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Another great month at Esperanza Verde. Rainy season started with a bang at the beginning of February, with water almost reaching the volunteer house… and the mosquitoes are loving it!

Animals

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It was time for Ashuke and Miyo, our two new juvenile male spider monkeys to meet the other monkeys. Ashuke already had some experience from a previous release but he wasn’t very outgoing so we felt that being with Miyofor a bit could boost both of their confidence levels. So, when we opened the door for both, the first monkey to show interest in the 2 new releases was Yanay (adult female spider monkey). Of course, Biko, one of the outside large headed young adult male capuchins was directly inside for a leftover snack, while Ricuna and Chula (two juvenile female spider monkeys) came to play a bit with the two newcomers. Both Ashuke and Miyo will take their time to adapt, so late afternoon they return safely to their enclosure for the night. In time they will both be able to sleep and live outside.

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Payco, the adult crab-eating racoon was once again brought back to the Pepe enclosure. He was doing really well outside it seemed, but the wound on his back reopened and to avoid any further infections we decided to give him some more time for healing. It is going well, and the fur is now starting to cover the bald spot, so we are aiming for another release again next month!

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Maida (young female howler monkey) who had been struggling last month is definitely on the right path now, getting treated well at the family house, she now seems to never stop eating! She has been going outside quite a lot and has made friends with the woolly monkeys, especially with Lupa, one of our adult females.

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An adult pygmy ant eater was found by one of the locals in their garden. We relocated it to a safer area within the land surrounding EV, while explaining to the volunteers about this animal’s behavior and life in the jungle. This proves the importance of having a good relationship with the local community and the importance of education about local wildlife. It is great to notice the concern locals have and the effort they take sometimes to get an animal to safety.

SUST Animal Orphan Hospital

This month we were very pleased to welcome Philipp, Florian and Lukas from Esperanza Verde International. Philipp has been involved with EV since many years, as a good friend, veterinarian, and as president of the International Esperanza Verde Association (EVI). Philipp first met Douwe and Olivia in Ecuador while volunteering as a vet-student for the rescue centre AmaZOOnico. Florian is a veterinarian as well and highly involved in the Association (e.g., organization of the members and contacts). Lukas took charge many years ago of the website for EVI, without ever having visited. So for him this was the first real-life EV experience, finally enjoying the beauty for real instead of digitally! The purpose of their trip (they thought…) was to take a holiday and relax but of course we are grateful for the extra help and have taken every advantage of having two veterinarians and a IT-expert here as much as possible!

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Cesar (male adult spider monkey) who had his hand almost cut off, has made a remarkable recovery and got the all clear to go outside with the others again. All the outside monkeys welcomed him with open arms, Biko (adult male large headed capuchin) and Nando (adult male spix white capuchin) were very happy to have their playmate back.

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Two yellow-footed tortoises Momo and Diablito, that were previously released, were found near the center of Esperanza Verde. After a quick checkup in the clinic, we discovered they had parasites, so we kept them in for further treatment. Momo was soon up and about, and out, but Diablito developed some eye problems, so he will be a guest for a bit longer.

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Doquino (male adult agouti), from the Pepito enclosure, where he lives with three others, was brought to the SUST-hospital for the treatment of a swollen foot. He only needed a short treatment, loving the attention that he received from the volunteers, before he was returned.

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Katinka (female adult spider monkey) was one of several animals that profited from the visit from our Swiss friends. She needed some stitches as a wound was not closing on its own so together with Douwe, the veterinarians Philipp and Florian, she underwent a small operation and is now recovering in the recently reconstructed ´Araña´ enclosure.

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Several opossums (black-eared opossums) of the quarantine group, were able to be released, first going into an outside enclosure where they could go in and out, with food still provided. Unfortunately, some of the others were found to have some health concerns and were kept in the quarantine for treatment. The last of the group of opossums was Tila, who was treated for a bitten tail. She was moved to the outside enclosure and as with the others we expect here to find her way in the jungle soon again.

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Keska, one of our newerjuvenile female woolly monkey, suffered a head injury. The woollies were making a lot of noise which caught Geylers attention. His first thought was a snake moving in the bushes, but upon further inspection it appeared to be Keska laying in a puddle of water. She was still alive but very cold and non-responsive. Philipp, Florian and Alexandra, reacted quickly and got her warmed up and gave first aid. She then was moved to the family house, for further intensive care and observation. We were all afraid for her survival, but she made it through first night. Philipp reached out to a well-respected neurologist friend and further treatment was set up. Every day she seems to improve. Although we are still unsure what the future will hold for her, we stay hopeful. Her body functions, but her brain is not fully aware of what it can do. She is fighting, and we will do all in our power to help her regain her independence again.

Quarantine

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The ministry of Fauna and Flora reached out to us for help with several animals that they confiscated. With a steady group of volunteers willing to give a bit of extra help we were able to accept the newcomers. Our visitor veterinarians helped with the general health checks and treatments.

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Watson (juvenile male howler monkey) arrived with a fractured elbow. He was not doing well, not eating, so we made the exception of shortening his quarantine period and bringing him, together with Maida to the family house. It seemed to have been the best decision for both. Maida is stimulating him to eat leaves and other healthy veggies, while Watson is giving her some warm company. They really started to behave like siblings, with a lot of playing and squabbling and at the end of the day sleeping happily together.

Minya, a white winged parakeet who had had her feathers cut, is staying in the clinic at the moment while going through her quarantine period. Once finished she can be introduced into Igor cage where the other parakeets reside.

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Alicucu, an adult tropical screech-owl, is healthy, except for his feathers being partially cut. We hope we can keep him wild enough for an eventual release back into the wild. Volunteers are catching crickets or grasshoppers on a daily basis for him so he keeps up with his natural diet. As soon as he can fly fully again, a release will be possible.

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A young male spider monkey. We estimate him to be about 4 to 5 months old. He seems a bit skinny and we had to remove a bullet from his inner leg. Young monkeys who have been kept as pets can often have bullet fragments in their bodies, from when they were captured.

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Eight yellow-footed tortoises, all saved from being eaten! They were confiscated while being on their way to the food market. In this part of Peru, tortoises are unfortunately still a common dish for many locals.

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Amora, an adult chestnut-eared aracari, was confiscated, together with Koda, a yellow and blue macaw, Denani a scarlet macaw, Rio, a red and green macaw, Tilo, a Tui parakeet, Omar, a cobalt winged parakeet, Zuna, a yellow crowned Amazon parrot, and three blue headed parrots; Athena, Ares and Zeus. They all seemed well fed, although several have cut feathers. They were pets for some time, so after the quarantine they will join the other in the different aviaries.

Construction and other

February proved another very busy month in construction.

Thanks to some extra material still available we were able to complete the rebuilding of the Araña enclosure, one of the old structures with wooden posts. It is now a solid enclosure, with metal tubes and able to resist the climate of the jungle.

As mentioned in last update, thanks to the SUSY Utzinger Association in Switzerland we are now able to finance the construction of the new cats’ enclosures. All mesh has arrived and the area has been cleared, some more sand and cement and we are good to go!

As Bronco, the capibara, is starting to outgrow the Momo enclosure (the garden surrounding the cabin which Alexandra is occupying) he is becoming restless. The renewing of the Xena and Rincay enclosures became more urgent. Xena and Rincay are two of our open enclosures built in the earlier years for animals that are unable to climb (think capibara, peccaries, deer or tapirs). The replacement of the wooden posts was planned in 2020 but were delayed. After a short inspection, Douwe soon found out that one of the enclosures needed a bit more than only the replacement of the posts, basically totally new fencing around the enclosure of about 30 m².

Douwe, Geyler and the construction team took advantage of the recent rain deluge and were able to take a huge part of the sand and new mesh required for these constructions as well as for the new cat enclosures to site by the flooding stream that runs through Esperanza Verde. A welcome reprieve limiting the need to carry 90kg rolls of mesh the full distance from the main river to site.

Volunteers life

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We were happy to welcome back Emma and Kim, two former volunteers who stayed with us during the first lockdown period of covid.

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Sadly it is also the end for our Swiss volunteer Janick who stayed with us for a total of 10 months. He will now go over to working full time on his boat so that he soon can start his new journey across the Amazon river. Janick has written earlier about his boat-project and fundraising for Esperanza Verde, and soon he will start his dream. Thank you Janick and we wish you the absolute best on your way to the Atlantic ocean!

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We thank Philipp, Florian and Lukas for their visit, their ongoing help, and always being there for us helping us with all your expertise. We are happy you are all part of the big family of EV and we hope you enjoyed your stay, and could see and experience now firsthand what your help has and is achieving here at EV. A special thanks to Philipp from all the volunteers, as has become our own personal night walk guide which was super interesting and highly appreciated by all!

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This January was rather calm down here at Esperanza Verde. We are really happy to see new volunteers arriving, which allows us to have a normal schedule again. They seem to enjoy all of the advantages of being a bit secluded in this part of the rainforest, a nice jungle bubble.

Animals

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Last month Ashuke (male juvenile spider monkey) was released. He spent most of his time on top of the enclosure and seemed afraid of the outside monkeys. We decided to give him the opportunity to ease into more social contact by letting him join Miyo, the younger spider monkey in the clinic. At first, he was still a bit afraid, but as Miyo is a lot more confident, he was easily won over and they soon were sharing a box together at night to cuddle up. They were then moved to the outside enclosure Lucia, and we hope to let both of them out soon so they can join the others. At least Ashuke has become a lot more confident in playing with Miyo and soon hopefully other monkeys as well.

