As the year comes to an end, it’s time for the final Esperanza Verde newsletter of 2025. It has been a full and emotional year, and the last months brought many special moments, challenges, and successes. Let’s take a look back.
Animals
We welcomed southern tamandua Nakini, who arrived only a few weeks old and required intensive care. She was slowly introduced to milk, then termites and solid food. Recently, she had her very first encounter with a real piece of termite nest — and she absolutely loves it. Every time she receives a “mini termite house” in her enclosure, she happily licks it clean. We hope she will soon begin carefully exploring the outside world.
A big milestone was reached for our young large-headed capuchins: Shana, Kalu, Pacco, Kenzo, Aclina, Tirza, and Laro have been released! The hatch of their enclosure was opened, allowing them to explore the jungle for the first time. For now, they remain close, often staying near the Loki enclosure where the older, non-releasable capuchins live and where wild groups frequently pass by.
Female spider monkey Lumina also took her first steps outside. Before arriving at Esperanza Verde, she had never seen other monkeys. After several months in the Rimaq enclosure with adult males Rimaq and Lucio, who helped teach her normal spider monkey behavior, she was introduced to the outside group. Unfortunately, she became very fearful — especially of older female Cumala and young adult Rupano — and disappeared into the jungle for several days. Lumina soon realized that Esperanza Verde is her safe place and returned. We decided to give her more time by temporarily closing her back in, allowing her to strengthen bonds with the group. This approach seems promising, and we hope to try another release soon.
Sadly, we also had to say goodbye. With heavy hearts, we share the sudden loss of adult male spider monkey Rimaq. One morning he was found weak and barely moving and was rushed to SUSTOAH. Despite all efforts, he passed away that afternoon in Kayla’s arms. A necropsy could not determine a clear cause of death; poisoning or a bite or sting is suspected. Rimaq arrived at Esperanza Verde in 2014 and was a familiar and beloved face to many. He will be deeply missed.
Susy Utzinger Orphan Animal Hospital
Agouti Kampari returned to the clinic when her wound began healing too slowly and even worsened. She didn’t seem to mind the extended stay and enjoyed plenty of care and attention. After several weeks, she was able to return to the outside Xena enclosure with capybara Charra and is now doing very well.
After several months at the family house, Spix’s guan Fatou moved to the clinic. Arriving as a tiny chick with head trauma, Fatou required constant care. He (or she) has now grown strong and healthy and will remain under observation until recovery is fully complete.
After an intensive six months at Esperanza Verde, we had to say goodbye to our veterinarian Elja. She adapted quickly to jungle life and supported animals, volunteers, and staff whenever needed. Thank you, Elja, for all your dedication and hard work!
At the same time, we are happy to welcome our new in-house veterinarian Sigrid Nielsen, who will be with us for the coming six months. She arrived together with her boyfriend Doris, who will support the general work at EV. Welcome to the team, Sigrid and Doris — we’re happy to have you with us!
Veterinary support was plentiful in recent months. Anne König, veterinarian at Animal Park Hof van Eckberge (Netherlands), came to visit. After an initial contact a few years ago, Anne joined us to exchange knowledge and experience. She assisted with daily animal care where needed, supported the local castration program, helped care for Fatou and capybara Basco, and introduced us to the ZIMS software, kindly provided by Hof van Eckberge, enabling data and knowledge exchange with animal centers worldwide. We thank Anne and the entire team at Hof van Eckberge for their support, donated materials, and the start of this valuable cooperation through their Novo Mundo initiative.
https://www.hofvaneckberge.nl/park/dierentuin/novo-mundo
We also welcomed Amber, a veterinarian and friend of Elja, who assisted with a small castration campaign in the nearby village of Bello Horizonte. Together with Anne, Douwe, and veterinary student Julia, several dogs and a cat were treated. We are grateful to the Susy Utzinger Foundation for Animal Welfare (Switzerland) for making this outreach work possible.
Quarantine
Illegal wildlife trade sadly continues. The Ministry of Flora and Fauna asked us to take in adult female woolly monkey Dana, confiscated near Pucallpa where she was used for tourist selfies. After quarantine, she was introduced to male woolly monkey Kono, and together they moved to the outside Anishka enclosure. They are now getting used to the outside group, and we hope they can join the jungle group at the start of the new year.
Shortly after the release of night monkey Camilo, we welcomed female night monkey Odina, also confiscated from tourist exploitation. Her day–night rhythm had been completely reversed. Living in an outdoor enclosure with a proper sleeping box, she has now regained her natural rhythm.
We also took in three cobalt-winged parakeets — Cayen, Piri, and Masala, quickly nicknamed the Spice Birds. They arrived young, tiny, and bald, but grew fast. Within weeks they were flying and ready to move to the Lori aviary at Don Jorge plantation, from where they can be released back into the wild.
Construction & Other
Thanks to a crowdfunding campaign by the Susy Utzinger Foundation, preparations have started for the new capuchin release enclosure “Mica.” Located deeper in the forest, it will offer an ideal setting for future releases. Paths have already been cleared and the first materials are being brought in.
Support the construction here:
https://susyutzinger.ch/shop/produkt/auswilderungs-gehege-fuer-kapuziner-aeffchen-fuer-esperanza-verde-in-bello-horizonte-peru
After a night of heavy rain, volunteers woke up to quite a surprise: a tree had fallen directly onto the volunteer house. Thankfully, there was no damage. The team cleared it first thing in the morning, and some enclosures received a bonus — fresh branches to play with!
Volunteers & Other updates
We were delighted to welcome back a familiar face: Liam Conkay. After volunteering earlier this year, he returned — this time for a full year as part of the staff. With his love for animals and practical skills, he fits right in. Welcome back, Liam!
December wouldn’t be complete without Sinterklaas, shared with poems, handmade surprises, small gifts, and pepernoten. Christmas was celebrated jungle-style as well: while the family briefly visited Pucallpa, volunteers enjoyed a festive meal, gifts, and a refreshing night swim at the port.
The New Year was welcomed with games, delicious snacks, champagne and cocktails, and at 12:00 fireworks lit up the port. We ended the night around the campfire with the burning of the puppet, a yearly ritual to leave the old year behind, followed by laughter and good spirits to start the new one.
We would like to thank our subscribers, members, and donors across Switzerland, Germany, the Netherlands, France, and England for another year of support. Through donations, shared experiences, veterinary advice, and many other forms of help, we have continued to grow together. Thanks to this collective effort, Esperanza Verde has grown into what it is today, and together we have been able to rescue 7,045 animals to date.
We are grateful to have you as part of the Esperanza Verde family and wish you all a happy, healthy, and hopeful 2026.
Join the Team – We Need You!
We’re looking for new volunteers to join us in the coming months! Whether you’re traveling in Peru or dreaming of life in the Amazon, your hands and heart are welcome here.
Get in touch: info@esperanzaverdeperu.com — and come be part of something wild and wonderful.
¡Hasta Proxima!