge problem so there is not much time to mourn. When new animals, arrive, we get up and start helping again. And thanks to all the hard working  and dedicated volunteers and support from outside, morally as well as financially we can make a change for so many animals.

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Constructions

Thanks to several donations we have been able to build the following enclosures and buildings :

– Reconstruction of the turtle pond in the reptile cage.
– A deer enclosure, for our two male deer, Rabito and Ringo.
– A guesthouse for special visits from outside Peru or within Peru, e.g. veterinarians, people from the Ministry, etc.
– A new release-cage for birds or small mammals.
– A storage building with two compartments, one for human food supplies and one for the tools for constructions.
– Reparation of the Rincay and Xena enclosures.

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SUST Animal Orphan Hospital

Our clinic was never empty. It has been very often used as quarantine for new animals, but also served for many treatments necessary for our resident animals. It made us realize how important it  is becoming that we start planning for a real quarantine. With the amount of resident animals growing, it is necessary to keep a strict separation from those animals with new animals.
Thanks to Susy Utzinger, we are now also able to help the dogs and cats in the village. As we did last year we had a deworming campaign in the village, Bello Horizonte. Many people came with  their dogs or cats, and it was a big success. Not only because we could deworm so many, but as important is the educational aspect of the campaign. Making people aware of the importance of taking good care of their pets is a first start in giving all animals a better life. We will now make this a yearly campaign as part of the SUST clinic at  Esperanza Verde.

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New Animals

From December 2016 till December 2017 we have received a total of 65 new animals. 29 animals arrived from the Ministry of Flora and Fauna in Pucallpa, their origin mainly being confiscated within the illegal trade (on markets). 36 animals arrived from private persons, mainly from people who live in the surrounding (from Bello Horizonte to Curimana) who had them as pets. Two were born at Esperanza Verde. For more specific details on each individual you can read their story in our blog on our website.

Mammals (41) :

– 4 Howler monkeys (Alouatta sara), 3 males (Wallace, Darwin, Cesar), 1 female (Kaya).
– 2 Spider monkeys (Ateles chamek), 1 female (Cumala), and her son (Cuma), about to be released in the centre.
– 1 White fronted capuchin (Cebus albifrons), Kaito, released and disappeared.
– 8 Brown capuchins (Cebus apella), 7 females (Rioma, Tisha, Lia, Selma, Mayantu, Kres, Kurima), 1 male (Capu). Except for Selma, who dissapeared after release and Mayantu, who is a baby and thus still under intensive care, the rest is together with the rest of the monkeys outside.
– 6 Common woolly monkeys (Lagotrix lagotricha), 3 females (Uma, Maruja, Naka), 3 males (Loki, Monano, Tawaki). Tawaki and Naka are still in an outside cage, while the rest already joined the outside group.
– 2 Saddleback tamarins (Saguinus fuscicollis), 2 males (Tokay, Tiriko), released.
– 3 Squirrel monkey (Saimiri sciureus boliviensis), 2 females (Noema, released, Culina (born at EV, mother Camila), 1 unknown (born at EV, mother Silvana).
– 2 Night monkeys (Aotus micomax), 1 female (Luna), 1 male (Otis)
– 1 Armadillo (Dasypus novemcinctus), female, died after several days.
– 2 Tamandua (anteater, Tamandua tetradactyla), 2 females (Tamana, unnamed) released.
– 8 American Opossums (Didelphils marsupialis), 3 died, 5 released
– 1 Giant anteater (Myrmecophaga tridactyla), released.
– 1 Olingo (Bassaricyon alleni), male (Ossi), released.

Getting to know howler monkeys !

A lot of this year was about howler monkeys, starting with the arrival of Wallace in January. As we already had several, not so good, experiences with howler monkeys, we were determined to make  it work this time. Luckily Wallace arrived already pretty healthy, and he has been growing nicely. He has been some time (several months) under intensive care of Alex (our long-term Head  Volunteer/Assistant). He is now outside and living well with the other monkeys. Recently he broke one of his arm bones, most likely from a fall. But this does not get him down, and he slowly is able to use his arm again, and is still happily outside playing with the woollies. With the success of Wallace, we felt we would be ready for others. Well it did not take long, and as if we were tested, we received within a month three new howler monkeys, Darwin, Cesar and Kaya. Darwin and Cesar were doing well together, while Kaya had health issues from the beginning. As soon as Kaya got better, Cesar started having problems. They have been on and off in intensive care of Claire (who took over after Alex left), Olivia and volunteers. At the moment both are gaining a bit of weight,  and seem to do better. Darwin in between this all, stayed healthy and is happily playing in the clinic. He is the one who is less attached to humans. We often have seen this, that the animals less  attached to humans are the stronger ones. This is one of the reasons, we have a non-touching policy, meaning that as soon as we can (health wise, and age wise) we will leave the care of a monkey to the other monkeys. This way they learn best how to behave and where to find good food and shelter. For now all three howler monkeys, stay during the day in one of the clinic cages, together with Mayantu (the female baby brown capuchin). A volunteer sits with them several times a day to stimulate them to eat. Once a day they are all taken to the baby monkey outside cage (at this moment with Tawaki and Naka, two woolly monkeys), and once they are taken to the plantation to climb and find some wild leaves themselves. During the night Cesar and Kaya stay in a sleeping box at Douwe and Olivia’s house, while Darwin and Mayantu are in the clinic. We really hope they all will get totally healthy soon, and are able to join Wallace and the other monkeys outside. So far so good……

Birds (18) :

– 1 Orange winged amazon (Amazona amazonica), Neo, will be joining the non-flyers in an outside cage soon.
– 1 Bat falcon (Falco rufigularis), released, after recovery of a hurt wing.
– 1 Common potoo (Nyctibius griseus), died.
– 6 Ruddy ground doves (Columbina talpacoti), 3 released, 2 died, 1 enclosed in non-flyers cage.
– 2 Palm tanagers (Thraupis palmarum), 1 died, 1 in non-flyers cage.
– 1 Seedeater sp. (Sporophila sp.), died.
– 1 Black fronted nunbird (Manosa nigrifrons), died.
– 2 Hoatzins (Opisthocomus hoazin), died.
– 2 Purple gallinule (Porphyrio martinica), died.
– 1 Shiny cowbird (Molothrus bonariensi), fledging, waiting for release.

Baby birds.

Most of the birds we receive come from people in the village. Most come as nestlings, like the hoatzins, and the gallinules, very young, and very sensitive. The outcome is always unsure, as it all  depends on the state of the animal at arrival and the adaptation to the handling and the diet. Sometimes it happens that a bird nest fell out of a tree, while someone was cutting the tree, or playing  in it. Unfortunately the hoatzins and gallinule, died within the first days of arrival, while several doves and the tanagers were raised till they could fly and some even be released. Sometimes birds  are shot down with catapults, one of the favourite toys of local children. Last year we had a few, this year one. Our children who attend the local school might have helped encourage this decline,  we do hope so, as it would mean children take care more of animals, and see that they, as we, can hurt. This said, we can see the, although sometimes small, change there is in people around us.  They see us care for all these animals, come and visit us, and see the efforts we take for helping these animals.

Reptiles (6) :

– 4 Yellow footed tortoises (Chelonoidis denticulata), 1 released, 2 in reptile enclosure, 1 in quarantine.
– 1 Twist-necked turtle (Platemys platycephala), released.
– 1 Common toad-headed turtle (Phrynops nasutus), released.

Pinto, the painted tortoise.

