October 2023 Newsletter

A changing of the guard, peaceful monkey moms, delightful clinic success and a total birthday bonanza – October went as quickly as it came. With a new house built and a few more volunteers, we’re ready to welcome November and all its adventures.

Animals

The beloved Maku, the alpha of our capuchin group, faced a new challenger and, sadly, met his match. Nature has its way of maintaining balance, and now Maku’s son, Namaru, has taken the lead. Maku leaves behind a legacy of 14 offspring and countless memories as he helped former pet capuchins embrace life in the jungle.

Last year Yanay and Cumala (adult female spider monkeys) gave birth to Yayana and Cumbo (can you guess who is whose baby?). Both youngsters are doing remarkably well, more independent every day and playing with the other monkeys outside. Though never far away, both mothers can be seen enjoying the peace of some well-deserved alone time.

SUST Animal Orphan Hospital

Panchin and Almira, male and female woolly monkeys, recently experienced some unusual behaviour. After two weeks of attentive care in our clinic of controlled diets, and treatment, they’ve made a full recovery and rejoined the lively semi-captive group, which now boasts a total of 14 woolly monkeys.

Due to a prolonged drought, we took the opportunity to refresh and maintain the pond in the reptile enclosure. The yellow-spotted river turtles, or Taricayas (their local name), received a clean bill of health from our dedicated vet, Carlotta, and were returned to their rejuvenated pond. As an unexpected surprise, we found one of the spectacled (white) caimans, released more than a year ago, living in the pond. An exciting discovery for our volunteers and staff!

Quarantine

Tocay, the beloved white-throated toucan, has moved to the Tupak enclosure, where he now enjoys the sunshine and fresh air daily.

November holds exciting developments as we prepare to take the next steps for several parrot species, a blue-and-yellow macaw, the male paca Pataku, tamarins Lyanna and Leto, and four yellow-footed tortoises.

We’ve welcomed a young roadside hawk, Garuda, a survivor of a forest fire, as well as Ronin, a young male jaguarundi saved from the illegal pet trade. Both receive dedicated care and attention from our team.

Construction

With huge gratitude for the support from the Swiss foundation Susy Utzinger, we’re thrilled to announce the completion of a new living space for our long-term veterinarian, Carlotta. This new space includes a private room with a small kitchenette, shared with our assistant manager, Arthur. The ongoing support from Susy Utzinger is deeply appreciated; from making one-time projects happen, to continually financing the SUSTAOH their impact is incomparable. If you’re curious about all the other amazing projects they do, check them out here. Thank you Susy Utzinger for making so many humans happy and animals healthy!

Volunteer life

Many ex-volunteers gathered for a fantastic afternoon and evening in the Netherlands, catching up on news from Peru, brainstorming new ideas and of course the returning EV pub quiz.

Our volunteer family continues to grow, with three enthusiastic new volunteers in October and more set to join us in November. If you’re up for a unique adventure where monkeys become your rooftop neighbours, then come join us in the Amazon basin or tell your friends about us. Your helping hands make a world of difference!

Irene and Kees all dressed up for Halloween

We were also delighted to welcome two returning volunteers, Irene and Kees from Holland. Their enduring commitment to our EV family abroad is priceless.

October was a month of celebrations, as we marked the birthdays of Marlon, Carlotta, and Olivia. Marlon, renowned for his party-planning talents, treated us to an exhilarating Nerf Gun battle with his village friends, followed by a heartwarming dinner filled with laughter.