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Published: August 7th 2007
Margay
Similar to the ocelot but smaller and with bigger eyes
It's hard to describe the feeling as you see the landscape change and feel the temperature rise, for the first time.... The trees got thicker the air warmer, and I got excited! This was a project I was looking forward to for a long time...! It was an hour away from Puyo, heading towards Arajuno. An animal rehabilitation project in an oil town.
When I arrived at the project, my heart skipped a beat. These huts were looking a little more delapitated than the pictures on the web showed! Surely not...? As I walked up, an old man pointed the way to the project. Phew! It would be another 5 or so minutes uphill before I got there (and yes the accomodation was fine).
There were about 10 other volunteers from around the globe - UK, France, Germany, Canada, US - a pretty interesting mix of people and they made me feel at home straight away with a ritual initiation - mine involved the 'Shit Sheet' as I call it (long story!). Everyone is passionate about what they are doing and we all worked hard. An average day was about 6hrs solid work with a few hours break mixed
in, but it was usually pretty fun.
We cleaned and fed the animals, built new cages, took down cages, built fences and worked with the local family, who were just great people - strong of mind and body and possessing a real joy for life.
On my second day here we had massive landslides in the surrounding area that cut off the electricity (and therefore water too) for 3 days. This was something that would continue on and off, and we actually had a couple of landslides on the property itself which was a little scary. In fact we took down a Capuchin cage in its entirity for fear that it would fall off the side...! Some of the cracks in the ground were pretty freaky, and I nearly reduced my time by a week. But each time, people came and swiftly cleared the earth to the side and righted the electricity poles. This is something that Ecuador has to contend with each time it rains heavily... which can be quite alot.
As with the turtle project the time here went quickly. You feel close to the animals that you look after each day, and when it's
Cotopaxi
From the Andes to the jungle time to leave, it is of course a little sad. Most of these animals cannot be rehabilitated, much to my disappointment, and all for various reasons. For example, the monkeys need to be released in a group and obviously one that will accept them. The ocelot (which very sadly died due to natural causes - and on the day a film crew from The Real Gap Experience in the UK came to film us for a promo) needs a GPS system that costs over $4,000! The parrots can't be released if they talk... Of course there have been some happy endings, like the squirrel monkeys which were released now have a new addition to the family, and they stay in the vicinity of the project to harrass the macaw 😊
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christine
non-member comment
Cool cats -