Well sometimes people do funny things. First, take a tortoise as a pet, ok this is maybe understandably, but then why not paint it! This is how a yellow footed tortoise of 150 grams, came to us, fully  colored, and a foot hurt by a lawnmower. His wound recovered well, and after cleaning his carapace he is now roaming around with the other tortoises in the reptile enclosure.

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How are all  the “old” animals ?

Elmo, male two-toed sloth Even though he is no longer a resident at Esperanza Verde, roaming around as he wishes in the forest, Elmo is spotted from time to time. On one of these occasions, we  had the opportunity to weigh him. We were glad to see that he is doing really well! It was a joyful moment for Olivia, Douwe and the volunteers to see the result of such a successful release. We also took the moment to introduce Lulu, female two-toed sloth, to him. They seemed friendly towards each other, with Lulu licking Elmo’s nose. We hope that Lulu’s release will be as successful  and she can find a friend in Elmo.

Jordi, our male brown capuchin, disappeared. We believe he is still alive, and even might have been seen by Machico, while out in the forest planting trees. Although it is hard to distinguish all those different monkeys, Jordi has been so long with us, and Machico knew him well. We believe he might have been chased away by our new comer from the wild : Maku, a fully adult male and wild capuchin. He found himself a kingdom here, with so many females to take care of ! He directly got busy and impregnated three of our female capuchins, Mica, Nera and Tisha.

Mica, who was the very first monkey to arrive at our Rescue Centre, gave birth to a healthy baby just before Christmas! We were so joyful to see a capuchin monkey who we hand raised, successfully bring a new life into the wild monkey troop.

Of course there are many more to write about, but for this we ask you to visit our blog and find the animal you want to know more about. If you can’t find anything feel free to write us. We are always happy to tell you their story.

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Animals we have had to say goodbye to

After almost seven years we had to say goodbye to our beloved tapir, Rincay. After a month of illness, treatments, consults with several veterinarians, we took the tough decision to help him go. We  still miss him dearly, his whistles, his splashes in the water, him laying down for a nice petting……

Willow (male woolly monkey) disappeared mysteriously one day, and although we of course hope he is fine, realistically we doubt his days ended well. After searching for him for several days we  had to give up. He was a bully at times, but so great with all the new young monkeys. Kamari is now on his own as big chief for the woollies.

Seven months after giving birth to her first baby, Camila died of defensive wounds. Most likely bitten by one of the male squirrel monkeys, during mating season. We found her dead on the floor in  the morning. Her daughter has been taken care for by Nikita, a female brown capuchin, and we hope she is doing well. It is hard to recognize her, as Camila did a great job. Culina, as we named her, is not at all tame, as her mother was when she arrived in 2012.

Zambo, our partly blind tayra, did not come back after one of his walks with a volunteer. Although searching for him for some days, there was no sign. He normally always would return, so we  feared for the worst. A month later we heard from a local that his dog got into a fight with a tayra. We had to assume this was Zambo, and he most likely was too hurt to be able to return home.

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Volunteers and Work

Esperanza Verde now is supported by several foundations and associations within Europe, set up by several volunteers, so it was time to bring all heads together ! Philipp arranged we could all  meet and stay in Switzerland. As Olivia was visiting Holland, several meetings were arranged, including meeting with Susy Utzinger. We started at the Zurich Zoo, being guided by Nadja and  Philipp. It was great being there, thank you for your many interesting and funny explanations! During the meeting representatives of the Dutch foundation, the English foundation, the Swiss and  the German association, as well as our webmasters all came together to get to know each other, as well as to talk about several issues for the future for Esperanza Verde. Thank you Susy Utzinger  for making your office available for our meeting and inviting us to a beautiful brunch in the Swiss country side. Several old-volunteers joined and later we met at a get-together at Bigna’s place  (thank you for opening your house for us !). It was great to see everybody again ! Thank you Philipp, for the great organization.

Then it was time for a visit to England, with the main reason a visit to the Monkey Sanctuary in Cornwall. Olivia and Lauren had a great meeting with Rachel Hevesi, who has many years of experience working with monkeys, especially woolly monkeys. We learned  a great deal from her, and hope to share our experiences in the future. It is a beautiful place and a great job they are doing there in Looe. Thank you Rachel for giving us so much of your  time and knowledge.

In Holland we had a great reunion with several old-volunteers while having a great meal at Toko Klein Java. Thank you Irene Bonte and Kees Kamschuur for this beautiful afternoon. Last year we  enjoyed having Alex Fredblad from Sweden here. She started as a normal volunteer, went on a holiday, came back, and so she joined us as a long-term volunteer-assistant to Olivia. Thank you Alex for all the good work you have done for us and the animals here. We are happy you decided to stay involved and help Lauren to help EV from out of Europe.

Lauren and Iain from England and two of their good friends Camila and Luke, visited us. Lauren and Iain have been part of Esperanza Verde now for several years, and Lauren has now been our  Communications Manager for some time as a volunteer, looking for sponsors, as well as the big job in handling all the email correspondence with volunteers. They spent several weeks with us,  helping us with all the tasks, as well as preparing another video of Esperanza Verde. Thank you all for your hard work !

And as every year, our loyal volunteer and good friend, Theres, joined us again from Switzerland ! It was perfect timing as we were short of hands with all these baby animals ! With all the work, we did find time to celebrate a typical Dutch holiday : San Nicolas, and had a beautiful evening with gifts and surprises for everyone.

As every year the Ministry of Flora and Fauna will visit us to do their inspection. At this visit in December we got to release the two new spider monkey in semi-captivity, Cumala and Camu.

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Selva Dormida, The Sleeping Forest

Selva Dormida, is doing good, and word got out that there is more wildlife around here, as we are taking care of many animals as well as the forest. Of course this should be good news, but not all  people have the same idea as us. Friends in Curimana warned us that there might be others coming to hunt in our area, so we started to arrange more walks by Machico, and put up  several signs along the property. A special walk, with signs (wooden white arrows) was made by Douwe and Marlon, so volunteers can now walk on their own in the forest, and being able to find  their way back! This way it is shown to people that this forest is protected, and should not be disturbed by hunters or loggers. Again this year, as we do every rain season, several young seedlings of wood (200) were planted.

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Family Life

This year, Olivia went to Europe on her own, leaving Douwe, Kayla and Marlon at home. She had several meetings, while also enjoying the company of friends and family.
Big news is that Kayla will be starting her life in Holland next year. She will finish her high school there, so she will be better prepared for further education. It will be a big change, for her as well as for us as a family.  Olivia’s best friend Catelijne and her husband Ron, children Fee and Lau, were so great to offer her to live with them as a family. Also a big step for them! Thank you so much for taking Kayla in. A  school has been picked, all preparations are made, so in August 2018 Olivia will come to Holland with Kayla and Marlon, and leave Kayla behind. Not only us as a family but also Esperanza Verde  will miss her a lot!
Marlon grew a lot this year, not so much in length, but in character! He is a big talker and can explain you everything about the forest and the animals here. He joins volunteers  regularly on leaf-walks (picking leaves for the howler monkeys or Lulu the sloth), and goes fishing with mostly the guy-volunteers.

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Future plans and how you can help

Thanks to the Jaap van de Graaf Foundation we now started to plan the construction of the quarantine. This will be the biggest construction after the clinic, for the coming two years.
Another project we now started is the preparations for a manual for Rescue Centres, consisting of several protocols for different species that could be received in a rescue centre like ours. With the help of  several students we now started preparing already some of these protocols. We will work together for the completion with two other rescue centres in Ecuador : Merazonia and amaZOOnico.
If you want to learn something about constructing houses and cages, building a clinic, taking care of different species of animals, living in the jungle, seeing some wildlife, etc., come and help out  or spread the word. If you like animals, enjoy a simpler lifestyle, and you’re not afraid of getting a bit dirty sometimes, come and help out! You don’t need any special skills, just your willpower and  enthusiasm is enough.

