Bucket washing at the river, swimming at the port, students from Europe volunteering, and running out of water in the evening… July is here! The dry season keeps on hitting harder every year, but it doesn’t even compare to the heat of our fired-up volunteers.
Animals
Kasmir has officially gone from baby to juvenile! He’s a big boy now, so he moved out of Carlotta and Arthur’s care into an outside enclosure where he enjoys daily walks in the forest as a part of his rehabilitation process.
Katinka’s affinity for making holes in mesh windows has kept the volunteers busy. It was a sign that she needed something else to focus on: the new and young spider monkeys from quarantine! Saila, instantly became friendly, while Taiga (the toddler amongst them all) and Akuro (the only male) were more focused on the outside world than Katinka’s bonding efforts.
This month, Selda, Yanamayu and Argon (adult female and male capuchin monkeys) got new roommates. Biko, Apollo and Kres said goodbye to the Rimaq enclosure and immediately brought loads of fun and liveliness to their new home. Apollo and Yanamayu directly picked up their old friendship. We are curious to see if former tensions between Selda and Kres is water under the bridge or still a flaming feud.
It’s a tumultuous life in the jungle, filled with constant ups and downs. We experience joyous recoveries and heart-wrenching discoveries in very short time frames. Sadly, we found the precious Rala (female juvenile peccary) lifeless in the peccary enclosure. Her cause of death could not be determined, but if you have volunteered here, you’re familiar with the peccaries’ intense temper. We’re guessing that Rala’s stubbornness might have gotten her into a fight she couldn’t win.
Susy Utzinger Orphan Animal Hospital
We have an exceptionally eager and knowledgeable team now with the majority of the volunteers being vet students (you can imagine the crowd in the SUSTOAH during every medical procedure).
Due to their old injuries, Pichu (white-eyed parakeet) and Delta (orange-winged Amazon parrot) will never be able to fly again. So, until we find a suitable long-term solution, they will be keeping each other company in the clinic.
The fighting started again of our bickering trumpet birds Hubi and Lubi. This time it left Hubi with a wound on his cheek which got infected. So, he too won a ticket to the clinic and straight onto the operation table – another brilliant display of stitches from the vet team. He’s out, and it seems like the two have made up. Let’s hope this time it lasts!
Moyo (adult male woolly monkey) and Darwin (adult male howler monkey) got into a fight… and Moyo ended up with a serious wound on his leg – luckily our volunteer team is full of veterinary students. Moyo’s surgery went well and after a couple of weeks of recovery, we decided to let him join the outside group instead of going back into an enclosure. He hasn’t been free to roam since 2021 due to his medical ups and downs. Of course, Martin (the resident alpha male) had to shake some tree, puff out his chest and cause a bit of a ruckus, in order to show everyone, he’s still the big boss, which Moyo happily accepted.
Natzu (blue-headed parrot) has moved to his very own enclosure. Well, it’s a small enclosure attached to a large enclosure where the rest of the blue-headed gang resides. This is so he can observe and get to know the others before being properly introduced.
Quarantine
Juggling loads of new animals and a potential disease spread amongst the birds, July was a particularly challenging month in the quarantine.
This month’s arrivals were:
- Four six-tubercled river turtles, forty-two yellow-spotted river turtles and one giant South American freshwater turtle were all confiscated from a meat market, where the cruel seller kept these animals hidden in a bucket of chicken blood
- Eight yellow-footed tortoises. One of which we quickly named Paquiska. She had two broken hind legs, making a future release impossible. Until we find a long-term solution, Paquiska will be taken care of by the family
- Lori, a white-eyed parakeet, Huambu, an orange-winged amazon parakeet and Issa, a dusky-headed parakeet. All were confiscated in Pucallpa.
- Amaya, a young female capuchin, arrived from the South of Peru. She’d clearly lived as a pet until now, seeking constant affecting and contact from humans. With our protocol and no-contact policy, she’s already becoming more independent. Luckily, the outside monkey Daytona (female adult capuchin) is also paying her several visits and seems eager to show this newbie the ropes of living more like a wild monkey.
While we foolishly thought the most overwhelming bit had passed, Tingo (Festive Amazon parrot) was found weak, ruffled up and covered in diarrhea. He was rushed to the Suzy Utzinger Orphan Animal Hospital for intensive care and a thorough medical check-up. A couple of days passed, and a parakeet began displaying similar symptoms.
Fearing an outbreak of a disease among the birds, Olivia and Douwe immediately put the emergency protocol into action. They strategically separated birds to be able to employ a more exhaustive cleaning schedule and observe every bird more closely.
After three days of intensive care, Tingo and the parakeet were fine – phew!
It’s these kinds of moments that make us grateful for our quarantine and its layout. It has two sections, each with four enclosures, making preventing the spread of diseases A LOT more efficient. We’ll keep you updated and yes, if it comes to the point of us having to wear hazmat suits, we promise to include some photos… but let’s all hope it doesn’t get to that point.
Volunteers & other
Usually, our new arrivals only include animals and volunteers, but this month they also included parents helping us everywhere! Arthur’s mum and dad came all the way from an Olympic-crazed France to experience the jungle vibes and hear the cacophony of monkeys on roofs and croaking frogs.
Olivia and Douwe went on a trip to Iquitos – the largest metropolis in the Peruvian Amazon – where they met with organizations trying to find ways for cross-collaboration for a more effective approach to fighting illegal wildlife trade. The battle is on ongoing fight on many fronts!
¡Hasta Próxima!
