Tomasita the Spider Monkey

Name: Tomasita

Species: Spider Monkey

Age: approximately 13 years old

Location: Parque Machía

Tomasita was brought to the park in March 2000 by a family from Santa Cruz. Although she was tied with a big chain around her waist it seemed that the family really loved her and took good care of her.
On August 21st, 2004 Tomasita gave birth to Primavera, a female baby. In the first few days Tomasita seemed to be in shock, She kept to herself and didn’t interact with the volunteers.
Her status as ‘alpha female’ was overtaken by Micaela in 2004/5. However, because she bullies the other monkeys more than Michaela, she is often seen as the most dominant female of the group.
Tomasita loves male volunteers more then females and often will do "sexy" faces at them. She loves to look at watches and see her reflection, it fascinates her.

Socrates the Squirrel Monkey

Socrates was held as a family pet in La Paz. He was bound with an iron chain in the family's balcony exposed to the elements.
La Paz's high altitude and severe temperature changes are far from the warm temperate climate of the jungle that is the Squirrel Monkey's natural home.
Socrates was also abused by his owner, underfed and in poor condition.
Like many animals, he was seized by the police and brought to the refuge. Here he became the dominant male of the squirrel monkey group and since his arrival he has sired many offsprings. His group continues to grow and prosper and inhabit the tree tops where they can be seen by the careful observer

Sonko the Puma

Name: Sonko

Species: Puma (Puma concolor)

Age: approximately 3 years old

Location: Parque Machía

Sonko Arrived at the park at 20 March 2004 approximately 6 months old. He was raised by a family and has been well treated. When he got too big for them to handle they gave him to the refuge. Pasqual (the refuges vet at the time) brought him by bus from Santa Cruz. He arrived with the name Leoncio but some of the refuge volunteers chose the name Sonko for him. It means "Heart" in the Indian language Quechua. The name fits him perfectly. Sonko is a well behaved, very affectionate laid back cat and most of his volunteers fall in love with him.
Sonko and Roy are neighbors and share their trails but they are quite the opposite of each other. If Roy is known as "The Running Machine" then Sonko is known as "The Lazy One". If Roy has really long legs and a slim build, then Sonko is shorter (not by much) and has a much bulkier build. You may call him fat and lazy, but you don't want him to hear you. Although, in the past year he has become much more active and faster on the trails. Sonko loves to go to the beach or to a little pond he has on his trail and swim. For some reason he will only go in the water after one of the volunteers has.
At April 2006 a new cage was built for Sonko. His old cage was too small for him and was falling apart. Sonko loves his new home so much that the day after he moved in he didn't want to leave and go on his daily walk( he usually runs out of his cage to do the walk). This happy occasion was possible thanks to the amazing effort of two volunteers, Annabelle and Stuart (who have done wonders at the refuge for almost 2 years).
Since Sonko and Roy use the same trails they sometimes meet (something the volunteers are trying to avoid). Roy doesn't really care since he is bigger then him but Sonko cares and gets irritated even by his scent.
Sonko will never be able to return to the wild. Having spent his first years in captivity his ability to hunt and kill his own food has developed but not enough for him to survive in the wild. In addition, because he was raised by a family, he does not have the basic fear of humans and if released he might wonder off to populated areas.
Now Sonko is approximately 3 years old and he has grown to be the most affectionate and strongest Puma at the park (second only to Roy). His weight is estimated around 60 kilos.

Simba the Puma

Name: Simba Species: Puma (Puma concolor)Age: approximately 5 years oldSimba was born sometime around March 2002. Originally named Gato, the volunteers changed his name to Simba. His first home was with a family in La Paz who kept him for two months during which he fractured the femur of his back right leg. A second family in Cochabamba was asked to take care of Simba by the first family because they were unable to care for him in his injured state. They kept him in a little dog cage and didn't feed him properly (no milk for example). After two months the second family was unable to keep Simba due to his larger size and playful behavior and so at the age of 5 months they gave him to Juan Carlos.
There was no good place for him when he arrived so they put him in a little cage (1.5 m x 1.5 m) near the casa, with all the trails shared with other cats and tourists. The lack of proper nutrition caused Simba to limp a little but once he was at the refuge the vet gave him calcium supplements in order to fix the problem. After a few setbacks a new cage was built in the forest with his own trails, far away from the people.
Simba is the most unpredictable cat at the refuge. There are days he just wants to walk and then there are days he doesn't even want to leave his cage. He is unpredictable with his behavior as well. Simba is also known at the refuge as the cat who can’t stop sucking his blanket and as "the Licking Machine" - he can lick his volunteers till they bleed (since cats tongue is so rough).
In order to volunteer with Simba you need to be confident and fit since he has the most difficult trails of all the cats.