You can also help us in other ways :

– Donating, not only for special projects, but also for general caretaking. We always need funding for feeding and maintenance.
– Linking our web page to yours and mentioning us in blogs. Or inviting people to like our facebook page www.facebook.com/esperanzaverdeperuen or our instagram page http://instagram.com/esperanzaverdeperu
– Spreading the word around to people who might be interested in volunteering, or handing out the flyers to people interested in coming to help out, e.g. at universities, schools, or among friends. They are available on the website of the German association.
– Become member of the German or Swiss association, and join the reunions to meet all other volunteers.
– Organizing a fundraising event at your school, work, with friends, or any other activity to raise money (e.g. for a specific project). You can always write to us if you need more information or photos to help you with this.

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Thank you !

Esperanza Verde would not be possible without all the help we have been receiving, physically, morally and financially.

Volunteers and local helpers

– Thank you to all the volunteers who have stayed with us and helped us in everything :
Liesbeth Ramslag, Niels van Eeten, Linda Koos, Karole Leenen, Jordan Burnett, Jeroen v. Son, Aze Peters, Sanna-Reeta Meihahti, Jennifer Mandersloof, Leontien koene, Vince Mulder, Ridge  Droste, kees Kampschuur, Irene Bronte, Anna Gruyters, Laura Tuk, Winnie Gut, Luke Fiore, Niels de Wit, Quirine Smith, Nina V. Diesen, Mathilde Mombel, Melanie Quartier, Nora Luedi, Sanne Boot, Jolien v. Barlingen, Marlon de Vos, Kaspar Spillman, Lucie Desfarges, Mireille Galonnier, Nicolas Bouille, Robert Jan Driehuis, Twyla Liden, Solene Menard, Robert Hilton, Marlen Pietsch,  Jaqueline Brunmans, Bert-Jane Robbe, Wies Robbe, Peter Adema, Megan Quinn, Andrea Williams, Danielle Johnson, Chase Daftary, Donna Simmons, Philip Stettler, Ben Steiner, Christelle Havegeer, Maelle Idrovo, Evelien v. Maarseveen, Johanna Pirker, Andrew MacNeil, Andreas Gess, Melissa Marmet, Sabine, Pfommer, Kristin Keunen, Chelsea Chagnon, Aruna Fernando, Anne  Swep, Lisette Stock, Luke Hazelwood, Camila Martinez, Brian Esposita, Inge Buitengad, Johanna Karlsson, Marie Batzdorf, Tim Lorenz, Idoia Jauregui, Louen Coupa-Dufau, Louissa Fjellborg, Elodie Sapet, Bradley Carr, Janneke Merkens, Luis Araya Durán, Hannah Kopf, Theres Zigerlig and Harry Tear.
– A special thanks to Alexandra Fredblad who has been now with us almost a year, and is going home for studying. We are sure we will see her back! It is great she is now part of the EV-family !
– Thank you Claire Gilant for joining us again. Claire has been with us for several months in 2015, and is staying with us till January 2018, and come back for a longer period again in May 2018! We are so happy to have her back again and helping us.
– Thank you to our permanent staff : Dona Flor, our cook and help with everything, Machico and Geiler, helping out Douwe in everything, construction, maintenance and more.
– Thank you Dylan Lobaton Garcia, Esperanza Verde’s veterinarian and our good friend, for helping us at all times, and teaching us the Peruvian ways.
– Thank you Enrico Cazullo for your beautiful paintings, you are our artist! Thanks to you, Mica and Camila have a beautiful place in our home.

Support from outside of Peru

– Thank you Philipp Zerbe for being there for us at all times, as adviser, as president of the Swiss Association, as a colleague, a veterinarian and a very good friend. You always have our back, thank you!
– Thank you Lauren Young, for doing such a great job representing us from out of UK. Thank you for always being there for us and volunteering so much time to help us at Esperanza Verde.
– Thank you Lauren Young and Iain Braid for your ongoing support from back home and for keeping our Facebook page live and updated. It was great having you here this year and helping us out with all the work, and you did a lot ! Thank you.
– Thank you Noë Brand and Lukas Bischofsberger for all the hours you spent voluntarily working on our website, as well as on the international for all European support groups. Also thank you to Noë for helping to put together this newsletter.
– Thank you Catelijne Maij-Cortlever for your ongoing financial support for the website.
– Thank you Manuel Krauss for promoting us at the 13th of the Convention on Biodiversity that took place on December 2016, in Mexico.
– Thank you Laurie Vaxelaire for the beautiful design for our first official EV-t- shirts.

Support from other organisations

– Thank you Susy Utzinger and the Susy Utzinger Stiftung für Tierschutz for your ongoing support and help at all times. Thank you for financing the Tiliku-enclosure and and your ongoing support for the SUST Animal Orphan Hospital. Thanks to you we will always be ready with the correct equipment and medicine needed for helping animals here.
Thank you Lush Cosmetics for your generous donations to finance several enclosures at Esperanza Verde; the deer enclosure, the release cage Tupak, the reptile pond and the yet to be build big mammal enclosure.
– Thank you Schweizer Vereinigung für Wild-, Zoo- und Heimtiermedizin for your donation financing a new enclosure.
– Thank you DGHT Zürich for supporting our ongoing effort in rescuing reptiles and amphibia in EV.
– Thank you DELI-CAAT in Amsterdam for selling local Peruvian necklaces and bracelets to support Esperanza Verde.
– Thank you, Lauren Young and Alexandra Fredblad for helping out with this newsletter, writing sections, adjusting text and photos, checking grammar, and the layout.
– Thank you FVV Uni ZH and students of the 4 th year for your generous donation.
– Thank you to the children of the Nuts Basis school Teteringen, Irene Bonte and Kees Kampschuur for getting the start money for the new reptile pond. Because of you it got pushed up on our priority list, and with the donation of Lush Cosmetics we could finish it.
– Thank you Irene Bonte and Kees Kampschuur for collecting money with friends for the very necessary new desks and chairs for the children of the Primary school in Bello Horizonte.
– Thank you Stichting It Eibertshiem in the Netherlands for your generous donation.
– Thank you Bowle-Club Chur for your donation and support.

Donations

– Thank you Erich Hausammann for your generous donation, to help financing the release-cage Tiliku.
– Thank you Tobias Humbel for your generous donation to our organization.
– Thank you Peter de Graaf and Willemijn Bakker for your donations, both financial and materials.
– Thank you Katja Schönbächler for taking over the costs of taking care of Chiquita.
– Thank you Wellantcollege in Gouda, The Netherlands, and veterinarian, Isabelle van Eijk for your generous donation of various material and medications for the animals.
– Thank you Marijn Schrieken, Camila Martinez, Luke Hazelwood, Sean Glynn, George Jesson, Holly Baldock, Corry Stubbs, Philipp Zerbe, Isabelle van Eijk, Louk en Marian Conrads, Susy Utzinger Stiftung, Jorik Kordess, Lodewijk Conrads, Anne-marie Wieringa, Manuel Krauss, Theres Zigerlig, Lauren Young, Iain Braid.
– Thank you to our periodical donators: Jule Ritz, Eva van Andel, Nico von den Benken, Nadja Morf, Annelies Gerber, Trijn Mulder, D.M. de Ron, Eva Hartmann, Susanne Priess, Morgan Roussel, Lena Fredblad.

