Ecuador Eco Volunteer

Archive for the ‘Animal Rescue Center’ Category

Bamby the beloved Tapir that has enchanted our volunteers at the Animal Rescue Center for years has been killed. Medardo who has cared for Bamby for over 15 years since she was a baby tapir is devestated – she was like a child to him.

The Amazonian Tapir or Bairds Tapir is the largest land animal native to South America. It is also an endangered species especially in Ecuador due to deforestation and habitat reduction as well as its meat being considered a delicacy for many indigenous tribes.

Until this horrible news Bamby was one of the Animal Rescue Centers best success stories. The way Animal Rescue Centers work is that they are delivered animals that have been rescued off deforested land or from the black market in animal trafficking. The Animals are then “rehabilitated” which is to say they learn in a safe environment how to survive on their own before they are released back into the wild.

You need to be very careful when choosing to volunteer at an “Animal Rescue Center” in Ecuador and South America because many claim to rehabilitate and release the animals but actually work like little Zoos.

These places keep the exotic animals in cages and claim they will release them into the wild but never do because they attract the money of foreign volunteers. Here is more on the subject:

Animal Rescue & Rehabilitation Centres (ARRCs) – Are you being conned?

If you are planning to volunteer at an ARRC, go in with your eyes open; consider the following (my opinion);
o For some ARRCs the temptation to rip-off their volunteers is hard to resist.
o Working in some ARRC’s may be counter-productive if they maintain a ‘stock’ of animals to attract volunteers.
o There is a view some in western fund-raising circles that *all* South American ARRC’s are corrupt.

You can read the rest on volunteersouthamerica.net in the article called Volunteer Scams and Warnings

The Animal Rescue Center we partner with works in a way that the animals are free to roam around the 75 hectares of primary rainforest on the Centers property. As the animals become more confident they stray further away from the Animal Rescue Center but they always have the option to come back to the secure base for food.

The Amazonian Tapir is a solitary and nocturnal animal that roams great distances in search for food and a mate. As I have already mentioned Bamby was one of the greatest success stories at the Animal Rescue Center because she had become increasingly independent and straying further and further away from the center and sometimes would not be seen for weeks.

I remember when two of our voulnteers Brian and Michelle from South Africa said they went looking for Bamby with Medardo because she had been missing for over 2 months – Medardo loved her so much he started crying when tey found her – she had never disappeared for so long.

The next time Bamby went missing Medardo only found her bones.

After Bamby the Tapir had been rehabilitated and released into the wild she often returned to the Animal Rescue Center for the next 20 years of her life.

In the end she would die in the wild but does that justify the other so called Rehabilitation Centers that keep their animals in cages for their own “protection”? Or did Bamby deserve the right to live free regardless of the risks?

Here is what Caroline Ely from the UK fthinks about her time volunteering in the Amazon at the Animal Rescue Center – But first the shortened version: “After finishing my 6 month travels through all of South America this was by far the high light of my trip and i hope to one day return.”

I spent 2 months volunteering at the Animal Rescue Center in Ecuadors Amazon rainforest and had the most amazing time there. Its hard to put into words how magical the place is. When i first arrived i was picked up in Puyo by the owner named Merdardo, who was very friendly and chatty and it was easy to see that he was very passionate about the animals which he looked after.

After a quick trip to the supermarket we went to the Animal Sanctuary in the jungle where i was welcomed by an amazing group of other volunteers all willing to show me around and let me know what there was to do on a day to day basis.

There was a big mix of animals at the sanctuary, all of which were on their own journey to being rehabilitated back into the wild. I was fortunate that whilst i was there a little 3 year old spider monkey had been rescued from the black market in animal trafficking and i was lucky enough to be appointed the “mother” of this adorable little monkey.

I got to spend my days with her in the cage building up her trust so i could then let her out of her cage daily for her to roam around the jungle as she wished before returning with me to the cage. This was so very rewarding knowing that id helped her become more confident not to be scared of the outdoors (as she was previously a pet kept indoors!) I also feel i need to mention Lucero, Merdardos wife who is the kindest person i have ever met and works so hard to keep everything going, and is always around if you need help for any reason.

The Animal Sanctuary is in a beautiful place in the Amazon surrounded by animals and amazing rivers to wash in and i would class it as a very tranquil experience. After finishing my 6 month travels through all of South America this was by far the high light of my trip and i would hope to one day return.

Here is Matthew Jeffries second volunteer testimonial from his experience with the 9 week volunteer package, this time at the Amazon Rescue Center deep in the Ecuadorian Jungle. One of the wonders of Ecuador is how starkly different the landscapes are between regions as you can see from his photos in the previous post.

When we arrived in Puyo in Ecuadors Amazon by bus, we were greeted by a friendly face with a sense of fun hidden behind the eyes….Merdardo. On the trip towards the centre in his van ‘Shine on you crazy diamond’ by Pink Floyd was playing, never a truer word could be said about Merdardo, a little crazy, but there is no reason for him to change as he has a warm heart and a good sense of fun.

Also on this trip 2 guys hitched on the back with shotgun’s and machete’s, whilst initially taking us aback, we soon found out that people around this area of the Amazon are very friendly, and these two were clearly just doing their jobs and hitching a ride on their way.