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Maida (female juvenile howler monkey) was introduced last month in Lucia cage to our two other howler monkey males Darwin and Armando. It went well and they all got used to each other, but something was wrong, she started eating less and less and dropped a lot of weight. She then was taken in by Olivia for more intensive care. It took some time, included some force feeding, and searching for the right leaves and mixes she would eat, she slowly improved and even showed her happy face quite a few times. She looks a bit like Darwin making a funny headshake with an open mouth while putting her hand in, gently biting on it. She goes out sometimes and seems to enjoy the company of the woollies outside. Lupa, one of our older female woolly monkeys, has taken a particular liking to her and has adopted a protective attitude towards her.

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Last month we introduced Gaia and Wayra (juvenile female ocelots) to each other for a short period of time during the day, in two separate adjacent cages with mesh between them. It seemed to go rather well, without any real aggressive behavior towards each other, even when they both had food on their own sides. We took it a step further by leaving them for several hours instead of 20-30 minutes, with regular checkups. There is still a long way to go before we can put them together in the same cage. We are indeed aware of the risks involved in this process, so we are taking it very slow, baby steps!

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Samara (female adult woolly monkey) has been struggling with the parasite Prosthenorchis Elegans for a long time. Even though she was never as bad as Moyo or Martin (two male woollies who not so long ago were under treatment in the clinic for the same parasite), she was losing fur, until she was almost bald, leaving very few fur patches on her body. However new fur has been growing for a few weeks now and she looks like a newborn baby with a new shiny and soft coat of fur.

SUST Animal Orphan Hospital

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Cesar (black spider monkey) is still recovering from his wound from a lawnmower. Even though he ripped out his stitches twice, it is now healing up very nicely. We do not know yet if he will regain

feeling or movement in his hand but we are very hopeful for him! Now a big job for the person working in the clinic is to make Cesar enrichment to keep him entertained until he can be released.

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Picor (white-winged parakeet) who went back to the Igor enclosure last month, was brought back to the clinic. His foot was fine, but his beak was injured, he had a previous (healed) break in his lower beak but now his upper beak has been split, for unknown reasons. Thanks to some Wonderglue we were able to fix it, he will stay in the clinic until we are sure that it has healed.

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Delta (orange winged amazon) finally got to join the other birds in Igor enclosure again. She will continue to get regular checkups to make sure she is doing well. Berto, another orange winged amazon, seemed to be very happy seeing her again, he kept on making funny noises while approaching and grooming her.

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Otis (adult male Ma’s night monkey) was moved from the outside enclosure Lucia to the clinic in order to give him more intensive care, an extra examination and cleaning of his knee injury, as it is still not getting better.

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Ricuna (juvenile female spider monkey) was found one afternoon limping on her left leg. No fracture or wound was found but after keeping a close eye on her for a day, we decided to take her in as she seemed to stay still, lying around on the floor and not eating anything. We noticed she was way worse than we thought, she had a fever, no coordination and no strength. We acted quickly and started treatment. We gave her liquids by syringe on the first day, then she started drinking by herself and got stronger day by day. After a while she started eating solid foods again and got control over her body. Now she is back to her normal self again, and we are so relieved and happy that all went well, however we are still clueless as to the cause. She was extraordinarily happy to be out again, immediately being picked up by Yanay (our ´Big mama´ adult spider monkey), and Chula (the daughter of Cumala, adult female spider monkey) was happy to see her teenage friend back again to play.

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All the yellow footed tortoises have been weighed and moved from their temporary enclosure Xena to the newly renovated Reptile’s enclosure. Before moving them, they all received a medical check at the clinic. The new enclosure will sustain them for a long time, finally having replaced the wooden posts with galvanized tubes and new mesh.

Quarantine

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The opossums in the quarantine are anxious to get out. In the wild at this stage, they would start fending for themselves. While we are awaiting the arrival of representatives of the Ministry of Flora and Fauna for their official release, we decided to separate them into smaller groups to avoid any aggression and hope it will soon be possible to let them all run free.

Ido (biggest male opossum) took time for his final release. His release started last year, and he has sometimes been staying in the outside enclosure Aguatena with the hatch to the big outside world being open 24 hours. He then finally decided not to return to the enclosure, so we hope he has found his way in the wild again. We are sure there will be enough food for him to be found in this area!

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Yuno, the male juvenile kinkajou, was then moved to the Aguatena enclosure outside and will hopefully start his soft-release period soon.

Construction and other

Great news for our crowdfunding campaign with the Susy Utzinger foundation in Switerland: enough money has been raised together to start getting the materials we need. Thank you to everyone who has already donated to help Diego, Grety, Wayra and Gaia towards a bigger enclosure!

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Meanwhile the old Araña enclosure has been taken apart and a new one has almost arisen. Only a few details are left and then we will have a cage that is fit for bigger birds, monkeys and other mammals. First it will give some more space to Cesar for his further recovery!

Volunteers and other

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Even with few volunteers at the start of the year there are still some nice projects going on! One of the volunteers, Jay, fixed up the firepit so we are all waiting for the end of the rainy season for some great bonfire nights.

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We had a presentation about CPR and the basic gestures we should all know in case of an emergency, human or animal related. Then we talked about the natural disasters that can occur in this region, what could happen, and what to do in an emergency.

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We had a visit by a big group of people brought by a local shaman. They received a tour given by Douwe and Olivia, about the problems of the illegal animal market in Peru, how it affects the future of animals and the work we are trying to do to give all of them a second chance here at Esperanza Verde.

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Good news came with the arrival of volunteer Sjoerd from The Netherlands, who took the initiative to ask the company AVH Dairy, which produces goatmilk powder, for a donation. They donated goatmilk powder, as much as Sjoerd could carry. We got in contact to thank them, and they said they would be happy to donate more in the future. This is great news for all the howlers, sloths and other special animal species to whom the normal human baby milk powder (based on cow’s milk) is often upsetting to their stomach. Thank you to AVH Dairy from the Netherlands for your generosity!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

We hope you all had a very Merry Christmas and enjoyed a nice evening before saying hello to the new year! Although many are having to deal with new outbreaks and Covid restrictions, let’s hope for the best and get it started well…. We sure will try here at Esperanza Verde!

Esperanza Verde could not do it without all your support, if it is financial, in materials, in knowledge, in labour or morally…. The combination of it all is what brings future to so many of these animals and their environment that are in need of saving.

!THANKS TO YOU ALL!

Animals

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It was finally time for Ashuke (young male black spider monkey) and Rasu (young male, large headed capuchin) to get a taste of the outside world. For Rasu it went rather quickly, he was out and within a few days he was already hanging with the other juvenile capuchins of the outside group.
Ashuke doesn’t have quite the same social skills… He was quickly out of the enclosure, but has remained close to it every day. He goes back inside in the afternoon to eat and sleep. Some monkeys are just slower than others to adapt to change, like in humans……, so we remain patient. We are sure he will find his way and, as always, Yanay the biggest female spider monkey does her best to help him.

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After some time in the clinic Panchin (juvenile male Humboldt’s woolly monkey), had recovered from a broken leg, and joined Ashuke, Rasu and Darwin (male howler monkey) in the Lulu enclosure. His leg has healed remarkably well. After spending a bit of time in the enclosure to strengthen his muscles, he was ready for the outside again, where he quickly joined the daily ritual of young monkeys running and playing.

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Darwin, our 4-year-old male howler monkey who was residing in Lulu enclosure has had a busy month! We always try our best to look for the best living conditions for both humans as animals, and Darwin had always been doing so well, we felt he deserved another chance to be outside again. He started of running around and happily howling in the trees. Unfortunately, it didn’t take long till he decided to try and dominate a recently arrived volunteer, by biting him on the leg. Our assistant manager Alex quickly intervened and to avoid any further risks we had to decide, yet again, to return him to an enclosure. A very sad thing for all of us too as he was such a beautiful sight howling outside in the trees.

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For now, Darwin will be residing again in the Lulu-enclosure, being joined now and then by other monkeys. This month, he was also joined by a few new comers from out of the quarantine: Keska and Tasha (juvenile female Humboldt’s woolly monkeys) and Maida (juvenile female howler monkey). Keska and Tasha stayed a few weeks in Lulu to get acquainted with the outside monkeys before being released. Keska was the first to go, and then Tasha followed, both directly going high up in the trees to get some fresh leaves. The outside monkeys have been great in including them into their group. Maida is still very young and will stay with Darwin a while longer.

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The very sad news this month was the unexpected death of our alpha woolly monkey male Monano. We noticed he had gone missing and, although we searched for him, it wasn´t until a few days later when we noticed a bad smell that we found him. He had already begun decomposing so we could not determine what happened to him. We suspect, as he has been struggling with the parasite P. Elegans, his death might have been the result of a perforation of the intestines. He will be missed dearly, as he had the whole group of monkeys under control with a calmness that was beautiful to see, and with a mutual respect between him and us.

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Otis (adult male Ma’s night monkey) has been under surveillance for some time as he has not really been keeping the weight he should. After further examination we discovered that an old wound on his knee never properly healed which may have caused further problems in his joint as well as muscles of his leg. He is now in the Lucia enclosure where he is receiving our full attention on a daily basis, being treated with a warm compress and some physiotherapy for his leg.

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Igor, the enclosure for non-releasable birds, has been fully renovated, with new branches, leaves and sand. All the birds were temporarily moved to the Tupak enclosure giving Douwe and the team free reign in Igor, without the fear of unnecessary stress or unwanted releases. All birds went via the SUSTOAH undergoing a thorough check up. Most birds got a thumbs up but Pichu (white-eyed parakeet) was placed together with Delta (orange winged amazon) for observation as she was found a bit too skinny.