Advice and support

– Thank you to the Monkey Sanctuary (Wildlife Futures), for your time and knowledge given to us while visiting. Thank you Rachel Hevesi and Tjark Plat for sharing with us your knowledge and time.
– Thank you International Animal Rescue and Alan Knight for your advice and support.
– Thank you Prof Jean-Michel Hatt and the team of the clinic for zoo animals, exotic pets and wildlife for your ongoing support and advice.
– Thank you Dr. Morena Wernick from www.exoticvet.ch for your time, knowledge and help with our special cases.
– Thank you Frank Rietkerk, Anouk Fens and Warner Jens from Apenheul in Holland, for your time, information and advice.

Esperanza Verde International

– In Switzerland we are supported by the Swiss association “Förderverein Esperanza Verde Schweiz”. Thank you Philipp Zerbe, Carole Schuppisser, Lukas Bischofberger, Katja Schönbächler, Bigna Schulthess and Annelies Gerber for all your help, support and work you do. Thank you to all members and donators. We hope we will get many new members this year to support us. Check their website. The association is very active in finding sponsoring for any new project necessary, or material in need at Esperanza Verde. Various people support us surplus to their normal member’s fee : Sabrina Lejeune, Rahel Hufenus, Florian Schärer Florian, Tamara Schwager Juri Dosenbach, Bigna Schulthess, Katja  Schönbächler and Mirjam Bär.
A special thanks to the families Carisch and Schwarzmann. It’s great to have support of all of your family members.
– In Germany we are supported by the German association “Förderverein Esperanza Verde e.V.”. Thank you Jule Ritz and Nico van den Benken for your enthusiasm in helping and supporting us. Thank you also to all members and donators. You can become a member and get regular updates. You can also help them with sponsoring activities, or just get in touch with old volunteers. Membership fees and income of any PR-activities are entirely given to Esperanza Verde. Check their website.
– In Holland we are sponsored by the foundation “Esperanza Verde”. Thank you Sven Groenen and Anne-Marie Wieringa for the time and work you are putting in for Esperanza Verde. All donations are given to Esperanza Verde for projects in needs or materials needed.

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We want to apologize in advance in case we forgot to mention any supporters, financially or morally. We got a lot of things done with all your help and we will continue to work hard to realize all the things we have been dreaming of…

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We hope you enjoyed reading all the news from Esperanza Verde and of course we hope to see many of you here (again) in this small paradise in the Peruvian jungle.

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Abrazos, Douwe, Olivia, Kayla and Marlon.

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If you want to write us a letter, send a postcard, or send us some local sweets from your country, we are always happy to receive anything :

Esperanza Verde
c/o Olivia Conrads/Douwe Bakker
Apartado 85 (P.O. Box)
Pucallpa, Peru

December! Grab your poncho, the rain has arrived! The Ministry of Pucallpa visited for a few days this month; they completed relevant documents and government checks. During their stay they also witnessed the release of several animals, including a very young yellow spotted tortoise, three spider monkeys; Cumala, Camu and Yanay and lastly some white winged parakeets, a blue headed parrot and a palm tanager.
The wet season has arrived and the mosquito population has definitely increased. However to our delight, the amount of monkeys seen with botflies has decreased. Although we are always constantly monitoring the monkeys for them and we are ready to remove any that are discovered. All the monkeys at Esperanza Verde have received deparasitation medication and it seems to be having a positive effect.

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 Monkeys

We had some amazing news to report this month – the birth of the first brown capuchin monkey at EV!
Mica, the 7 year old female brown capuchin who we raised here but is now released, gave birth to a healthy female baby, just two days before Christmas. She seemed very tired on the day, and since she has been given a bit of special treatment, to make sure that she eats enough.
Kurima and Capu (female and male brown capuchin) have been released from Pepe cage and are fitting in well with the other capuchins; they are still receiving milk twice a day and now eat from the monkey tables.

Wallace (male howler monkey) has started to show an improvement in his behavior and morale, after dealing with an injury to his arm. His arm is still not in perfect condition and we speculate one of the bones has been fractured. However he has been seen climbing while using both arms which he wasn’t doing before. Additionally he has also been playing with the other monkey´s which suggests he is not as uncomfortable anymore. He has integrated more deeply into the monkey society and he is taking the first steps towards becoming an independent monkey.
Tawaki and Naka (male and female woolly monkey) remained in Pepe cage after Kurima and Capu´s release. Tawaki seemed to be trying to make contact with the volunteers. To help discourage this behavior, we put Loki (male woolly monkey) into the enclosure with them.
We then witnessed a strong bond develop between Loki and Tawaki. With this positive progress, we decided to release the three monkeys. Kamari has been seen taking Tawkaki up into the trees during the day, however not unfortunately to sleep at night. Likewise Naka seems happy to play during the day, however no monkey has invited him to sleep with the group either, so we decided it’s safer to put them into the cage at night for now.

Cumala, Camu and Yanay (female, young male, and female Spider Monkey) were all released from La Sapa cage, with the ministry present. All three are slowly finding their feet outside of the cage. Cumala and Camu are very close and we are almost certain that they are related now. They have all been seen climbing to the monkey tables to feed which is promising. After a week of being out of the cage they have been seen playing and interacting with the other monkey species which is great. Updates to follow!

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 Other mammals

After her weight having fluctuated in the past few weeks, Lulu (female two toed sloth) had finally put on weight and it was decided she was in a healthy condition to be released again. She has been provided with a bed and foods every night as a precautionary measure. It is lucky we did this because she was spotted about 3 weeks after her release; eating from the food table and she has put on weight yet again!

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 Birds

Churi (female many-banded arasari) is now in Lucia cage again; his problem with his feet resulted in him not feeding from the flat surface his plate sits on. As a result, one of our volunteers fitted a branch over his plate. This has been a very successful addition to the cage as he often sits on the branch to feed. Our volunteers also spend extra time with him to ensure he consumes enough food.
Severus (the bat falcon) was moved from the clinic to Tupak cage. After a few days of close analysis of her flight, she was released. She flew perfectly out of the cage and has not been seen since! Good luck Severus!
After Severus was released a black shiny cowbird arrived, and after establishing it would eat and only needed to learn to improve it’s flying, it was put into the release cage, Tupak. When released fully he flew straight out of the door. Although we had high hopes for him, we are sad to report that a few days after the release she was killed by one of the capuchins in the area.
The Igor cage is now the cage for non-flying birds. We took several white-winged parakeets that could fly out of the cage in preparation for their release.

As well we decided to release Zazu, the palm tanager and the blue headed parrot, Dario. Both were hard to catch, not being tame, and fly very well. All were brought to another cage and a few days later a small hatch was opened. They all left within an hour. Neo (orange winged Amazon parrot) was moved from the clinic to join the non-flying birds in Igor cage and seems to be bonding well with Pichu, one of the white eyed parakeets.

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 SUST Animal Orphan Hospital

After busy recent months the clinic is now quieter. At the moment we are left with the three howler monkeys Darwin, Cesar and Kaya, the young female brown capuchin Mayantu and a porcupine which had to have part of its tail amputated due to rot. He is now recovering well and is starting to eat.
This has provided us with more time to care for the howler monkeys. They are now taken to the outside cage Roko for most of the day. There they can enjoy the sun while climbing, playing or resting and have some contact with the troop of outside monkeys. They are all, together with Mayantu, taken for a leaf walk to collect sufficient leaves for them to eat.