Sama the Jaguar

Sama's mother was shot when he was about one month old and he was sold as a pet. He spent his first few months in an apartment in La Paz, and, at the age of six months when his owners realized they could not control him anymore they tried to sell him to a circus.
Fortunately for him, it was reported to the police which seized him and brought him to the refuge.
In his first year in the refuge he had a collar and a volunteer would take him for walks or swims all day. At the age of a year and a half when he matured, it became too risky to handle him and since then he lives in his own cage.
These days he is been taken out of his cage on a daily basis for most hours of the day. A large sum of money was raised to build him a new enclosure in the refuge's new land and building is planned to start in a few months.
Volunteers who wish to work with Sama are required to commit for at least one month and they usually stay and work with him for much more.

Watson the Macaw

Watson is a macaw which is one of most hunted birds in the Amazon basin. His kind can be sold at up to US$5000 in Western markets.
Watson lived with a family in La Paz until he started breaking the house furniture with his powerful beak.
When he was rescued and brought to the refuge he had broken wings to such a degree that he could never fly again.
In the refuge he found a mate and they spend most of their time together (macaws mate for life!)
Despite the fact he can not fly, he is free during the day (under the watchful eye of the volunteers) and can roam as he wishes. Only at night has he to go back into the aviary.

Boudecia the Ocelot

As with many animals, Boudecia was captured as a small cub after poachers killed her mother. Ocelots' fur is beautiful as well as unique, no two furs are alike and there is a high demand for it on the market. Boudecia was sold to a family living in Cochabamba and was named Tomasina. After her first couple of months as she grew the family had had enough of her as a pet, and she was put in a small cage (1.5m x 1.5m x 1.5m) in their back yard.
Boudecia stayed in that cage for 5 years. Her owners never cleaned the cage, nor did they let her ever out or come to pay any attention to her. Her food was thrown to her through a hatch door and she was given an inadequate nutrition (mainly milk and bread), occasionally she received some left over meat (while her diet should have consisted of raw meat only at that stage).
Luckily for her, she was brought to Comunidad Inti Wara Yassi by concerned neighbors.
Boudecia arrived at the park around September 2001 in the same cage as she was kept for the last 5 years. The bottom layer of the cage was about 10cm deep of her own excrement. Her fur was oily from the horrible sanitary conditions and her tail was chown almost all the way as a bad habit she developed in the cage. She was also very aggressive.
As a temporary solution, in her first day volunteers got together to triple the size of her cage.
But, as the days passed by and she was still aggressive and it was obvious that the cage was still too small for her, especially if there was a chance of her staying in it for the rest of her life.
A Canadian volunteer (Lisa) with a lot of help from all the other volunteers fund-raised money from her family and friends in order to build a better cage.
Finally, when the goal of $800 was met the building started. The site that was chosen was up in the jungle, half an hour away from the volunteer house and the village, as Boudecia was still frightened of people, especially men.
It took about 2 months to haul all the materials up the jungle (bricks, mash, cement etc) and build the cage with as minimal damage to nature as possible. The cage is about 5x6x2 with a separate bedroom, creak, small pool, 4 trees for her to climb on as well as grass growing.
In one early morning at the end of March she was brought up to the cage. Until that point, despite long and hard effort made by her responsible volunteer she showed hardly any improvement in her behavior and it was thought that the new cage would be used as a permanent home for her.
Boudecia has shown amazing improvement since she has been in her new home. She does a lot more exercise and plays more, she has stopped biting her tail, has started cleaning herself and her fur got a lot better and slowly enables her responsible volunteer to get closer.
For an animal that for 5 years felt no contact with any living thing at times she craved for it and came to be pet for hours. At the same time she had very big withdrawals in which, in her own language of hissing she demanded to be left alone.
It took 5 months of close and intensive work including a few nights spent sleeping next to the cage to be finally taken out of her cage and to be walked in the park.
The cat that was so aggressive and used to attack anyone coming close to her is now spending the whole day walking around in the jungle.
After almost 6 years she is finding out that nature doesn't necessarily have bars in front of it and can be something you can feel as well as see. Although her very harsh past, it can honestly be said that Boudecia's future in Inti Wara Yassi is looking much better.

Josafina the Coati

Josafina is a coati who lived in Cochabamba, in a small cage and was not fed an appropriate diet.
She was rescued by Inti Wara Yassi volunteers and brought to the refuge.
She arrived in very bad condition; she was very skinny and suffered from loss of fur and skin problems.
As time passed, she regained her health and put on more weight. Once released she began to look for the company of her own kind. She was quickly accepted, and in time, it was apparent to all that she had become the leader of the coatis group (this species is led by a female).
Today she is the mother of several coatis born in the refuge, in nature. Her heirs do not know the inside of a cage and are not dependent on human care. They are often seen on the different trails foraging for food.

