Ikamaperou: Where Peruvian Primates Find Sanctuary

Hélène Collongues de Palomino, Ikamaperou, Peru
September 2006

Ikamaperou was founded in 1997 when my husband Carlos and I bought 20 hectares of land on the bank of the Río Mayo. Later we expanded our land to 66 hectares (160 acres), to create the Tarangue refuge. The land was already a natural habitat for many species of wildlife.

Early days

We received our first baby woolly monkey in 1999. The poor creature was thin as a skeleton, he was covered in motor oil, and he had no wool left on his tiny body. We hurried to find all available information about these animals, and found depressing statistics about the number of spider and woolly monkeys killed per year. We also learned about the importance of monkeys in the regeneration of the forest through seed dispersal.

Gradually our family of monkeys rescued from the bushmeat and pet trades grew. We now care for 14 woolly monkeys (Lagothrix lagotricha poeppigii). They are all living free in the forest now.

We also have a group of five spider monkeys (Ateles chamek). Four of them are babies rescued from trade. One juvenile male is five years old.

Another animal under Ikamaperou’s care is one female owl monkey (Aotus miconax). This monkey was found by young boys in the streets of the nearby city of Moyobamba. She was an extraordinarily friendly little creature and now lives in complete freedom. Fortunately many wild monkeys of her species live in Tarangue.  Our hope is that she will come up one day to show us her baby!

A typical day at the sanctuary

At 6:00 a.m. the keepers (Amirio, Gardell, and Percibaldo) go into the forest to check if the papayas and bananas left out for the rare Andean titi monkeys have been eaten (their bite marks are quite characteristic) and add more fruit.  The increasing number of humans on the land nearby puts pressure on the natural resources and can even change the normal social behavior of primate species. This is the reason why we put out extra food.

Gardell is in charge of habituating a group of Andean titis, staying still at the foot of the tree where they had spent the night or just waiting for them to get their food, and then writing down his observations.

At 6:45 a.m. the keepers prepare breakfast, the first of six meals fed to the monkeys during the day. Different foods are offered daily. This is important to avoid the deadly bloat that can result from monkeys eating too much of their favorite fruits. They eat a lot of vegetables and tropical fruits. However, we don’t give them extremely sweet fruits like bananas or grapes, which can cause diabetes and high blood pressure. They love shoots, flowers, and insects.

Each monkey has his favorite food.  Apu, the alpha male, just loves pecan and Brazil nuts. Suwa, the oldest female, is gleeful when she sees wild plums.  The little ones could forget their strong friendship and get into spats if forced to share wild grapes! All the monkeys just love quail eggs.

Until 9:00 a.m., the boys work on cleaning the woolly and spider monkeys’ enclosures, repairing swings and hammocks, giving milk to the babies, and offering vitamins to everybody, as well as other tasks.

Amirio is now responsible for the woollies. At 9:30 a.m. he takes them to their territory in the forest where he observes them from a platform 30 meters high in the canopy. When there is a new baby scared of climbing and scared of the group, Amirio will keep him on his shoulders and move in the trees with him until he feels secure.  The adults are wonderful with babies.  If one cries because he cannot jump from one branch to another, the big male will make a bridge of his body to allow the little one to pass. Some females will take babies on their backs or bend a branch to help the youngster cross.

At 5:00 p.m. the monkeys go back to their enclosures. They cause no problems, as they seem to feel secure in their night areas. It is important also for us to check that they are doing well.

Among the woollies we have just received are two large males who were very badly abused. One of them, now named Amana, spent over 12 years at a sailing club in Lima, the capital of Peru, where he was kept totally alone on a tiny island with no trees or branches. He has very disturbed behaviors, biting his own hands badly and constantly walking up and down with stereotypic motions.

The other monkey, Tsewa, was sent by a zoo to a store. There he spent two years in a cage so small that he could not move around or see the sunlight.  Our rehabilitation efforts include grooming them, giving them rotten tree trunks so they can look for insects, and handing them bottles filled with fruit that they try to get out anything that keeps them busy!

They are next to the spider monkeys, and they all enjoy each others’ company.  These very young animals cannot go out yet. The baby spider monkeys are taken around their enclosure and will soon be taken to their own territory. They are very spectacular in the trees. I have seen myself how the little baby male was protecting a smaller female baby from the rain, sheltering her with his whole body.  I remember that spider monkeys were the Mexican artist Frida Kahlo’s favorite monkeys; I can understand why.

Health problems

The health problems we confront are mainly digestive problems or dysenteries.  We must worm the sanctuary monkeys and be prepared to react quickly as the woollies, especially, are extremely fragile.

We have good vet connections by e-mail, but we lack a competent veterinarian in Tarangue. I wish your wonderful IPPL vet would come to Tarangue. We have a nice bungalow overlooking the river for him!

The other problem is that some babies were captured too young to learn from their mothers about toxic plants or insects.

Wild monkeys

In Tarangue around 20 wild family groups of the very rare Andean titi monkey have found a safe harbor.  They live only in this region and are monogamous. This makes them very vulnerable, and the species is considered by primatologist Noel Rowe to be critically endangered. Many saddleback tamarins also live here.

But working for conservation in Tarangue means not only protecting five different species of primates.  It involves protecting all the wild creatures living there, including anteaters, two- and three-toed sloths, opossums, armadillos, toucans and toucanets, green parrots, pacas, and agoutis. On one recent morning we saw a poor agouti crossing the river to escape from hunting dogs. He literally collapsed on the banks of the Tarangue River; he had narrowly escaped death by finding the right place. Many orchids and butterflies also find also a place to reproduce here.

Expanding forest protection

My husband Carlos has already established contact with different native communities along the Huallaga and Paranapura rivers. The local people are absolutely willing to help protect the forest as long as we help them with education and legal advice. Carlos also plans to visit the Pacaya Samiria reserve looking for the places to protect wild populations of woolly and spider monkeys. We want to buy a big territory and work with Indian communities to secure the land.

The most effective way to protect fauna is to buy land and protect it. We would like to buy land to increase the protected area around Tarangue and establish habitat corridors for the population of Andean titis. Another dream is to buy land next toPacaya Samiria.

It is our responsibility to give Amazonian Indians the means to live from the protection of the forests. They will protect the forests far better than any bureaucrats.

Education

The aims of Ikamaperou’s educational programs are to give native youngsters educational materials regarding threatened primates and to promote awareness among the 14 communities of the Alto Mayo. I have a little project for children, and often take them to
Tarangue where they watch the animals in freedom and learn about Amazonian medicinal plants from a botanist friend of mine. Ikamaperou also helps local people to seek alternatives to hunting and thus allow the survival of all primate species.

We prepare our own PowerPoint presentations on the importance of protecting the forest and the fauna, on local endangered primate species, and on law enforcement. We work closely with authorities and indigenous communities.

We have difficulty finding educational materials about the Amazon region in Spanish, however we also need to get a battery-powered laptop computer to show DVDs in remote areas with no electricity.

Volunteers

Moyobamba, the nearest city to Tarangue, is a wonderful place for volunteers. It is located at an elevation of 800 meters (2,600 feet) and the climate is mild and pleasant. Getting there is not too bad! From Lima you take a one hour flight to Tarapoto and then it’s a taxi drive lasting an hour and a half to Moyobamba. The project does not depend on volunteers, but they are welcome to come and help. Please contact ikamaperou@yahoo.com for information.