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Gaia and Wayra (juvenile female ocelots) have taken their next step towards becoming “roommates”. So far, they have lived in separate enclosures. And to be able to introduce them in the near future we need to get them familiar with each other first. It can be a bit complicated work, we have to switch them every day in between the enclosures so they get used to each other’s scents. For the future new and bigger enclosures are already in the plans and we are so happy and grateful to the Susy Utzinger Stiftung in Switzerland as they started a crowd funding campaign for this project. Thank you again for all your help Susy!

SUST Animal Orphan Hospital

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Picor (white winged parakeet) was found this month with a wounded foot. He was brought to the clinic where he got examined and treated. He got to reside in the clinic for another week but was then brought back to the other birds in the freshly renovated Igor enclosure.

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Delta (orange winged amazon) is now in the SUSTOAH again. She has been having trouble with her eyes and suspecting it being sinusitis she was treated with a nasal flush. She seems to be getting a bit better and is again gaining weight.

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She then was joined by Pichu, one of the white-eyed parakeets, and as soon as both have gained weight, they can join the others in the Igor enclosure again.

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Asuki, the young dusky headed parakeet, received a name change to Kentaro. The name was just a bit too much like the name of the young spidermonkey Ashuke. Kentaro was ready to fly, and before the birds got back into the Igor enclosure, we gave him the opportunity to explore the cage for 24 hours.

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He then got joined by all the rest (8 parakeets, 4 ground doves, two Amazon parrots, 1 macaw and Inuk, another dusky headed parakeet). Full house all of a sudden for small Kentaro, but he seems to have taken a liking to Dani (mealy Amazon parrot) as he decided to sleep next to her on the first night!

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Cesar (juvenile male spider monkey) found himself in the clinic this month after he suffered a severe cut to his wrist. Cesar is always very inquisitive to anyone or anything different happening around Esperanza Verde and choosing to surprise a brushcutter/ lawnmower when in full operation was not one of his better ideas. This altercation left Cesar´s hand barely attached. Cesar´s hand was reattached and has now had a second operation after the wound reopened. So far, Cesar seems more concerned about being enclosed in the clinic than any evidence of pain, so that we take as a good sign and monitor his recovery to see how much mobility he regains in the coming weeks/months.

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Naka (female Humboldt’s woolly monkey) came into the SUSTOAH with a broken arm. For a few weeks we were able to keep a bandage on and around the arm to set it in the right position. When she finally succeeded in ripping it off, we were happy to see the arm stayed in the right position, so we could leave it. Her further recovery went remarkably well, getting strength back in her arm every day a bit more and more. She joined Martin, the male woolly monkey still in the clinic for treatment for the P. Elegans parasite, as both were getting really impatient, and a bit of company is very important for a social animal like woollies are.

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It is wonderful to see how Martin is again eager for the food and especially likes to chew on some leaves freshly picked by the volunteers. As he has been gaining weight, we decided it was time to give it a shot again to let him out where he can forage better himself for leaves and get into the social life of the monkey group outside again. So, we opened the door to the outside for both Naka and Martin and it didn’t take them long to run out and climb the trees to join the rest of the monkey troop. For the next hour a lot of happy woolly monkey chirping could be heard.

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Our youngest guest in the clinic is the male spider monkey Miyo. He is gaining more and more courage as he grows. He still gets his daily vitamins from a volunteer and every now and then he even gets to join on a walk outside! Soon he will be introduced to the other monkeys. He is already getting regular visits of our eldest female spider monkey Yanay. We hope she will look after him on the outside, as she has done with so many other babies before.

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Lupa (female Humboldt’s woolly monkey) is once again outside. Earlier this year she suffered from a stillbirth and seems to have been a bit depressed since. Now it looks like she has become the mentor of Maloha (juvenile female woolly monkey) and is often seen with her trailing along. We hope that this cheers Lupa up and that she can enjoy the outside. She is still under close observation and receiving her vitamins on a daily basis.

Quarantine

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In the quarantine the group of young opossums are growing steadily. We had to separate them in smaller groups as two opossums got the tip of their tails bitten, and another one an injured eye. The wounded are already recovering well and the separation effort seems to have allow the oppossoms peace within the smaller groups. Soon they will be ready for the first step towards their release, moving to an outdoor enclosure.

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Yuno, the male juvenile kinkajou, is doing well and soon will move out of the quarantine to an outside enclosure for release afterwards. Thankfully he is not at all interested in people and we hope this will contribute to him having a fruitful life outside.

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As Payco, the adult male crab eating raccoon is still recovering from a wound on his back, in the Pepe enclosure, Takido, the younger male, has been taken to reside for now in one of the quarantine enclosures. For Takido it does not seem to be a problem, as he has been going on evening walks more and more. Two volunteers take him down to the local creek where he can forage for crabs and snails. He has plenty of energy so it is a good enrichment as well as preparation for his release when he gets older.

Construction and other

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The outside extension of the Almacen has this month been completed. Now we can work on bigger projects outside without having the monkeys bothering us.

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At the plantation Finca Don Jorge, all is going very well, and more and more variation in food items are brought to Esperanza Verde. As rainy season is on its way it is a good time for planting new fruit trees to ensure a steady source of food for the future.

Volunteers

We started December with a high number of volunteers but have said goodbye to several of them and hope to welcome new volunteers again in January.

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Luckily, we had a visitor, of ex-volunteer and good friend of the family and EV, Manuel from Germany, giving us a hand where needed.

We had some great parties, as always in December here at EV. It started with the typical Dutch celebration of San Nicolaas, everybody being very inventive again with their gifts. We celebrated Christmas at the family house, with a great dinner prepared by Craig and Olivia, and a party after that went till well in the morning…. And still the animals were all fed and well cared for the next day!

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New year we celebrated at the volunteer kitchen, starting with a great lasagna, prepared by Arthur, Alex and Manu, and some typical Dutch oliebollen from Douwe and Olivia and Kayla. At 12:00 we all went to the port, to get some fireworks going (so animals were not spooked at all). We returned for a great campfire, with the symbolic burning of a puppet, representing the past year (in this case the puppet took the shape of COVID, not surprisingly), giving way for a fresh start in the new year.

The pandemic has created many problems worldwide, but here at Esperanza Verde there was calm. November was determined to shatter that calm and reintroduce the daily triumphs and trials that new animals and new volunteers bring.

The SUSTOAH once again proving invaluable with more animals passing through its doors than has become the ‘normal’. Keep reading to hear about the frequent highs and occasional lows that made November special at Esperanza Verde.

Animals

November was a month for releasing animals. As every year the local Ministry of Flora and Fauna visit us for an inspection, giving us a great opportunity to release some animals that had received the necessary care and were determined fit for freedom again. Several yellow footed tortoises and a yellow spotted river turtle were ready. Releasing animals is always a volunteer favourite so all volunteers were on hand when these wonderful animals were released into and around the area of the small (sometimes not so small thanks to rainy season) stream that runs through Esperanza Verde.

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The time had come for Moyo (adult male Humboldt’s woolly monkey) to make the shift from Lulu to the more spacious La Sapa enclosure joining Kamayo, the adult male woolly monkey, and two large headed capuchin monkeys, Yanamayo and Selda.

Moyo is now a different monkey, looking far more beautiful than he ever has been and more active than we have seen him in a very long time. Unfortunately, Moyo’s new splendour came at a price as it appears; he forgot he was not as large and strong as Kamayo, receiving a bite to his forearm that required a few stitches. La Sapa enclosures front cage does not allow enough distance to safely capture a monkey but a combination of Olivia’s patience and Douwe’s skill with a blow dart gun meant that Moyo was able to be separated, tranquilised and then moved with as little stress and danger to both monkey and humans as possible. Moyo spent just two weeks recovering in the SUSTOAH before being returned to La Sapa enclosure, where he found his place again in the hierarchy within the enclosure.

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Ashuke, the juvenile spider monkey and Rasu, a young large headed capuchin male, moved from the SUSTOAH into the outside Lulu enclosure with Darwin the howler monkey. The beauty of this enclosure is that it gives the opportunity for maximum exposure to the outside monkeys with the safety and security of wire mesh to confine them. Both monkeys will be released to join the outside troop in the next few weeks.

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Gaia, the young female ocelot, made the big move from the family house to the newly completed Wayra enclosure (named after our first ocelot). Gaia is still young and in the wild would still be highly dependent on her mother. Unfortunately, being taken away too young and being raised by humans she will never learn sufficient hunting skills to be able to survive in the wild. So, for now we will compensate the loss of her mother by not applying the no-touch policy, and volunteers are able to interact with her directly. Of course, quickly she has become a volunteer favourite. As Gaia gets bigger and more unpredictable our “no touch” policy will come into force again, safeguarding both volunteers and Gaia from unnecessary stress and possible injury. Plans are already in progress for a new larger purpose-built feline enclosure encompassing residence for the two margay Grety and Diego as well as the two ocelots Gaia and Wayra.

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Since his release, Punsho, the juvenile male South American coati was a real character to be aware of. Always keen to steal compost buckets or prove that the food you were carrying was really for him. Unfortunately, one morning Geyler found Punsho laying on top of one of the enclosure fences and not interacting, which is highly out of character. After being taken to the clinic Punsho’s demise was rapid and he passed away within the first ten minutes. A thorough necropsy revealed a few abnormalities but neither Douwe our team of consulting veterinarians were able to conclude a definitive reason for his death.