Once we got there we were showed to the Amazon Rescue Center, we weren’t in the main house, but the other had a hammock and was up an amazing path where everywhere you looked you would see another stunning butterfly or amazing plant, leading towards the house with anastasia (a weasel type animal) and amelia (the paca) nearby.

Every day we went down for our two feeds and each person had a favourite animal, all choosing different animals for different reasons. I loved jacqui, who would swing near the entrance when she wanted food, and needed a person to go in each day to spend some time with her and befriend her. Luckily for me she took to me straight away and from then on in (except when it rained) she would swing over, grab onto my head and climb down onto my lap and curl up ready to be stroked.

This never got boring, and the day I was leaving the Amazon Rescue Center I’m sure she had some kind of animal instinct as she kept grabbing onto my head and wouldn’t let go as I tried to leave. A truly amazing animal, but that isn’t to say that the other animals didn’t have their own personalities…the other monkeys, the noisy, strong wooly monkeys, the crazy energetic squirrel monkeys and the shy, unusually marked tamarin monkeys paying a visit was always a pleasure.

The parrots, with Loca the all talking, all laughing, parrot who climbs upon your shoulder and ruffles her feathers, grumpy green who appears to be waiting for one person who he will love with all his heart, until then he will make a kind of growl at most contact and petrucio and the other parrots who each snatch for the food, but each has an endearing personality.

The tortoises who slowly make there way over to you at feeding time snapping away, getting muddy and stumbling over each other. The paca with her interesting markings and big teeth, cute and reserved, the warthog similar. The two snakes, one big one small who I unfortunately never got to feed and finally anastasia who I mentioned earlier, a weasel type animal with a lot of energy and a wicked sense of instinct, I personally couldn’t get to love her, but in her own way she was endearing and maybe others could get to love her.

All of this on top of building things, the constant amazing guidance and love from Lucera and the trips to the jungle river for a dip in the sun made for an absolutely amazing volunteering experience in the Amazon and I would highly recommend it to anyone.

There is little wonder why the Amazon Rescue Center is by far the most popular volunteer program on Ecuador Eco Volunteer. All of our volunteers care deeply about the Amazon Rainforests conservation because it is such an important part of the planet – the “Earths Lungs” – which is responsible for filtering the pollutants and carbon dioxide in the air before converting it into clean breathable oxygen. Without the Amazon we would all die of asphyxiation.

The volunteer program in the Amazon Rescue Center is designed for those people who are passionate about the jungles preservation. There are two important tiers of the project, the first is growing saplings that are then planted on deforested land. The second is taking care and rehabilitating a diverse range of animals that have been rescued from the black market in animal trafficking or areas of the Amazon that have been logged.

Check out the following testimonials from our volunteers at the Amazon Rescue Center over the years to get a better idea of what you will be doing when volunteering in the jungle

Volunteer Testimonies from the Amazon Rescue Center

Here is the experience of Jack and Nick, two 19 year old lads from Manchester in England about their volunteer work in the jungle

Lise Blanchard a medical student from France experience in the Amazon Rescue Center

Photos from Chris and Chris, two friends from Germany and England that volunteered in the Amazon Rainforest

And now for Anika from Sydney, who volunteered at an indigenous community in the Andes as well as the Amazon Rescue Center

Angela and Jye an Australian / New Zealand couple who studied Spanish with us before volunteering in the Amazon

and finally Finn from the Netherlands who talks about his time doing volunteer work in the Amazon Rainforest

If you are serious about trying to make the world a better place and saving Earths most precious natural wonder then dont wait any longer, email us at ecuadorecovolunteer@gmail.com

Finn from the Netherlands just finished his time volunteering in the Amazon Rescue Center and this is what he has to say about his time there:

It is, indeed, a challenge to write a unique entry about the time I had. I struggle to think about what to write, without repeating previous entry’s by saying,’ I did [this], and I loved it’. That, of course, is not a bad thing. Seeing that everyone did something and ‘loved it’ just goes to show how such a diverse selection of people can share the same love, joy and experience.

Ok, introduction over, here is my entry:
I have taken many (literally hundreds) of pictures whilst I have been here. However, amongst the endless amount of smiles and laughter, there is just something about this place that can’t be captured by a camera. What makes this place so special? The animals? This would be the obvious answer.

However, from my experience, it’s the people; Lucero (the mother) is one of the kindest, sweetest types of person I have met. Her love and care for the animals and plants is inspiring. The world could defiantly do with more Luceros.

Medardo (the father) is fantastic. He is one of those people who you cant be around without big smiles and much laughter being present. His passion for bambi is what is needed to help these astonishing animals stay with us on this planet.

David (the son) is brilliant. I often wonder why I get on with kids as good as I do. The conclusion I usually come to is simply; because I am one. This being said, I also have a phone he liked to play on. I will always remember David. He is fearless, funny and a pleasure to be around.

‘What about the animals?!’ I so desperately hear you cry. Well, what is great about the animals is that they all have their own quirks and characters. I could list them all but I simply don’t have the space, time or vocabulary.

I hope the videos I made will, in some way, bring more money to this precious sanctuary. I will truly miss this place and I have no doubt I shall return with better spanish, more people and some good old ‘can-do’ attitude!!

Until next time,
Finn