Gato the Puma

Name: Gato

Species: Puma (Puma concolor)

Age: approximately 10 years old

Gato was originally caught in the mountains of Chile when he was 2 months old. After his mother was killed by hunters, he was sold on to a Bolivian circus, where he spent a year in captivity at a very small cage and as a pay per view sideshow. Gato was then trained to jump through hoops of fire. When he failed to perform he was beaten. The repeated beatings led to broken back legs.
Due to a lack of proper nourishment (he received only milk and bread), medical attention, exercise and an appropriate cage, Gato developed a calcium deficiency leading to a severe lack of growth. Gato's head and paws are disproportional to the rest of his body. Now mature, he is about half the size he should be.
In February 1997 a circus passed by Villa Tunari and several children from the village informed Juan Carlos and Nena about monkeys and parrots that were being mistreated there. The police were alerted and they went to the circus to attempt a confiscation of the animals. The circus denied having monkeys and a search was performed. While walking through the cages they passed by a cage containing a young puma. By the time he arrived at the park he couldn't walk or stand up properly and was quite aggressive.
A Canadian volunteer named Susie worked with him, intending to stay for two weeks. She stayed there for nine months, refusing to leave till Gato was fully recovered. Thanks to her hard work, patience and the medication, gradually he started walking again and today he can run, chase and even jump on trees. He likes to walk so much that his trails are longer than any of the other cats (about 10 km) and considered to be the most beautiful ones as well! He is recovered, but sadly, he will never be able to return to the wild. Having spent his first years in captivity his ability to hunt and kill his own food never properly developed.
Gato was the first cat to arrive to the refuge. His real name is Nene (named after Nena) but he was given the nickname "Gato" because of his calm temperament.
In November 2005 a new and much bigger cage was been built for him. This was possible thanks to few volunteers. Annabelle & Stuart who returned to the park especially for this project (and stayed almost 2 years, but that's another story) and a couple of volunteers who extended their stay just for Gato's new cage.

"Baby" Theodore

In April 2002 rumors reached the refuge that a circus camped near by Villa Tunari, was illegally holding monkeys. Immediately Nena, accompanied by two volunteers and the police went to the circus. There, they found two monkeys. To their horror, they found that the main attraction of the circus was dog versus monkey matches. People paid the equivalent of 10 US cents to watch a dog fight a monkey.
A baby monkey, Theodore (aka Baby), was kept in the circus. Luckily for him, he was too young, to participate in the matches but he was very weak due to bad nutrition. The rescue was just in time to prevent the horrible future he was facing.
With the help of the police the two monkeys were confiscated. Unfortunately, Theodore's problems were not yet over. The policeman, very fond of the cute monkey, informed Nena that CIWY could take the older monkey but that the baby was going to stay with him as the new family pet (an illegal act of course).
A complaint was filed against the policeman and after a court hearing the baby was returned to the refuge.
Baby came to the refuge when he was just a few months old and has adapted very well. He has been accepted into the capuchin group and was even adopted by a female monkey.
He spends a big part of the day on older monkey's backs while they teach him to eat and hunt or just take him for a fun ride.

Loca The Capuchin Monkey

When I signed up for two weeks, I was assigned to work with Loca, a three-year old Capuchin monkey. I received information booklets on the needs and habits of Capuchin monkeys, and a stack of typed files. Each file had been written by a previous volunteer who had worked with Loca.
When Loca was a few weeks old, a group of Bolivians snatched her from her mother and sold her in a market in La Paz. The Bolivian family who bought her kept her in a metal cage just large enough for her to stand. They cleaned the cage rarely, so that her fur matted and her skin grew infected from constant contact with her feces and urine. Her lungs weakened from the lack of fresh air. She grew nervous, depressed and irritable. The family nicknamed her Loca, meaning crazy, because of her erratic, and sometimes violent, behaviour. Her skin infection and mood swings worsened, and the family wanted to dispose of her. They brought her to the jungle to set her free. Loca had never seen another wild animal before. She clung to the family, hid in their clothes, and wailed. They brought her back to their home. A neighbour took Loca from the family and brought her to Inti Wara Yassi.
Loca received the same treatment as all new animals at the refuge. A veterinarian treated her illnesses, and placed her in quarantine for thirty days of observation. He shaved her fur to rid her of her infection, and, with the help of volunteers, slowly exposed her to the other animals. After the quarantine period, the volunteer coordinator assigned a volunteer to bring Loca up to the monkey park on a cord. This volunteer ensured that Loca ate properly, protected her from other animals, and started the process of integrating her into the Inti Wara Yassi family.
In her first few weeks, Loca stayed with her volunteer at all times and avoided interacting with other monkeys. Like all volunteers at the park, Loca's volunteer read information on the habits and behaviours of capuchin monkeys, and learned to set goals for Loca. At the end of her two weeks of volunteering, she wrote a progress report. The next volunteer read that report, and continued the work.

When I arrived at the park and read the previous reports on Loca, I set goals for my two weeks with her. I wanted Loca to be comfortable eating with the other monkeys and to interact regularly. Utlimately, we wanted Loca to become independent enough to be set free, and Loca's next volunteer was able to continue her programme and achieve this.