SUST Animal Orphan Hospital

SUSTOAH was where the majority of the action was this month, and the stitches in the arm of Moyo was just the beginning of what was to be an eventful month.

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Payco the crab eating raccoon was again in need of treatment. Thankfully this time it was only a minor bite needing cleaning and antibiotics. Payco is making a great recovery in his old outside cage Pepe and we envision re-releasing Payco in the coming weeks.

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Maru the Ma’s night monkey who is normally in residence outside the family house was caught and brought in for observation and tests as he was looking worse for wear and in need of some extra care. Although Maru was given the best diet possible and treated for parasites his condition continued to deteriorate. After nearly 3 weeks in the clinic Maru succumbed to Prosthenorchis Elegans as a worm perforated his intestinal wall. Maru was as comfortable as we could make him, yet he was not to be one of the success stories where we managed to win the ongoing battle against this parasite. Like all who have gone before him, Maru will be another character that is missed from the daily goings on.

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Another monkey in the struggle against Prosthenorchis Elegans is Martin, a young adult male Humboldts woolly monkey. Martin continues his stay in SUSTOAH and although his condition is no longer deteriorating, it is a slow progress to seeing improvements. Our recent successes with Moyo and Yanamayo, the large headed capuchin, and the vitality they showed after treatment certainly boosts the belief that Martin is on the road to recovery and hopefully after regaining some condition can be released to join the other semi captive monkeys at Esperanza Verde.

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Woolly monkeys certainly dominated the ranks of animals within the SUSTOAH this month. Naka (adolescent female) and the recently released Panchin (juvenile male) entered both the clinic, having fallen high from a tree after ‘playing’ with one of the spider monkey males. Naka is suffering from a broken arm which is currently strapped to her body to ensure it heals in the correct position, and Panchin has a broken leg which we hope will heal sufficiently giving him the calm surrounding of the clinic. Panchin is already using his leg more each day, and is very eager to leave, as he shows us by complaining a lot. Naka has always been one of our more relaxed monkeys and currently spends most days just relaxing on a branch in her cage showing eagerness and liveliness when it is time for vitamins or feeding.

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Lupa, an adult female Humboldts woolly monkey, who suffered from a miscarriage, was released after her appetite had returned and she appeared to be progressing well. Then after only a week she was reintroduced to the SUSTOAH because of her lethargy and changes in habits/personality. Now we are able to monitor her condition more closely and ascertain if she has indeed something physically wrong with her or if there is some other factor contributing.

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The young male woolly monkey Yauri, who was encountered with a fever made a full recovery and was released to enjoy the company of the other monkeys and the freedom available to him.

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Miyo the baby black spider monkey male continues to live in the SUSTOAH and being so young is a highlight for many as he requires a lot of attention and nurturing that would normally be left to other monkeys. After a few false starts, Miyo is now able to drink his milk unassisted from a dish, and is making progress daily in other independent activities. We envisage Miyo spending some time in an enclosure with other monkeys very soon, giving him an outlet for his limitless energy as well as a chance to socialise with other monkeys.

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With the visit of the Ministry Asuki a young fledgling dusky headed parakeetarrived. His life started as a pet in a local family, but soon they noticed that even a small bird like this is not always easy to take care of. He is a bit skinny and will be staying in the clinic, receiving some extra vitamins and sufficient attention.

New Animals

Everybody ‘loves’ surprises, but some are easier to accept than others. While we already had a representative here, we received an unexpected visit from the same Ministry of Fauna and Flora, all of course occurring on an already busy day (both Naka and Payco were receiving their initial treatment). Thankfully Douwe and Olivia along with the new team of volunteers handled the extra pressure well, ensuring all necessary tasks continued as normal as well as checking and placing the new animals into their enclosures. With the SUSTOAH already full we were highly appreciative of the fact that the quarantine, generously funded by the foundation Jaap van de Graaf from The Netherlands, was completed.

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Some animals made a very brief stay and were able to be released after a health assessment by the veterinarian of the Ministry, as well as by our professional team here at EV. Others will remain in quarantine until being placed into outside enclosures or enjoying the freedom of semi captivity within Esperanza Verde. Seeing one of the new monkeys (a young female howler) expel about fifteen 10-15 cm long worms, shows us the significance again of having a good quarantine protocol in place. This drastically reduces the risk of any of these parasites to find their way to our resident animals. It is not uncommon for animals coming from the illegal trade or form a life as a pet, to have parasites or other medical problems.

All new animals were either seized prior to being on sold into illegal trade, already pets, or displaced due to land redevelopment. In the first few days the following animals were given another chance at freedom and released into different locations of Esperanza Verde.

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• A Striped owl
• A Two toed sloth
• An adult Pygmy anteater
• A mother Opossum with 2 babies.

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The animals remaining in quarantine are:

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• A juvenile female Red Juala Howler monkey, named Maida.
• Two young female Humboldts woolly monkeys, named Tasha and Keska.

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• A young male Kinkajou, named Yuno.

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• 7 very young opossums and 1 juvenile opossum.

Construction and other

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Geyler spent the majority of this month working on his own land which normally leaves the burden of his work on Douwe. Fortunately, the two new workers handled the month in their stride completing the lion’s share of the renewal of the posts of the reptile enclosure and work also could begin on improving the entrance to our storage of food and tools, the Almacen.

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As the rainy season approaches, the river will get higher, and beaches will be scarcer. Therefore, a lot of labour in these lasts months has been focused on getting sand for concrete for any foundations that could become necessary for any constructions in the coming months. It means hard manual labour; going by boat to a nearby beach, collecting sand by shovelling it in bags of roughly 25kg in weight, carrying and transporting by boat, and then carrying them all to the centre of Esperanza Verde.

Volunteers

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New volunteers continue to arrive, giving the long-term volunteers and assistants the opportunity for a well-earned holiday. We were fortunate enough to welcome Mark to the fold in November who is a Veterinarian from Egypt who is planning on spending the next year at Esperanza Verde.

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November also saw Olivia and Alex attending a workshop in nearby Pucallpa. The workshop was to train people form the Ministry of Fauna and Flora, who are involved in the confiscation of wildlife, to improve their skills in recognition of species, as well as to train and teach about animal handling during the confiscation and care taking after. A very good initiative taken by the World Conservation Society.

It was a month of new animals, new beginnings for recently released animals, new energy from fresh new volunteers and even a change of season which saw the almost drought like conditions finally break. The often-frantic pace of Esperanza Verde continued throughout the month, read on to see how we kept ourselves occupied in October.

Animals

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Moyo (adult male Humboldt’s woolly monkey) had the month enjoying a lot of interest from the outside group of monkeys, but also got new company within Lulu enclosure. Panchin the young male woolly monkey who arrived last month, moved from the SUSTOAH (clinic) to enjoy Moyo’s company. Initially neither monkey seemed happy with the introduction, Moyo was uninterested and Panchin screaming and getting as far away from Moyo as possible, yet after just a few days both monkeys could be seen sleeping together or sheltering from the rain. After a few weeks Panchin was released to the outside world where a great deal of curiosity was shown by Cesar the juvenile male spider monkey who took Panchin under his arm and showed him the ‘ropes’. It is a gorgeous sight to see two young monkeys bonding so easily, and if Panchin is not directly enjoying the company of Cesar he is actively mixing with the other young woolly monkeys. Panchin initially spent the days outside playing and returned to the safety and familiarity of Lulu enclosure in the evenings, but is now a permanent semi released monkey.

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Another monkey joining Moyo and Panchin within Lulu enclosure was Darwin, our young adult male Jurua red howler monkey. Darwin, along with all the other animals are needing to adapt to the excitement of having unfamiliar and new people around after the better part of a year with very few new faces. Darwin hasn’t handled the transition so well and in conjunction with a seemingly coming of age showed too much exuberance to one of our new volunteers resulting to a bite to her ankle. Douwe (alpha male primate second only to Olivia 😉) was on hand to intervene but Darwin’s normal playful demeanour had a more determined nature. Darwin is currently residing with Moyo while Olivia investigates further and corresponds with other animal rescue centres on the best way to deal with an amorous adult male howler monkey.

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Back in May, along with many other animals received from the ministry that month was a young spectacled caiman. After his transitory stay in Aguatena and having put on sufficient size the time had come to release him back into nature. All the volunteers were present for the release which is always an exciting moment seeing yet another beautiful creature being released into a natural habitat.

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After his brief stay in Pepe enclosure enjoying the best fare available. Otis, the Ma’s night monkey was released and was quick to resume his daily ritual of hanging about the volunteer house. Otis’ weight will be monitored over the coming weeks to ensure his weight and health is consistent.

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Takido our newest crab eating raccoon is progressing in leaps and bounds (quite literally) with his weight and independence improving constantly. Takido moved into the more spacious Pepe enclosure and is making the progression to solid foods. Fresh fish certainly appears to be a new favourite. Takido will now stay in Pepe enclosure until he is of a size sufficient to be released. In the interim he is being taken for regular evening walks by volunteers to familiarise himself with his new home.

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Bronco, the male capybara has settled well into the Momo enclosure and is lavishing in the attention on offer from anyone with five minutes to spare. The fact that he has spent most of his life as a pet and is unable to be released means that our strict “No Touch” policy will not apply in this case. It is difficult to see who enjoys the “petting” more, but the noises Bronco makes suggests he is definitely enjoying it.