Kamari, the alpha woolly monkey who had been seen with a split lip, was consequently sedated and Douwe operated on him. After successfully repairing his lip, we put Kamari into La Sapa cage where he remained for one and a half weeks while on antibiotics. He has since been released and has retained his alpha male status.
Chiquita (female woolly monkey) was discovered to have a bite on her left leg. The wound was serious enough to hinder her from using the leg so it was decided that she would be moved to Pepe cage with the baby monkeys. Her wound was cleaned up and has been healing well. It seemed there was another problem going on, so she was moved to the clinic where she could be watched more closely. She is coping with several parasites among them the, for us, famous and disturbing: Prosthenorhis Elegans. She has been administered antibiotics and deparisitation, and given extra vitamins. Although improving medically, being deprived of her freedom and friends, she was mainly sitting in a box on the floor and looked depressed. Fearing for her mental state, we released her and we hope that she will able to recover fully and continue to gain weight outside.

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 New arrivals

Otis, a male night monkey, was rescued by a man from a nearby town and handed into our care. This is the same man who brought us Luna (female night monkey) and Curima (female brown capuchin). A family had killed Otis’ mother, so the man talked to the family, and they gave the baby with him. Knowing it was so young he decided to take it straight to us the next morning. We estimated Otis to be not even 2 weeks old. Douwe and Olivia took him into their care. He has been growing nicely and starts to crawl around a bit.
A young armadillo was given to the daughter of Machico, one of our workers. The daughter brought him straight to us. The condition of the animal was not great to start, and although at first it seem to do well on the milk we provided, we are sad to say that he died due to his malnourished state.

One day Geiler, another of our workers, found a wild porcupine hidden under the plastic that covers our sand for constructions. He warned Douwe and when they went for a better look, they noticed a very bad smell. On closer inspection, the tail of the porcupine was half severed and with infected maggots. They caught it and with the help of the vet student, Donna from Australia, Douwe prepared for an operation. The tail had to be partly amputated. However the wound is now looking better and the porcupine is almost ready to be released again. In many ways he was lucky that he was found, as he might have not survived from this injury.

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 Volunteers

December is also the month of celebrations. As the family is Dutch, we enjoyed the celebration of a typical Dutch holiday, San Nicolas. Everybody made presents with a poem and some surprises, and we had a great evening with some Dutch sweets and music!
Christmas was celebrated with a nice cheese-fondue dinner, and special made gifts for everyone. Here in the jungle you get very creative, and so everybody got a special stone with their favorite animal painted on it. At New Year, after having pizza, some oliebollen (a typical Dutch sweet dough ball) we all went to the port for some fireworks, and then had a campfire with the local traditional burning of a puppet!

With the end of the year coming up, the rainy season starts. No more pumping of water from the river to supply us with water, as fresh water is coming in fully. With fewer volunteers we have long days, as animals need to be fed, cages cleaned and special care given. On top of this, this month has been and still is a lot about taking care of our young howlers as they are having some health issues.

Very good news did Olivia bring us from Holland. There she met with the board of the Jaap van de Graaf Foundation, which donated this year so generously for the costs of animal caretaking at Esperanza Verde. They now have decided to help us again, by financing something we are most in need of at this moment; a quarantine. So far we have been using our clinic as well as quarantine for the arrival of new animals. When something happens to one of the resident animals, we always have to take extra care, or find another cage to treat them. We are so happy that the Jaap van de Graaf Foundation, is helping us with this, and on top of that they will also help finance, the costs for the general animal caretaking (food, utensils and equipment like buckets, plates etc.) for the coming three years. Thank you so much for helping us with our work to improve the wellbeing of the many animals in need.

 

Monkeys

 

We can now confirm that Mica (female capuchin) is pregnant, as well are Lia and Nera (female capuchin monkeys)! Macu, the wild male, who came to us several months ago, has been busy! We expect some Christmas babies this year!

Tokay, Tiriko (male saddleback tamarins) and Noema (female squirrel monkey) have been released. After a few weeks of getting used to their new environment we have opened the cage. We believe Noema joined the group of squirrel monkeys resident in Esperanza Verde and enjoys life as a free monkey again. Tokay and Tiriko are roaming in the trees at daytime, and seek the safety of their cage at night.

 

Other Mammals

Rabito (male red brocket deer) was finally moved to the new deer enclosure (which we have Lush Cosmetics to thank for!), named Pepito. He directly was exploring and eating all the fresh leaves that he encountered in the spacious enclosure.

 

SUST Animal Orphan Hospital

In the last months the clinic has been very full, and it generally takes two persons to care for all the animals. This month we could move out several animals, but still it is a busy day at the clinic!

The new young howler monkeys, Kaya (female), Darwin and Cesar (male), got sick over the last month. Kaya got better after several treatments and intensive care, but then Cesar fell ill. We started him on the same treatment, but it took a bit longer for him to finally get up again. After a week of being force-fed and medicine, he is eating well by himself again. Kaya unfortunately fell ill again, and is under watchful eye and care of Claire. These monkeys give us a lot of worries, they are very sensitive to stress and become depressed quickly. Their intestinal flora is very special so they need a specific diet and it is not always easy to convince them that leaves are better than fruit It takes a lot of work as they are pretty stubborn! Darwin fell slightly ill as well, but he reacted well on the medicine and extra time spent by our clinic-volunteers with him.

 

Wallace (male howler monkey) is doing great outside generally, but as if we did not have enough on our hands with the other howlers, he as well got into some trouble. He showed up one afternoon with a swelling of his left arm, most likely from a fall and could not use his hand for some time. Thanks to the medical treatment given he is slowly getting better and is even seen hanging on both hands again. We hope he will fully recover the use of his hand again.

Kurima, the young female brown capuchin, has joined our baby monkey group in the outside cage (Capu (male young brown capuchin, Naka and Tawaki (resp. female and male woolly monkey). They are doing great together, while Tawaki being the smallest at night is still brought to the clinic for a good and warm night of sleep in a transport box.

Mayantu, the baby female brown capuchin, could now take Kurima’s place in the clinic, so she has a bit more climbing space during the day and night, when she is not with her ‘mum’-volunteer or in with the other babies in the outside cage.

Cumala, the new female spider monkey, and Camu, her infant male, were moved to La Sapa cage, where they were joined by Yanay. We would have left them for some weeks together before releasing them all. Unfortunately we had to change this plan, as Kamari got hurt.

He was seen just before dark with half of his lip hanging down. As it was getting dark and he was up in the trees it took us till the afternoon the next day to get him in the La Sapa cage. The spidermonkeys got moved in the morning to be able to lure Kamari in. Douwe anaesthetized him with the blowpipe, and could stitch his lip up (a cut from top till chin). We hope it will heal well or at least nicely enough so he will be able to eat normally. He might not be the most handsome anymore, but time will tell. For now we keep him in for his treatment and observation.

 

Churi (many-banded aracari), has been of big worry lately, and after a lot of research and communications with veterinarians in Europe, we all agreed there is not much we can do for his problem of his toes. He does not seem to have pain and is still his happy old self. So we adjusted his cage to see in which way we can help him best. We moved him back to his outside cage (the Lucia cage) where the branches are broad enough, so he will be able to fly to them and sit steadily enough on them. The volunteers come in three times a day to eat feed him and give him some attention and enrichment.

 

New arrivals

Severus, a bat falcon, was found by workers of the gas company and brought to us. His wing is intact but swollen and he can’t use it well enough. He is doing better after a week, but needs to move to a outside, bigger cage, to try to fly again. As soon as we have a cage empty we will be able to move him out of the clinic.

Again a new baby monkey joined us; it seems it is that kind of season! New comer is Luna, a baby female night monkey. Healthy and active, reminding us of the arrival of Sira, our adult female night monkey now living outside.

