Different Rescue, Same story!

Yesterday, I finally went to Merazonia Wildlife rescue center. It’s located in Mera, a small town between Banos and Puyo, in Ecuador. It is a five minute taxi ride away from the police check point, which is very convenient as they get most of their animal through illegal trafficking. The place is huge. First, it is similar to “La Ceiba” at the Jaguar Rescue center, in the sense that it is deep in the jungle. You cross a river, and you are still trekking a bit to get to the main part of the center. I had never been there, or even really done much research on what the place looked like, but I figured it out relatively easy, and I quickly ran into a volunteer coordinator, who must of seen my face and known I was the day volunteer. He introduced me to Jenna, the release coordinator volunteer who has been working there for 4 years and who worked closely with monkeys at the London zoo, and I also met Louise, their vet who was caring for a baby Tamarind at my arrival. I didn’t realize the extent of the land until I was walked around to see all the animals. The cages were very far apart for the obvious reason to keep the animals for sensing each other and the path were not paved. To my delight, I quickly got muddy. 

Jenna was my guide for the morning. She took me to her favorite monkeys, the wooly monkeys, and I got to meet Diego, Nina and Mona. Their fur was absolutely beautiful, shiny and thick. They looked like they were wearing little winter coats. They walked around their enclosure bouncing off the many branches, ladders and platform Frank had constructed for them. Frank was the original person I was in touch with, but due to a howler monkey emergency, he didn’t have much time to chat with me. I couldn’t blame him, as we have all been in howler monkey emergencies, and let him try to mediate between their three grumpy primates. 

I was also brought to their blue headed parrots, which they will try to release soon. They have 15 at the moment, and they all seem to get along, but she would like to be able to keep them nearby to track their progress as their as not been much recorded data on the release of blue headed parrots. So she explained to me that they will release them in groups of two, the dominant birds and then the rest.
They also have some big birds, including three Macaws, which were un-releasable, due to their habits around humans. It is a shame to see those beautiful blue and yellow animals stuck in a cage (no matter how big the cage is), but they are providing them with the best life they would get. They have a small group to socialize with, and they are in a space where they can fly.

Jenna then took me to their prized animals, the baby wholly monkeys. Jesus, they looked like stuffed animals. She is hopeful to release them with Diego and the two other females once they get a little more weight on them. The babies are still babies and need someone to be with them at night, and Jenna was worried for them. I kept on remembering how Encar or Nadja would sleep with Tonino, and he became a little beast of a monkey the moment he reached puberty. So I tried to reassure her that those little guys looked quite healthy and will enjoy their new surrogate mothers.

The main difference between this center and the Jaguar Rescue Center was their close tie with the ministry. Their animals came directly from the government, and the government decided the time, the location and the release format. The center did receive money from grants and from the Ecuadorian government in order to keep it running properly, but the restriction on the release could sometimes affect the animals. Some of their monkeys who couldn’t be release were brought to zoos. It was very interesting to hear the involvement of the ministry in their approach to release the animals, and their ability to keep up with the animals afterwards. They track all their releases and know immediately the success or failure. From my understanding, Jenna and Frank are doing an amazing job with the new arrivals at the center, and are very thorough with any release.

The center had many more animals, such as a puma (8 years old, so they will not release her), 5 capuchin monkeys, a tamarind monkey, a kinkajou (which was asleep), a lot of dogs, and the howlers. I was impressed by the dedication and independence of the volunteers. Everyone had their task for the week, knew their time, and just went ahead and did it. During the afternoon, I was allowed to help out with the wooly monkey’s cage, and we went out to get the leaves, and even chopped down a tree for their enclosure. No one checked on us, no one questioned the tree we had chosen, or even where it went. Frank and Jenna completely trusted us to make the right decision. 

I arrived at the perfect time for one of the volunteers, as Robin, a British girl, has been beaten by one of the capuchin earlier that week. She was glad to hear about my Othello (howler monkey) bite and how it happened. She showed me her wounds and I showed her my shoulder, which is now scar less. It is the danger to working with wild animals. You never know what their instinct is telling them at the moment. It is hard to put off the right vibes when your own instincts kick in, and you just have to react. Whatever reaction you have is not right or wrong, it is just is. Monkeys are wild animals, and like all wild animals they defend their troop from intruders, that includes us.
After my day of volunteering, I thanked everyone and gave them the chocolate they asked me to bring and more. The volunteers don’t really get to go into town for food. I brought some mac ‘n’ cheese, some blankets, a million types of snacks and some anti-diarrhea medication (Bovine collustrum so they can use it on the monkeys has well). I said good bye to the animal, and fed Selva (the little tamarind, a very very small monkey) a fat grasshopper before heading to the taxi.

The taxi dropped me off right at the police check point, where I waited for a bus to Banos to stop by for control, then hopped on it and went home. Bryan and Matt (one of the Canadians I met yesterday at the hostel) where on their way to the hot spring, so my last night in Banos was spent at the hot springs of Santa Agua, just like my first night in town.

Today, I am heading back to Quito for the night, as I am departing Ecuador to re-enter the real world of adulthood, where one most work and create lesson plans and be full of energy for the 20 little monkeys I have in front of me for 45 minutes a day.