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October was also the month where we received a visit of the governmental organisation, OSINFOR. This agency is responsible for overviewing and checking that all animal centres (including zoos) animal are following the law to the book, often involving a lot of bureaucracy, but a necessity as the illegal trade in animal is unfortunately one of the biggest markets in the world.

The visit went smoothly, some suggestions were made, but yet again we think Esperanza Verde passed with flying colours.

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Babies are always exciting, and more so when they are from animals that have a history within Esperanza Verde. Telling individual capuchin monkeys apart is a skill that does not come easily for all, yet nearly any volunteer over the previous five years could name Nera from her behaviour and demeanour. All eyes were on her over the last few weeks as it became blatantly obvious that Nera was pregnant, and as the month came to a close, we celebrated the successful arrival of another healthy baby capuchin.

SUST Animal Orphan Hospital

After a few months of the SUSTOAH being added to other feeding tours, this month saw us needing and having the opportunity to yet again have a dedicated volunteer on hand at all times. A full house with new arrivals and ongoing treatment meant that there was never a dull moment.

Dakiri, one of our resident female agoutis, spent a few days in the clinic after she was seen with a massive lump on her side. Being one of the less tame agoutis meant that both Olivia and Douwe had to be on their “A” game and after a few near misses Dakiri was in a bag and transported to the SUSTOAH for closer inspection.

The lump was found to be a large boil and after rather dramatically removing the fluid and thoroughly cleaning the wound Dakiri was kept in the clinic for observation for a few days before being released into Pepito enclosure. The major concern with this procedure is the shear stress of the situation can be enough to kill an animal of this type meaning feeding and cleaning regimes were changed to ensure the most comfortable stay possible. Dakiri quickly recovered and was brought back to her outside enclosure to settle once again into her standard routine, often the last to be seen feeding ensuring to be free from harassment from any of the other agoutis.

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Martin, a juvenile male Humboldts woolly monkey is spending some time residing in the SUSTOAH after it became apparent that he was losing weight and his normal condition was deteriorating. After stool sampling it was discovered Martin had both Prosthenorchis Elegans and giardia. Necessary treatment was administered and Martin will remain until he has the all clear.

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Martin was joined by Lupa, an adult female Humboldts woolly monkeyafter just a few days. Lupa unfortunately experienced a still birth and both her behaviour and mobility was not as good as it previously was. Lupa is receiving treatment as well as extra vitamins and like Martin is sure to benefit from the extra attention.

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And as there were not already sufficient woollies with health issues, we found Yauri, a young male who was released to semi-captivity some months ago, outside laying on the floor with a high fever. We decided quickly to take him in, and started treatment in the clinic.

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After her previous stay in the SUSTOAH Delta the orange winged amazon parrot’s weight was being monitored weekly. Although there are no apparent health issues Delta continues to lose weight while in the Igor enclosure. She now returns to the clinic joining Berta one of last month’s new arrivals for some personal time and a controlled diet ensuring she is getting the best care possible. If the new vocalisations are anything to go by one could suggest Delta appreciates the attention.

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We had a visit towards the end of the month from the ministry, but from a different location to our normal avenue of new arrivals. With them came two new young male spider monkeys of 3 months, named Miyo, and Ashuke of 12 months respectively and Rasu, a young large headed capuchin male of 5 months. Both older monkeys are enjoying each other’s company, whereas the smaller spider monkey is in a small cage and where possible is being ‘mothered’ by whoever is fortunate enough to be working in the SUSTOAH on any given day. All monkeys were formally being kept as pets or in the case of the capuchin seized prior to being sold.

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Two new yellow footed tortoises were left to us from the nearby village of Bello Horizonte. Often it is due to concern for their well-being that people hand over tortoises as they are still a welcome addition to local dinner tables. After a brief stay to ensure there are no ongoing health issues, both tortoises will be released into the relative safety of the small creek that runs through the centre of Esperanza Verde.

Construction

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While making a start with a new temporary enclosure for Wayra and Gaia, the two young ocelots, the focus is also on several necessary maintenance job. Geyler is now beginning to take over from Douwe, taking charge of the construction, as well as general maintenance. Together with two new workers, the reptile enclosure will be upgraded from wooden posts to metal and fencing where needed will be renewed.

We also got to see a lot more of Machico this month who normally spends most of his days at Finca Don Jorge. Machico spent the majority of the month cleaning the boundaries, around the new plantings and the plantations at Esperanza Verde. This is a task he undertakes at least four times a year and is invaluable piece of ongoing maintenance.

Volunteers and other

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This month we were happy to welcome 4 new volunteers with some staying for 3 months. Not only is their presence appreciated to assist with the daily running of Esperanza Verde, it is a welcome change to have fresh ideas and fresh eyes seeing enrichment and enclosures in a different light.

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October is also a big month for birthdays at Esperanza Verde. Marlon turned the big 12 and celebrated in true style with a party at home including friends, family and volunteers. Needless to say, plenty of sugar was consumed and everyone had a great night.

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Olivia our matriarch also celebrated her birthday turning the absolute milestone of 50!

As a surprise, her oldest brother and two of her best friends flew from Holland to surprise Olivia, arriving a few days prior to the big day. And although it is often hard to keep something from her, Douwe, Kayla and all here at EV, did a great job at keeping her in the dark. She literally could not believe her eyes at the moment they arrived. It was a happy gathering and needless to say, it was a great opportunity for catching up and making up for times lost to the world being in lock down. Inevitably they were happy to join us all and help us in the daily choirs at Esperanza Verde, a never ending operation.

The birthday celebrations started with lunch at Finca Don Jorge, then a change of venue and pace to the family house, to include the volunteers joining in the revelry, dancing and celebrating in true Esperanza style. Party time!

It is always remarkable how much can be achieved with such few volunteers. Although we were not fortunate enough to welcome any new volunteers in September, we did manage to accept more animals from the ministry of Flora and fauna. Read on to see what some of the existing residents have been up to and who will soon be joining their ranks after initial health assessment and quarantine.

Animals

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Last month we talked about Dilana, a juvenile female Spix´’s white fronted capuchin monkey and Maloha, a young female Humboldt’s woolly monkey moving to Pepe enclosure. This stay was short lived and as the month started the door was opened to allow both monkeys the chance to experience the greater space available to them in semi-captivity. Both monkeys were apprehensive to enjoy the freedom on offer, and, although a few inquisitive spider monkeys joined them briefly in their enclosure, our first attempt to entice them outside was unsuccessful. Releasing any animal can be a testing time and is not something that is left to chance. As there was nobody available to observe the monkeys we waited until the next day to try again. Although both monkeys had initial reservations, as the month came to a close Dilana and Maloha had adapted well to their newfound freedom with Maloha often seen playing with the other monkeys of our woolly monkey troop and Dilana regularly seen in the company of Nando and the recently released Kiano (both males of the same species as Dilana) or interacting with one of the many other juvenile monkeys.

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After spending a little over a month in the SUST Orphan Animal Clinic, Moyo (adult male Humboldts woolly monkey) moved into Lulu enclosure to enjoy the option of more sun and fresh air. Another benefit of the move has been that Moyo is now able to directly socialise with so many more of the other woolly monkeys through the mesh of the enclosure. The Lulu enclosure roof now is becoming a congregation place for eight or nine woolly monkeys at a time. At his final weight check for the month Moyo had gained a massive 15% on his previous weight in the clinic. His newly grown fur has a beautiful shine to it showing how much his health has improved.

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You might remember another monkey suffering from the effects of Prosthenorchis Elegans a few months ago; Yanamayo. This large headed capuchin male had lost virtually all his hair and looked to be wasting away. Yanamayo now looks like a new monkey with his hair growing back incredibly and being of a more realistic stature as expected. While in the SUSTOAH Yanamayo was approachable and easy to deal with and now his behaviour has also returned to slightly more troublesome as you would anticipate from a capuchin monkey raised by humans. Although it has been at times painful to see any animal go through this discomfort, it is so rewarding in seeing a remarkable recovery such as this.

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Our numbers were briefly bolstered with Marlon taking the lead for a traditional volunteer favourite that occurred again this month with all of the yellow footed tortoises in our reptile enclosure being captured for a general check-up and deparasitation. The reptile enclosure is another construction suffering from the ever-present humidity and in need of some maintenance. Therefore, it was necessary to catch and count the tortoises to see if all were present and accounted for. All tortoises were then moved to the Xena enclosure where they can safely enjoy all the regrowth that is present in an enclosure that has been uninhabited for a majority of the year after our peccary group was moved the purpose built Noroc enclosure.

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For some they were a tour highlight, interacting directly and lavishing attention. For others (prior to enclosure modifications) a gauntlet to be ventured into with caution and reverie, dodging a sometimes well-timed swing of small but intimidating antlers. Regardless of your feelings of being directly in an enclosure with them, it was a sad day when Kayla found Rabito (Red brocket deer) laying prone and being unresponsive to the food on offer. Douwe ensured Rabito was hydrated and made inquiries with our national and international team of veterinarians as to possible causes and treatments. Rabito’s demise was swift and on further investigation he was found to have died from internal intestinalbleeding, which we surmised to have been caused by his overenthusiastic enclosure companion Ringo. This deduction proved incorrect as less than a week later we fare welled Ringo who also succumbed to internal intestinal bleeding. After excluding food items as an issue, an inconclusive necropsy and further consultation internationally, we believe a virus or bacteria may have been the cause of this untimely passing for both deer.