 

School

A special thank to Irene Bonte and Kees Kampschuur and their friends from Holland who donated 20 new desks and chairs for the primary school in in Bello Horizonte. Irene and Kees learned of the needs for this while volunteering at Esperanza Verde last year. The kids were very thrilled to receive the new furniture.

 

Selva Dormida

We have bought 200 small shihuahuaco trees to be planted in this rain season in Esperanza Verdes surrounding forest “Selva Dormida”. Shihuahuaco is a hardwood timber species that has been highly predated upon but has not only for its fruits a high ecological value.

The fun never stops here at Esperanza Verde! Since their previous visit, the Ministry of Pucallpa has returned twice, this time with a new batch of reptiles, birds, and monkeys.

As wet season approaches and the mosquito population rises, an increasing number of monkeys have been spotted with botflies, which lay their eggs under the skin of animals via mosquito bites. We have begun preventative treatment with several of our monkeys, and are keeping a sharp eye out for any monkeys already in need of botfly removal.

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Monkeys

Cinty & Mica (females capuchin)

was recently chipped, and treated for botflies along with Mica, another capuchin. While it´s still too early to tell, Mica has not been given any medication as a precautionary measure because… wait for it… she might be pregnant! Stay tuned for further updates on this exciting development !

Wallace (male howler monkey)

was also chipped, and had quite a few botflies removed. Wallace has been a bit slow this month, was often spotted alone, and was occasionally in need of hand-feeding by the volunteers. While this is sadly not uncommon, as howler monkeys are difficult to maintain under human care, Wallace has been doing surprisingly well and we continue to be optimistic. He has been eating daily, socializing more with the other baby monkeys, and is gradually being weaned off human contact in order to develop more independence.

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Birds

Sheena (tropical screech owl)

has been released after weeks of training of cricket catching and careful attention from both Douwe and the volunteers. We decided to give it a go, and on the first day of release she was still seen, although did not come to get fed. We hope she learned enough to survive while being with us!

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Other Mammals

Lulu (female two-toed sloth)

has once again returned to her cage after losing a bit of weight since her previous release. She remains active, and our volunteers are monitoring her diet to ensure that she eats a healthy amount of leaves upon her next release. We are now teaching her to eat more wild leaves, by means of steaming some of them. She seems to do well on this, so we will soon try to release her again.

Tamana,

our previously released female tamandua, has been seen roaming the grounds at night more frequently, and appears to be happy and healthy!

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SUST Animal Orphan Hospital

In the last months the clinic has been very full, and it generally takes two persons to care for all the animals.

New arrivals

The first new arrival, and also our quickest release of the bunch, was a male tamandua, a species of anteater. He arrived healthy and un-injured, and since their diet of termites and ants can be difficult to accommodate, he was released the same night and has yet to return, which we believe is a good sign that he is thriving in the wild.

Neo, a yellow-winged Amazon,

arrived with two missing toes and clipped wings. All things considered, he remains in good spirits, is eating daily, and will remain in the clinic for the time being.

Kaya, a baby female howler monkey,

 

is currently under the careful watch of Olivia, Douwe, and Claire, our head volunteer. After having diarrhea for a couple of days, she is being fed a special diet and we are routinely checking for parasites, as we do with most of our new arrivals.

Cesar, a young male howler monkey,

was brought by private persons, after having been a pet for several months. As the neighbors were treating him badly, the owner decided to bring him to us.
Cesar is now the fourth howler monkey in our care, along with Kaya, and Darwin, a relatively new arrival who still remains in the clinic, and Wallace, one of our younger monkeys roaming free on the grounds. We eagerly hope to one day introduce our howler monkeys to each other, as they are a social species that often shows signs of depression under human care, especially when alone. While this will no doubt be a lengthy and challenging process, we remain optimistic and will keep you updated on any further developments!

Then we had another arrival, a young female brown capuchin, Kurima.

She was bought in Curimana by a man who met Olivia during the weekly shopping. They talked and he decided to hand the monkey over. We hope he will not buy an animal again. People think often they are doing well by buying an animal from the animal trade, saving it’s life. But while saving this animal it means the hunter just received more motivation (as people are paying) to go back into the jungle to hunt more. This often means, in case of e.g. a monkey, that a mother will be killed to get to the baby.

Wolfgang and Vivil are Esperanza Verde´s newest reptile inhabitants!

A twist-neck turtle and yellow-footed tortoise respectively, they arrived relatively unharmed, with the exception of a hole in the back of Vivil´s shell, presumably drilled by traders for the purpose of tying up the animal. The quarantine period for reptiles usually lasts a minimum of three months, so they will remain in the clinic until it is safe to add them to our reptile enclosure.

The last of our new arrivals are Cumala, a female spider monkey, and Camu, an infant male spider monkey.

They were roaming outside near the zoo of Pucallpa, most likely escaped and there was no effort taken to recapture them. The ministry finally got the change, as they most have been getting hungry, and caught them. They are both being held in the same enclosure, and we were told that Cumala is the infant´s mother. At first we doubted a bit whether Cumala was really Camu’s mother, as they she seemed to shove him off very frequently. But at some point we saw Camu drink with her and she does take him on her back from time to time. Both of them are skinny, but are eating twice daily and have shown an active curiosity in our volunteers. With any luck, we can eventually introduce Cumala to our other female spider monkey, Yanay, who is currently the only one of her species living released here at EV.

Churi (many-banded aracari),

one of the favorite animals of many volunteers, has unfortunately developed a problem in his feet. He lost his grip on branches and seems to be in pain when trying to bend the toes. We are still not sure what caused this lameness/stiffness of all his toes, but are in contact with several veterinarians to find the best treatment. For now we placed him in the clinic to control his diet, as well for treatment and close observation.

Balou, the common potoo,

was injured on a routine weigh check. She broke her wing severely. We could fix the break and the wound looked good, but she died after 2 days, it was too much stress and strain on her body.

 

 

It’s been a busy month for Esperanza Verde both here in the Peruvian amazon but also back in Europe! Last month Olivia travelled to Holland for visiting not only family and friends, but for the first time Olivia could meet up with several people which have been helping EV for a long time now out of Europe. They all came together in Europe, and had a great meeting, reunion, visit to the Zurich Zoo, thanks to organizer Philipp Zerbe (president of Esperanza Verde International). Olivia finally got to meet Susy Utzinger, who offered her office space for our meeting and invited us all for a lovely brunch at a mountain farm. As well in Holland there was time for a reunion with old/volunteers. It is so great to see all people again and still seeing all have a warm heart for all the work we do here.

Here at the Rescue Centre we were visited by the ministry who delivered a brown capuchin, a squirrel monkey, two saddle back tamarins, a howler monkey, two woolly monkeys and seven
opossums, busy month in all!

We also got a visit from two school classes from the Bello Horizonte primary school, giving us the opportunity to show them around the rescue center and teach them about certain species. The kids seemed to really love seeing the animals and it’s nice to be able to educate the next generation about animal conservation.

Below you are able to read more…

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Monkeys

Our baby monkeys are not such babies anymore!

Chiquita, Lupa and Samara (all female woolly monkeys)

They drank this month their last bowls of milk. They’re now old enough to be fine without it. The other woolly monkeys have had their milk reduced as well.

Uma

newly introduced is doing well, she is quickly understanding the way of the monkeys here and following along on their daily excursions deeper into the forest

Mayantu (female baby brown capuchin monkey)

Last month a girl from Kayla’s school came to Esperanza Verde with a little baby brown capuchin. We determined her age to be around 5-6 weeks and she was named Mayantu. Due to her young age she is staying at the family house so she can get care in the late evening and mornings. During the day she is brought to the clinic where she has her own enclosure and volunteers help take care of her. A bit of her tail was cut off with a machete when her mother was killed for bushmeat. She needed to learn how to adapt with a missing balance, but she after some weeks she started climbing and did really well. She is great at climbing up, but sometimes she can have some problems finding her way down, good thing we always have a watchful eye on her!

