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LATEST NEWS IN BOLIVIA

25th February 2008

With the first team of the year due to arrive at the Ambue Ari animal sanctuary any day now, QUEST has been working in earnest with our partners at the Inti Wara Yassi Community in Bolivia. While the initial plan for this team was to move and enlarge the enclosure for Jaguarupi, a 4 year old jaguar, to a bigger and better location within the Ambue Ari park, the recent wet weather and strong winds has created a new, more urgent task for them. Another jaguar in Ambue Ari, Katie, had quite a scare recently when a 30ft tree came crashing down onto her cage in the middle of the night, completely crushing half of it. Fortunately, the side where her sleeping platform is (and where she was at the time) was undamaged so Katie wasn’t hurt at all. This does mean that her current home is half its original size (an emergency repair job was modelled in the meantime) so they are keen to improve this as soon as possible.

So the area has been established and the materials have been bought for a 160m perimeter enclosure (as opposed to the 20 sq m cage she is in now), ready and raring for the team’s arrival. They are going to have to be ready for a hot, humid and mosquito-filled time but worth every minute once the job is done!

Check back soon for an update on the team’s progress, together with photos

10th February 2008

The wet season (December – February) is generally one of the hardest times for the animal sanctuaries in Bolivia. Nearly constant rainfall makes it impossible for volunteers’ clothes to dry and most paths in the Ambue Ari park are up to waist deep in water, making the daily walks with the large cats more like daily swims! Despite the challenging conditions, it’s still business as usual, with the dozens of pumas, jaguars and ocelots still needing to be walked on a daily basis, the monkeys still needing care and attention as they are being re-introduced back into the wild and constructions still need building as the flow of confiscated and unwanted wild animals is still coming thick and fast.

Fortunately, our first QUEST team will be joining forces with the local staff and volunteers in March, helping to lighten the load with essential constructions and support with the animals. It’s not too late to join our Team in June, where six weeks working with the animals and helping to improve the conditions they are living in will make for a wild summer!