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Otis, one of our more senior Ma´s night monkeys was seen one morning investigating volunteer movements. While not completely out of character for a nocturnal monkey, it was a great opportunity to catch him for general health and weight check. It was immediately evident that Otis had lost a great deal of weight in the previous few months. Without any health issues evident, Otis is now spending some time in Pepe enclosure where he is enjoying the best diet available while he gains back some of his former condition and size.

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SUST Animal Orphan Hospital

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Nando the male Spix´ white fronted capuchin monkey had a brief stay in the clinic with a wound on his knee. It wasn’t troubling him and appeared uninfected, but due to its location it was being reopened daily while staying outside. Nando is a very active social monkey never far from ‘trouble’, so the intention of his stay was to give him some quiet time to recuperate. It can be interesting to observe the change in behaviour of some animals when their freedom is taken from them. Within days Nando went from a content monkey to one bent on destroying anything in his enclosure, be it enrichment, branches for climbing on, or even the box offered as sleeping quarters. Nando was released back to the outside world after his short time inside and although the wound on his knee is still apparent it is healing and has not dampened his spirits. He can be seen the entire the day interacting and playing throughout Esperanza Verde.

The ministry of Flora and Fauna visited again this month and with them they brought enough animals to fill the SUSTOAH to capacity. Normally these animals would go to our new purpose-built quarantine but with such limited volunteer numbers the SUSTOAH is utilised to its full potential ensuring full animal care with the least disruption to essential daily routines.

Joining Esperanza Verde this month:

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• An Orange winged Amazon parrot, Berto, with its wing feathers dramatically cut. It will have a few more weeks in quarantine ensuring it is unlikely to create any health issues with existing birds before being introduced to a larger enclosure.

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• A young male woolly monkey, Panchin, who has been a pet for about a year and certainly is very vocal in demonstrating he isn’t getting the personal attention he has become accustomed to. He will learn soon enough from our resident woolly monkey group, that he is one of a kind…

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• A baby black eared opossum of only 3 weeks of age. As he is very young, this opossum will spend the next few months in the SUSTOAH until he is large enough to be released.

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• A male capybara about a year old, Bronco. Already this wee man weighs 13 kg, and can grow to be 60 kg plus. After a short stay in the SUSTOAH he moved to the Momo enclosure that surrounds the assistant managers residence. Bronco has been a pet for most of his life and unfortunately can never be released. He won’t have the necessary skills to survive in the wild whereas in Momo enclosure he will get more personal attention and as well as his own pond to reside in, till it is time to move him to a bigger enclosure.

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• A small yellow footed tortoise, which was on its way to enter a plane to Lima. We hope we will be able to release him as soon as he passed his quarantine time.

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• A very small yellow spotted river turtle. Both the tortoise and turtle are short term visitors, and after a clean bill of health will be released into the relative safety of the selva dormida.

Construction and other

Douwe, Geyler and the small team of workers at their disposal directly spend the better part of two days every week ensuring volunteers and animals alike have sufficient food. It is frequently an unsung task, yet one they undertake every week without complaint, regardless of the occasionally relentless heat or similarly unyielding humidity. It involves harvesting bananas, papaya, yuka, among others, and carry them all to the bodega.

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The loss of almost two days every week doesn’t seem to curb the enthusiasm or the ability to complete other tasks as they come to hand. September saw not just one room receiving a new cement floor in the volunteer house, but also the living area got a spruce up along with the necessary new cement floor. This was the last piece of the puzzle. Over the previous few months the entire volunteer house has received a new floor, replacement piles and a general tidy making it a fantastic revitalised home away from home for new volunteers.

Change is inevitable and this is certainly the case at Esperanza Verde, it keeps us on our feet and days are never boring. August saw volunteer numbers dropping dramatically as the effects of Covid on travelling to Peru remain in place. With all of the practice of having reduced volunteers over the last year, the team was up to the challenge and adapted as necessary. Travel restrictions are getting more flexible now so if you have some time to offer and feel like visiting (or revisiting!) Esperanza Verde to experience animal care and rescue first hand in the middle of the rainforest; we, and the animals need you!

Animals

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It was that time again where all the white winged parakeets in Tupak enclosure needed catching, assessing, a quick parasite treatment and then, where possible, the ultimate outcome of being released. Of the remaining 21 birds from our last big delivery of seized birds, 14 were deemed to have the necessary flight capabilities to return to the great outdoors and life as it is intended. It is truly humbling every day to hear parakeets flying free around Esperanza Verde knowing that they were fortunate enough to have been given a second chance.

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It was time for Wayra, the young female ocelot, to become more comfortable with different surroundings. Being a wild animal, even though young, she quickly was outgrowing the territory of the family house. We brought her to spend the days in the Pedro enclosure, formerly used by Grety and Diego, our two margays. For the evenings she returned to the family home, progressing to her permanent residence in Pedro. As she is unable to be released and is still young, the Esperanza Verde no touch policy has been relaxed ensuring this transition for Wayra is as stress free as possible, in turn giving volunteers a chance for more personal contact with what is a truly beautiful animal. As Wayra becomes more accustomed to her surroundings the no touch policy will come to the fore again ensuring both animal and volunteer wellbeing and safety, as a fully grown ocelot can become very tricky to deal with. Read on for one more reason why it is essential Wayra becomes comfortable in a real enclosure.

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Sumo our resident South American Coati got a new companion this month when Punsho was released from the quarantine. The initial release of Punsho away from the main areas of EV went smoothly with the intention of him moving into the jungle and becoming self-sufficient. Punsho however, had other ideas, and quickly discovered the volunteer house and all the exciting things occurring there. Plan ‘B’ was to introduce Sumo and Punsho to one another, and our concern of two males not being able to accept each other’s presence was unfounded. Both coatis are now seen throughout the day playing with a seemingly eternal amount of energy. Releasing any wild animal is not without risks and a lesson hard learnt in this instance is that if a coati decides he wants your compost or food bucket you need to let him have it. Janick, our current long-term volunteer, got in the middle of such a dispute, resulting in a bite in his leg. With a fully equipped clinic at Esperanza Verde a few stiches were quickly put in place and with the right medical care Janick was up again in no time.

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Anybody who has volunteered at Esperanza Verde in the previous two years would know the pirouetting, attention seeking and somewhat hilarious Takari, one of our young male black spider monkeys.Takari came to us as a small awkward looking monkey. Over the two years he was here, he grew and became an ever-present part of our growing spider monkey troop. Unfortunately, one afternoon he was seen to have a small drop of blood on his face and again later with similar fresh blood. Takari, being a successful graduate of the EV no touch policy was very wary of the sudden attention from us trying to have a better look. He did not let us come too close, and as he still seemed to be his playful self, we left him with the others. Unfortunately that afternoon it was the last time he was seen. We found his remains a few days later and, although a necropsy was not possible anymore, we think he might have experienced a fall sustaining an injury which resulted in his demise. As with any animal loss, it was a sad day and as his behaviour did not change whatsoever prior to his disappearance we can only hope that he did not suffer.

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Payco, (male crab eating raccoon) was released again to enjoy the best of both worlds. Freedom from the confines of Pepe enclosure with the added benefit of having an evening meal delivered to a nearby feeding platform. Payco has been seen frequently in the evenings since his release and is showing no signs of any issues relating to his previous altercations of only a month ago. It was an amazing and quick recovery and rehabilitation thanks to his strength and all the help from the whole medical team at EV.

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SUST Animal Orphan Hospital

Somebody made the mistake last month mentioning that the SUSTOAH was quieter than it had been in previous months. Call it fate, call it karma, or just a case of ask and you shall receive.

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Between a trip from Olivia to the Ministry of Flora and Fauna in Pucallpa to pick up newly confiscated animals, two displaced yellow footed tortoises being handed over from locals and another orphaned crab eating raccoon from a nearby plantation, the clinic returned to its full capacity. Proving time and time again how vital the support to fund the day to day clinic operations provided by the Suzy Utzinger Foundation from Switzerland is, and, how incredibly grateful we are that there are special people like you supporting Esperanza Verde and the work we do.

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The first two animals Olivia brought back were two monkeys. Dilana a juvenile female Spix´s white fronted capuchin monkey came with an injured right arm, which appeared to have been broken previously and is now fused. Dilana was kept company by Maloha, a young female Humboldt’s woolly monkey. Both monkeys served their time in quarantine and as the month came to a close were moved to the outside Pepe enclosure. Pepe enclosure is perfectly situated in an area of high monkey interaction, allowing both Dilana and Molaha ample opportunity to interact with many of the existing outside monkeys while still living within the safety of the enclosure, prior to being released to enjoy all the freedom that Esperanza Verde provides.

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The third animal to be picked up by Olivia was Gaia, a very young female ocelot. Still in need of a full time mother she was taken in by Olivia and Douwe, like Wayra had been only a few months earlier. Although both are of the same species, Wayra is a lot bigger than Gaia so introductions need to be done slowly and heavily monitored. While Wayra is slowly being acclimatised to enclosure living it gives Gaia time and space to grow and explore freely within the family home.

Cats like these, raised from a very young age by humans, have not learned the necessary hunting skills from their mother, neither the dangers of the wild, to be able to survive in the wild. We hope Gaia and Wayra will be able to give each other company soon, as it is already clear to us, while still being interactive at this age with Wayra, that we humans are not made to be their partners for the long run.