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Other Mammals

Lulu (female two-toed sloth)

The last week Lulu has been in her cage. She came down while a volunteer was putting out food for her, and we decided to weigh her. Unfortunately she had lost some weight, so we put her in her cage again and now our focus is on getting her to eat more leaves. Each afternoon volunteers collect leaves and we hope that steaming them will help her start eating them  better.

Soraya (female western amazonian dwarf porcupine)

Our resident porcupine Soraya has recently been enjoying palm fruits! It can be difficult to develop enrichment for porcupines, but we have found that Soraya loves tearing through the tough outer covering to get to the fruit inside at night when she is active. Guava season is also on its way, another favourite of Soraya.

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Birds & Reptiles

Sheena (tropical screech owl)

With plans of release in her future, Sheena has been moved to a cage further away from the monkeys. The volunteers are still working hard to catch crickets for her everyday. We have found that larger crickets or grasshoppers can be released in her cage and she will hunt them herself. This is great practice for when she is released!

Zazu (palm tanager) & Chanti (ruddy ground dove)

Last month Zazu joined the birds in Igor cage and has been doing really well, this month he was joined by the ruddy ground dove Chanti. Due to the full clinic we decided to let Chanti try out life in Igor cage where he could also enjoy the company of the other ruddy ground dove Chipi. He quickly got adapted to a bigger cage with more birds and seems to have bonded a bit with Chipi as well.

Martha (yellow footed tortoise)

After months in the clinic beloved Martha is finally parasite free! We had gotten used to having her around and were curious to see when she would lay new eggs. She has now joined the other tortoises in the reptile cage and she seems to be getting along with Pepito very well. During her time in the clinic she laid a total of 8 eggs, 5 of which we got to before they were broken, so time will tell if we will have tortoise babies or not…

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SUST Animal Orphan Hospital

As usual, just when we think we have a calm moment in the clinic to get some work done on administration, boom, we are full again! This month we received several young monkeys and opossums from the Ministry of Flora & Fauna Ucayali. All of the animals arrived in hastily made cages and with empty bellies and hearty appetites. As sad as it is to see animals in this state, and to think of how they may have got there, we are happy that they arrived and hopeful for their futures.

Darwin (male red howler monkey) & Wallace (male red howler, juvenile)

The veterinarian of the local zoo, Parque Natural Pucallpa, joined the ministry to hand over a baby howler monkey. His wife was the one who took care of Wallace (male red howler, juvenile) and handed him over, earlier this year. He has been doing a great job taking care of him and we hope Darwin and Wallace will become good friends. For the moment Darwin stays in a cage alone in the clinic. We don´t have him together with the other baby´s yet since he is doing really great being on his own. He is eating by himself and is not too dependent on humans at all, a great sign!

2 Woolly monkeys (male and female) and 1 brown Capuchin (male)

Two woolly monkeys, a young female and even younger male, as well as a young male capuchin were also part of the delivery from the ministry. They are used to being kept together so they are being housed in roomy cage 4 in the clinic. The young woolly male is very dependant on the woolly female and craves contact since he is so young and motherless. Thankfully he is also very eager to eat and drink his milk so we are hoping that with continued attention he will thrive. Sadly the female woolly came to us with a finger that had the tip cut off and a broken leg that had healed in an incorrect position. She is slightly weary of humans, and rightly so given what she has been through, but she is warming up to us with every passing day. The male capuchin was also a bit nervous around us, and was the slowest to take to the milk but he too is progressing each day. They are having some skin problems with require some handling, but we´re trying to keep it as positive as possible. We have high hopes for these young monkeys!

2 male saddleback tamarins & 1 female squirrel monkey

Adding to the array of young monkeys brought by the ministry is a female squirrel monkey and two male saddleback tamarins. The squirrel monkey came to us very thin but she is eating and very active, often playing around with the tamarins. One of the tamarins is blind in one eye, but otherwise seems to be doing well. They’re getting plenty of food in the clinic, as well as some crickets.

1 female opossum with 6 babies

The mother opossum was found in an attic in Pucallpa. We don’t know how long she was kept in captivity but wanted to release her into the wild as soon as possible as it can be extremely  stressful for a mature wild animal to be kept in a cage. She was kept for one night and we decided to release her and her babies the following night. As some may know, opossums play dead when frightened so we didn’t react too much when she didn’t immediately run away with her babies. Unfortunately the next morning we found her dead, most likely due to stress. All of the babies were located near her and brought back to the clinic, where they are doing well in a cage together. We are trying to restrict human contact with them as much as possible and as soon as they’re big enough they will be released.

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Construction

Tupak Cage

Recently we started constructing a new cage that will be named Tupak after the Toucan that used to live here. The building of the cage has been underway over the past month and is moving swiftly! Douwe and the workers have completed much of the cage and the sign has already been painted by volunteers. It´s important to have available cages so that we are ready to help new animals since they can arrive at any moment, as this month has proven.

Aviary table

The aviary has received some upgrades! The rear wooden feeding table has been replaced with a new tiled one that will be easier for volunteers to clean and has plenty of space for the birds to perch and eat. A second tiled table has also been made and is ready to be put in, which will mean that all three feeding tables in the aviary will be the new tiled version.

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Volunteers

We’ve now said goodbye to Alexandra from Sweden who has been our assistant manager since September of last year. She originally came for two months last June but decided that she wanted to dedicate more time to Esperanza Verde. Both the humans and the animals here will miss her and all the great work she has done. We all wish Alexandra the best of luck and are confident that Claire from France will do great with the job going forward!
The volunteers have been busy with all of the new animals in addition to the resident animals. It turns out that cricket catching at night is a great time to view animals. Some of the animal  sightings over the past month have included coral snakes, a rainbow boa, an olingo, opossums, a crab eating raccoon, an armadillo, and a tamandua.

This last month has been one of the toughest ones for Esperanza Verde and it is with heavy hearts we’ve had to say goodbye to some of our dearest animals…
Willow, Rincay, Zambo and Camila all had a special place in our hearts and we will miss having them around. You can see a special homage for them on our Facebook page.
And as if it was not enough we lost two of the new baby birds, as well as Crickie, one of our yellow footed tortoises. All and all a hard month here….
But we’ve carried on and thanks to a lot of hard work from Douwe, Olivia, the workers and volunteers, we have finished the turtle pond AND the deer enclosure! As well we welcomed a very young newcomer. Read about it all below…

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Monkeys

With Willow gone (male woolly monkey) there has been a lot of changes in our outside group.
Kamari (also male woolly monkey) has had to step up in his role as leader and all together we see a more united group. Nakoya, female woolly monkey, who’ve had some problems with parasites before is looking healthier and seems to become more dominant. Losing a monkey is never fun but we are happy to see that the outside group is still doing fine.

Uma (female woolly monkey)

Uma, who spent her quarantine period up in the SUST Animal Orphan Hospital, was moved to an outside cage so she could have contact with the outside monkeys. We brought Maruja, a female woolly monkey of the same age, in the cage with Uma in hopes of a friendship. It sort of worked but still Uma seems to have connected the best with is Loki, male woolly monkey, who had contact with her from the outside through the fence. And when the time for release came it was Loki she straight away teamed up with. Now she has gotten to know everyone better but it is still with Loki we find her at the end of the day.