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For some animals, Esperanza Verde is only a short transition station. Local people know that we are taking care of the local wildlife, and, fortunately there are enough people like us who want to protect them. Sometimes a healthy animal is received, after being taken out of the wild recently. This can happen when the person is concerned of the animal safety, e.g. when it might be taken by people to be eaten. Generally these animals can be translocated directly, being released again in the safe surrounding of Esperanza Verde. This was the case with two yellow footed tortoises that were handed over from a local plantation. Before translocation, as all animals received at EV, they are checked and should be given a clean bill of health prior to release. Both tortoises were positive for parasites so were treated first until they were given the all clear. They were released and could be seen seemingly relishing in their freedom again.

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Similarly, a sub-adult pygmy anteater found its way through Esperanza Verde. When people were cutting down its natural habitat this animal found itself without a home. A good Samaritan brought it to us, and after we saw that it was well and healthy, we released it to the safer surroundings of EV.

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So with the clinic full, the family house being taken over by ocelots, another arrival, Takido, a two month old Crab eating raccoon came to live in the assistant manager’s residence with Alexandra. Takido was handed over by someone from a neighbouring village. His story is like many other animals ending up in our care. His mother had been killed in an animal trap, leaving the baby behind. Early progress was slow and Takido didn’t appear to be putting on size as with our other previous racoon acquisitions, but with perseverance from Alex and other volunteers in her absence, Takido is being introduced to solid foods and began to put on weight. Takido now spends days in the outdoor Lucia enclosure enjoying the sun and fresh air before returning to Alex’s cabin for the evenings.

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Prosthenorchis Elegans… as the month began you could be forgiven for thinking these two words and all they entailed were about to claim another victim in Moyo (adult male Humboldts woolly monkey). Moyo’s condition had deteriorated significantly and anybody with extra time on their hands along with dedicated clinic volunteers and staff were taking turns hand feeding Moyo to try and encourage him to add bulk to his emaciated, frail frame. He was free of any infestation but the toll had been huge and every time you returned to the clinic to find Moyo still alive seemed an absolute wonder. Moyo was given a course of pain relief to make him more comfortable and this appeared the turning point in his recovery. At the end of August, it is visually obvious we are still treating the same monkey, but his attitude and presence has changed dramatically. Moyo is now eager for his food and vitamin supplements and is not shy to make noises if he is not getting the attention and service he deserves in a timely fashion. If you ever needed proof to never give up, Moyo and his previous few months is a great reminder. His stay will continue in the SUSTOAH until his weight has reached an acceptable level and his eating habits have returned to normal.

Construction and other

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Geyler had the majority of August off to work on his own properties, and while this left us short one highly competent worker, it proved yet again Esperanza Verde is a team effort relying on all of the small pieces working together. With the addition of a new local worker, Douwe was able to pick up where Geyler left off. Another room has been readied for cement, water has been secured for the plantation Finca Don Jorge after initial supply issues, and a location for a new enclosure is being developed to accommodate the two ocelots in the coming months without encroaching on the space available for our two resident Margays.

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Dex and Rose, two volunteers from The Netherlands finished their painting adorning the entrance to the volunteer house. This latest painting is a welcome addition to the already impressive collection of murals around Esperanza Verde.

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Marlon had his first attendance at the local school since finishing in December 2019, and although only for a one week trial it is a stark reminder that Covid 19 and it ramifications are ongoing and being felt in so many different ways by everybody in every situation.

We are so very thankful for the ongoing support we receive from around the globe. All support in whatever form it takes is gratefully received and is vital for the ongoing care and attention each and every animal receives at Esperanza Verde.

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Caring for wild animals that were pets before, trying to re-adapt them again does not always come without trouble. Generally, human error is involved from the beginning that they were captured until the time they are ready again to be with their own species and live outside. All the doors at Esperanza Verde have a special system to prevent any of these individuals to enter and remind them the ‘fun’ they had in the home of their previous owner. This month Douwe and Marlon walked out of the family house and somehow made the rooky mistake of leaving the door unlocked. It did not take Mica, the first monkey arriving at EV, long to figure this out, letting herself in. Alex heard the noise, but with the door closed, she at first thought Douwe and Marlon were in there. But on further inspection, as the noise was a bit too much, she found two monkeys inside. One directly ran out, while Mica was still finishing up reorganizing Olivia’s home-office. Luckily, they did not do anything to endanger themselves, just gave enough mess to keep Alex and Olivia busy for the rest of the day.

Volunteers

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August is the month where Esperanza Verde is back to the low numbers of volunteers with only two joining in with the daily animal care and maintenance. It is always a great feeling knowing that so much can be achieved by so few and we are appreciative for any and all help given. Taking this opportunity to thank Craig Bright for being with us here all this time. He has been with us now for several years, volunteering first time in 2018, coming back in 2019, shortly revisiting his home country New Zealand, and staying with us now since February 2020, he has become part of our little family, and as well of the bigger animal family, helping us at all times, with whatever is needed at whatever time, never fussing or complaining….well until a certain point, and of course sharing a beer or two helps a lot as well in the process for keeping it all light at the heavier times. Thank you Craig, and we are happy you have decided to become our permanent neighbour, building your own place in Bello Horizonte.

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This month we would like to mention another special and now long-term volunteer: Janick Jaussi, from Switzerland. He volunteered at EV for the first time in 2018, and decided to come back to help and realize a very special personal project at the same time. Please read the next article to know more about him and his project !

The dutch tv show ´Floortje van de einde van de wereld´, who filmed an episode here in 2015 recently re-ran our featured episode in The Netherlands and immediately we received some new volunteer applications as well as several donations. So a huge thank you to the whole team of Floortje and Floortje herself for making such a wonderful show and drawing attention to the work we do here. Thank you to all the people who donated and are donating. Because of your generosity we are, and will be, able to continue to take care of all the animals in need. You help us make a difference.

Animals

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Yauri & Ricuna (a young male woolly monkey and a young female black spider monkey), were let out of the Lulu cage where they had spent a few weeks getting acquainted with the outside monkeys. We opened the door and after a few moments of hesitation they both ventured out. Yauri was greeted by a cuddle from Tushko (juvenile male woolly) and found his way quickly in the trees. Ricuna seemed to have attracted a surrogate mum in Yanay (one of our adult female spider monkey), and a playmate in Chula, the daughter of Cumala (adult female spider monkey). Ricuna seems to be very confident whereas Yauri is more cautious, however, has won over our alpha male Monano who intervened when one of the other monkeys was over zealous in his playing with Yauri. In the evenings Ricuna and Yauri are given the option of returning to their enclosure where they have the option to sleep in safety and comfort.

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Kiro, (young male large headed capuchin) is on the same daily routine as Yauri and Ricuna and he has found a new best friend in Biko (male juvenile large headed capuchin). Kiro is still a bit young to spend the night out by himself, especially as the capuchins will often move too fast for him, leaving him on his own during the day. It will take some time, but with his self-assured character he will get there soon enough.

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Maruja (adult female woolly monkey) and her baby Manuk are a constant reminder of a successful animal release, and as he is getting older, Manuk is gaining more confidence. Now he can be seen venturing a little distance away from his mother and climbing in the trees. And Monano (male adult alpha woolly monkey) still keeps his ever watchful eyes over them.

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Rihana, the young female collared peccary, was moved from the clinic to the corridor enclosure connected to the Noroc enclosure where the rest of our peccaries (12 in total) are living. She had time to get to know the others while having the safety of a fence still in between. It seemed she was forming a bond with Kohana as well as with Timo, the adult male of the group. She was often seen lying down on her side of the fence, while Kohana (the oldest female peccary) was lying down on the other side. After a few weeks we let her go into the main cage, and she directly was greeted by Kohana, doing the typical peccary-hug (rubbing their scent onto each other through the glands on their backs), and soon after by Timo. All seemed well, and Rihana was seen following Kohana around. Unfortunately, on the second day after her introduction, Douwe checked around the whole enclosure to search for her, and found what was left of Rihana. It seems that she was killed and eaten. We had high hopes as she won over the two alphas of the group so this was a very unfortunate outcome. We take all possible steps to prevent any animal harm trying to give the animals the best chance to have a life as close to freedom as possible in their natural surroundings. Sometimes nature prevails and no amount of planning and care can prevent regrettable outcomes.

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Selda and Yanamayu (female and male large headed capuchins) were ready to go out of the clinic and once again joined the woolly monkey Kamayo in La Sapa. After having recovered from a bad case of the parasite P. Elegans Yanamayu gained weight again and is now starting his (strange) personality again. Now they are both in La Sapa and even though they have respect for Kamayo; Selda has been seen teasing him by running up and tapping his tail and then running to hide. It almost seems she has forgotten of her love for Olivia and has fallen for the big fellow.

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Dani, short for Daenarys (mealy parrot), has been a resident at Esperanza Verde for a long time. She can’t fly because of a damaged wing and lots of volunteers remember her as the bird who will happily take a ride on your hand to get to the food table quickest way possible! Since more birds have been joining our aviaries lately, she has been having a harder time fitting in and got bullied a lot. After having started in the aviary Pichu, then Igor, then Elmo (all enclosures with other parrots), she is now back in the Igor enclosure, which she shares with a group of smaller non-releasable birds. She has started to make her old noises again, which we are taking as a good sign of her feeling comfortable again.

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SUST Animal Orphan Hospital

As the clinic hardly had any animals in daily care it gave us some time to do more administration as well as laboratory work. We even got some time to give the inside walls a paint refresh. But of course it will never last long before the clinic fills up again. This month we saw Mashi (male woolly monkey), Payco (male crab-eating raccoon), and Moyo (male woolly monkey) being admitted.

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Moyo, (adult male woolly monkey) was in semi-captivity for a long time. He was enclosed a few months ago en La Sapa as he lost weight and was coping with the infestation of Prosthenorchis Elegans. While being inside, we could control his diet and treat him. Unfortunately, his condition was deteriorating and we admitted him to the clinic. Here he has been able to get constant care from the person working the clinic as well as the management team. He has good and bad days. The worms of the parasite are coming out but it takes a big toll on Moyo, and he is hardly eating. He needs to be handfed, given medicine and given some extra attention. For now we are keeping him as comfortable as can be, hand feeding and keeping him warm. We are hoping he will show improvements soon and be returned to the comfort of Esperanza Verde freedom.

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Payco, (male crab eating raccoon) was brought to the clinic one Tuesday morning. Douwe, Olivia and Alex, woke up hearing some intense fighting and screaming in the dark morning hours. Douwe quickly located Payco, who was hiding under a tree. He seemed in pain, and was breathing strangely. We brought him to the clinic for a checkup and discovered that he had severely damaged his nose. Thanks to the quick response of our vet-team in Europe, we were advised how to proceed and before the working day was about to start the operation was done. Payco recovered remarkably quick. After eating porridge for 10 days he is now back in his old enclosure, Pepe, again and will soon be ready for his release once more.

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Mashi, (juvenile male woolly monkey) was discovered with an enlarged left testicle by a volunteer while giving him his daily vitamins. He was moved to the clinic for observation. The testicle was growing bigger, without any visible wounds, so again with help from our Europe-vet team we started treatment. It took some time to get the effect we longed for, but finally it started to have effect and the testicle became smaller. Mashi was not at all happy to be inside, banging the door and windows, when someone would pass by. So, as he is easy to treat and observe outside, we decided to let him out while continuing his treatment. He was a very happy monkey the day we let him out. We will of course keep an eye on him and his testicle!

Besides taking care of sick animals, unfortunately sometimes dead animals pass through the clinic. An important part in animal care taking is to perform necropsies to understand why an animal has passed away. This month one of the scarlet macaws named Ermina was found dead in Pichu cage. There is a water pond available for the birds in Pichu cage and we believe she fell in there during night and drowned, which was confirmed by the necropsy.

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Construction and other

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Another room at the volunteer house has been re-floored, a necessity after years as wood quickly rots here in the rainforest humidity! Geiler, Douwe and Craig together with help of one of our workers for Finca Organica Don Jorge, Rolli. Volunteers also pitched in to provide them with the necessary sand for the concrete. Not the easiest job to be carrying bags of sand for 250 meters from the river to the house, even in a wheelbarrow!

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Two Dutch volunteers, Dex and Rose, have been working hard to leave us a beautiful painting on the bare wall of the new toilet at the volunteer house. Here at Esperanza Verde we always appreciate some art and cannot wait to see the finished product. So far they are not getting too bothered by monkeys and can paint in peace.

Volunteers

July has been busy with volunteers coming and leaving and we are now at the crazy number of 7 volunteers! To everyone who has been here in the past that must seem as a really low number of volunteers as usually we are with a group of 10-12. We have seen, even with Covid, that we will make it work. But, with “low” number of 7 volunteers we have able to do more enrichment for the animals and spending extra time with sick animals. Furthermore, we are able to continue our daily tasks such as raking paths and keeping the bodega and volunteer house clean.

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Machico has also taken some of the volunteers on a forest walk. On this walk it is possible to admire some of the huge trees that exist here in the amazon and if volunteers are lucky (and quiet) they sometimes even see animals in the wild they wouldn’t normally get to see.

We want to say a big big thank you to our VET-Team in Europe! What would we have done without you, and not only this month in particular? Philipp, Katja and Lea, and all the veterinarians who assist you in getting the best care here at EV for the animals: THANK YOU!

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July is always a month with at least one celebration as Kayla turned 17! All volunteers were invited to the family house where Kayla had served up a buffet, games were played and cake eaten. A good night, thank you for the wonderful food Kayla and happy birthday!

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Dry season has started here with water tanks emptying quicker than they’re naturally filled up. No worries though, as we’re in the rainforest, and surrounded by a nice stream and big river which we use to fill the tanks with in the drier months. It gives us also more opportunity to enjoy the surroundings, especially while washing the buckets at the small stream, taking a shower at the waterfall, or going for a swim in the main river. On the day of the local celebration of the Saint Juan, we went with the whole group to enjoy our lunch break at the waterfall, while eating the local dish specially prepared for that day by Kayla and friends: Juanes, representing the head of the locally famous saint.

Animals

Thanks to all the people who have donated and are donating directly to Esperanza Verde or to our partners in Europe. Esperanza Verde has managed, and will be able, to stay on top and to provide the best care for all the animals. Thank you foundation Jaap van de Graaf from The Netherlands for another great donation which helps us cover a large part of the animal costs already. Combined with all the help we have from our team in Europe and volunteers now arriving, we are confident that we can only move forward.

A special mention is reserved to our new quarantine. Although we had expected to inaugurate this beautiful new building, financed by the foundation Jaap van de Graaf, last year, it was time to get it ready. With the new animals arriving we ´decorated´ two of the 9 available cages for the first inhabitant: Punsho, a young male coati. We hope to be able to release him directly from of the quarantine, after which we will make the entire quarantine ready for full use. Thank you so much Jaap van de Graaf, to help us be better in our care for all the animals.

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Kiro, (a young male large headed capuchin)and Mica (our first female large headed capuchin) were both released to enjoy the open spaces available to them within Esperanza Verde. While Mica was quick to resume her previous routine of keeping a watchful eye on Douwe, Olivia and family, Kiro found himself quickly playing with other young capuchins from our outside group, especially young male Biko. Kirois is under constant surveillance from volunteers to observe his habits and associations and other than a minor bite from our dominant female woolly, his behaviour and acceptance appears to bode well for a successful integration.

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Payco, the male crab eating raccoon, has now been released. Initial attempts at walking and keeping an eye on him was hard to do, as he desired no guidance and had no interest in us being there, and quickly disappeared into the night. Payco’s confidence and individuality hopefully will ensure a successful release. Our experience with previous releases of racoons showed they often come back to the familiarity of their enclosure some days after initial release. So it was no surprise to see Payco after two days getting some snacks in his cage.

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Armando our youngest Juara howler monkey has really come into his own in the last 8 weeks. Due to their special dietary requirements and ‘delicate’ nature our howler’s weight is measured weekly and this is the first time in two years where Armando’s weight has consistently improved for such a long time. He is showing also such a more playful nature which is so refreshing after his almost distant demeanour of the past.

SUST Animal Orphan Hospital

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Both Ricuna (young female black spidermonkey) and Yauri (young male woolly monkey) successfully completed their quarantine period. They were ready to join Darwin and Armando, our male howlers, having the enclosure to themselves during the day, with the added company of Darwin and Armando during the night. From the outset it was evident both Ricuna and Yauri were enjoying the fresh air, sunshine and extra space. Outside monkeys are showing a lot of interest in the newcomers often with our entire outside spider monkey troop in attendance.

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Wayra the young female ocelot is relishing in the attention and special care on offer at the family home with Douwe, Olivia and Marlon. Her diet and appetite has improved considerably in the previous month and is a credit to the hard work and persistence being put in by Olivia.

Selda, one of our female large headed capuchins, joined the male Yanamayu in the SUSTAOH, after a brief stint at freedom. Selda was returning to her previous habits of obsessing over Olivia and tapping on windows at all hours of day and night. Macu, our outside male did take an interest in her, but soon gave up, as she was completely ignoring him. So with Yanamayu being the only inhabitant at the clinic by the end of the month it was time to give him some company. He is still being monitored closely and we are still trying to get him to gain some extra weight. Rather than having to spend all hours alone the decision was made to give him the company of Selda. Maybe she can fatten him up a bit!

Rihana, the young female collared peccary, will stay a bit longer in the clinic, so we have ample time to prepare for her introduction to the other peccaries in the Noroc enclosure.

Construction and other

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Rimaq enclosure, the home of our two largest male spider monkeys Rimaq and Lucio, as well as Kres and Apollo (female and male large headed capuchin monkeys respectively) got a welcome refresher this month. Having enough volunteers to help in the extra tasks, Geyler and Craig managed the difficult task of closing the monkeys into the front cage before rehanging tyres, new bamboo and general cleaning; giving the resident monkeys a welcome change of environment. As all four monkeys have spent a great deal of time with humans prior to Esperanza Verde it is necessary to keep them in enclosure for both their and volunteers ongoing safety. Keeping enclosures fresh with new obstacles and entertainment is essential in the ongoing health and wellbeing of monkeys within enclosures.

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A job that was delayed last year, but high on the priority list, has finally started; the renewal of the entire volunteer house floor. A drawback of living in the jungle (there really aren’t that many) is that wood is directly affected by the high humidity. Room by room the volunteer house will now get new cement floor to replace the old wooden flooring. Thanks to the time freed up by the arrival of a great group of volunteers, Geyler, Douwe and Craig had the chance to work for several days in a row together to start the first room. Geyler and Douwe also gave the room an extensive clean and resealed all the walls. This along with the marble effect of the blue and yellow floor really gives the room a new fresh feel.

Volunteers

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This month we had to say goodbye to our French contingent this month. Peggy stayed longer than she anticipated and her input was greatly appreciated. The official volunteer count at the end of the month was eight and it is a welcome change from the previous year. Once everyone is up to speed we can expect great things in animal enrichment as well as Douwe stealing any willing and able hands for any of the many projects that he always has on the go.