Rioma, Tisha, Lia (female brown capuchins) & Maku (male wild brown capuchins)

In March we received five capuchin monkeys when the ministry of flora and fauna made a surprise visit. After being introduced to the outside group only three of them stayed around. And we are happy to tell you that the remaining ones; Lia, Tisha and Rioma all have adapted well. They have especially taken a liking to the wild male Maku.

Mayantu (baby female brown capuchin)

Mayantu, as we named the very young baby of about 6 weeks old, was carried here on the arm by a young girl from the village. Her mother was shot and eaten by the family and she was taken home as a pet.  Dajeli, one of the other children of the village, and godchild of Douwe and Olivia, convinced her to come here. Very skinny, but alert and active, we took her under our care. It brings back memories of the beginning, when we took care of the first monkey of Esperanza Verde, Mica, now a healthy adult female brown capuchin.

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Other Mammals

Kiko & Kila (male and female Kinkajous)

The kinkajous got a bit of an environmental change. Further down you can read about our plans for Sheena (tropical screech owl) and because of this Sheena and the kinkajous swapped cages.
We are stalling their release for now until we come up with a plan that doesn’t involve Kiko getting hurt once again… For now though the volunteers enjoy having them closer to the kitchen and Kiko and Kila seem to enjoy Pepe cage!

Lulu (female two-toed sloth)

Last month we took the step to let Lulu spend the nights outside of her cage. This turned out to be three nights and when she finally showed up one day by the clinic she had lost a lot of weight. We believed this was because Elmo (male two-toed sloth released about 4 years ago) kept stealing her food. She got put in Roko cage and once she was a bit heavier again we let her out. This time we put her food table in a different location to avoid Elmo eating from it, and it has worked! So far no sign of Elmo, but for a few days no signs of Lulu either… Until she once again showed up hanging under the clinic roof. We are a bit unsure how she got there but our guess is she has gotten over the fence, walked along the ground and has gotten up to the roof by climbing on the wire mesh of one of the cages, pretty creative sloth. For now we will let her gain weight and try to release her again.

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Birds & Reptiles

Sheena (tropical screech owl)

The plans of releasing Sheena are set in place. She has now gotten moved to Tiliku cage, which is further away from the monkeys and as well has a hatch for releasing birds. She seems to enjoy her cage as there are not as many distractions (monkeys) over there. The family cat Simba seems to have taken a liking to her though… We will see how that develops, so far she reacts well and flies away. Now she needs to get used to that area and hopefully she will soon be ready for semi-release!

Five baby birds

(Two ruddy ground doves, two palm tanagers and one of the seedeater sp.)
Last month we received, within two days, five baby birds! After a lot of intensive care with round the clock feeding they all became independent and good flyers after some weeks. About the two tanagers (named Yagu & Zazu now found out to be palm tanagers) and the bird of unknown specie (we believe he is some sort of seedeater and we named him Buco!) you can read more about further down under SUST Animal Orphan Hospital, unfortunately not a happy ending for all of them…
The two doves we managed to release quite soon after they could eat independently. Nicely done by everyone involved.

Crickie (yellow footed tortoise)

Our old friend Crickie who spent a lot of time with us up in the clinic unfortunately is not with us anymore. In the making of the new turtle pond we didn’t anticipate that the tortoises would have such a hard time to walk on the cement compared to the previous mud floor. So when we walked by the next morning we found Crickie dead in the pond since he was unable to get out. We have since that improved the pond too make it safe for tortoises and volunteer Andreas from Germany has taken the job in training the tortoises daily to the pool. This way all of them will learn what to do in case they fall in. Also tortoises can receive some water-survival-training!

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SUST Animal Orphan Hospital

At the moment only Martha (yellow footed tortoise) and Rabito (red brocket deer) are at the clinic, but that doesn’t mean it is less busy! At this moment we have a lot of time to focus on faeces samples and the overall health of the other animals!

Buco (Seedeater sp.)

Unfortunately one day the smallest bird with us was found dead on the floor in the cage. After necropsy we believe the cause of death was some sort of accident, it might have involved the other birds (the palm tanagers) but we do not know. Buco arrived last month tiny, and even though he got some feathers he remained tiny (4 gr when he arrived and 8 gr at death) and we were not able to figure out his exact specie.

Yagu & Zazu (palm tanagers)

They spent a few more days in the clinic and then it was time to introduce them to an outside cage. Since the parakeets quickly accepted the dove Chipi a few months ago we hoped that it would go well with the tanagers as well. And it did, but unfortunately the outside didn’t treat one of them well and a monkey managed to grab on to Yagu’s leg through the wire mesh and rip it off. He was later euthanized since there was nothing we could do for him.
Zazu is doing fine together with all the birds in Igor cage and seems to have learned the hard way to stay away from the fence when there are monkeys around.

Martha (female yellow footed tortoise)

We were all surprised one morning finding out that Martha had laid an egg! Unfortunately it got crushed by her but she has since then laid six of which we were able to save three. Martha came here in May, from the wild. Tortoises can lay fertile eggs still several years after isolation from males, so there is a big change these ones might be fertile. Time will tell. The eggs we managed to rescue are now safely stored with Claire in the cabin, until we find out if they are fertile.
And for Martha, we will see if she lays more eggs and meanwhile we are continuing her medication but hope that she soon can join the other tortoises in Reptile cage.

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Construction

Deer enclosure

The new home for Rabito and Ringo (our two male red brocket deer) is done thanks to Lush Cosmetics! The new cage will be named ‘Pepito’ after our beloved yellow footed tortoise, and Rincays favourite companion. Now we are just waiting until the treatment of Rabitos skin (who still has problems with fungus) will be effective so we can introduce them to each other in their new enclosure.

Turtle pond

Earlier this year we already started saving for the necessary renewal of the turtle pond, and received a donation from the children of the Nuts Basis school Teteringen.  With the donation from Lush Cosmetics we could finance the total costs so we could start. After the preparations, which involved a lot of sand carrying, searching for all the tortoises and turtles to get them out during the time of construction, and more.  After that it went fast and this month we could finish the pond.
Unfortunately we realized it was not safe enough for the tortoises, which are sharing the enclosure with the turtles, so again we took the turtles out and made some improvements. The edges around the pond have gotten a bit more levelled out so the chance of falling in is not as big and as well climbing out will be easier. Also instead of smooth cement along the bottom we have added a layer of cement mixed with sand to give it more friction for the tortoises. We have let some tortoises test it after that and they are able to get out. But so far it seems like we have a successful pond and a lot of happy turtles!

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Volunteers

This last month we’ve had the company of Lauren and Iain from England and two of their good friends Camila and Luke.  Lauren and Iain have been part of Esperanza Verde now for several years, and Lauren has now been our communication manager for some time as a volunteer, looking for sponsors, as well as the big job in handling all the email correspondence with volunteers.
They spent several weeks with us, helping us with all the tasks, as well as preparing another video of Esperanza Verde.  Thank you all for your hard work!

One of the things they got going was the making of enrichment again for our resident animals. There was a friendly competition of who could come up with the best enrichment and team ‘Playviary’ won. And as the name gives away it is a playground for the Aviary. It is yet to be made but we look forward seeing the birds enjoying it. Iain and Lauren have now left but the enrichment making is still continuing, the spider monkeys, the kinkajous, the birds and Churi are all enjoying their new toys.

We have also enjoyed some wildlife; seeing a meter long coral snake, spotting opossums on our nightly cricket hunts and enjoying a sunny trip to the regalia.

Alexandra, Swedish long term volunteer, is now back and together with French Claire, her replacement in the position as assistant manager, and Douwe they will take care of things while Olivia leaves for Holland in the mid of September for a month.