Bioparque Amaru Zoo in Cuenca

Captain's log, Day 33: After arriving in Cuenca last Saturday, I went immediately to the hills to check out Bioparque Amaru Zoo. I can't possibly do justice to my amazement at the accomplishments and passion that drove the creation of this organization in one post, so bear with me. Bioparque Amaru is a conservation leader at the forefront of development and habitat destruction in Ecuador. They are an incredible collaboration of local biologists, environmental administration members, and their family and community members committed to preserving and educating the public about the native animals and ecosystems in Ecuador. Stick the field station/botanical garden/zoo/recreation site/wildlife rescue center on an Andean hill with a breathtaking view of one of Ecuador's most beautiful cities, and you have Bioparque Amaru. 

Hey all! I want to lead you on a brief tour of Bioparque Amaru before I detail the insane amount of ongoing conservation work under director Ernesto Arbelaez, his wife (and fellow conservation biologist) Amanda, and the rest of the cadre of dedicated environmental workers and community members.

Without further ado, Bioparque Amaru.

This is the view from the parking lot. Yes, this gorgeous, sweeping view of the Andes over Cuenca is what rewards you after the fifteen-minute hike up the road from the bus stop.

The Zoo!

I mentioned in a previous post that this map is misleading: the entire zoo is built into a gorgeous hillside. The pictures at the top of the map represent the organization of the zoo into various zones representing Ecuador's diverse ecosystems, with each zone containing animals on exhibit that have been rescued from illegal trafficking. Even the few animals they have in the exotics section are rescues from circuses in Quito: Ostriches (Avestruces, in Spanish) and African Lions.

The vast majority of the walkways, exhibit frameworks, and buildings here are made of invasive Eucalyptus and Bamboo species cut on the property itself: the zoo has ongoing native planting projects with the end goal for the property to be completely plant species native to the Andes.

Like the ticketing area building!

It's a beautiful zoo, with lots of art contributed by community members. There are signs like these as well as posters displaying environmentally-themed poetry about the animals and forests of Ecuador from a native poet.

The amount of excellent biological information they pack into these zoo signs is INCREDIBLE! Excellent work by the biologist supercouple, Ernesto and Amanda, and all their collaborators.

Andean or 'Spectacled' Bears are endemic. The zoo has four of them, one a potentially expecting mother.

Again, I really admire how well-written the conservation information is on these signs. Most people I saw stopped to read them, too, which was really encouraging.

A bear just chompin' on some choclo (thick corn like hominy).

Do you know the difference between a llama and an alpaca? This is an alpaca! So many farms around here keep both of these lovely camelids. Indigenous groups were keeping them before the Inca came and conquered this area, a hundred years before the conquistadors.

The square footage in nearly all of the exhibits is impressive. The bears, ocelots, and pumas have so much room to roam!

Tigrillo (ocelot) and Puma size comparison.

Many of these posters conveyed the urgent need for conservation efforts with seriously compelling stats: this one shows the remaining amount of pristine Andean forest (about 3% of the original) by saying if the whole poster represented the original amount of primary Andean forest, the small red square is what remains.

The biodiversity of Ecuador is simply mindblowing: each of the diverse ecosystems has so many stunning endemic species. Take for instance the Andean Toucan. The one they have at the zoo was seized from a market where it was being sold as a pet, as many of the animals are in the zoo.

The zoo is also invested in many condor monitoring studies, and wants to expand an Andean Condor breeding program. We have a lot of interest in expanding our condor program at the National Aviary, too---a partnership is in order!

Because a lot of the wild caught animals at the zoo were kept as pets before they were rescued, there are a lot of personalities. The zoo doesn't name any of them, and tries to encourage the re-development of natural behaviors in their large outdoor exhibits. This white-lipped peccary was quite a ham (har har har).

Snuggly collared peccaries.

There was a wall of beautiful pictures taken by Ernesto and others involved in Andean Condor monitoring.

More happy peccaries!

The zoo doesn't turn away animals of any type. They even have a walk for invertebrate conservation and appreciation!

More on this later, but most of the new rescues at the zoos are birds that have been seized in illegal markets. There are a dozen parrotlets of two species here, and so many more held in quarantine. Ernesto has the room to build a larger aviary and exhibit for native parrots, but needs a good floor plan and funding! I am hoping to help develop those plans in my time here.

If you look closely at the lazy crocodile in the upper right, you can see she's decorated herself tastefully with pond weeds. A bunch of people were commenting on how lovely she was while they read her sign.

Land tortoises of various species are big on illegal markets, too---the zoo has a couple dozen, many of them waiting for exhibit placement behind the scenes.

Quarantining new arrivals is a crucial process for any zoo or wildlife center. This red-headed parrot is in the later stages of zoo introduction, awaiting imminent introduction to the outdoor parrot gym.

Surrounding the zoo's property are a number of small highland farms and houses. More llamas and alpacas!

So many crafty monkeys.

More on this in a later post, too, but Amaru has a partnership with both the Philidelphia Zoo and Lewis and Clark in Oregon for herpetological studies and amphibian conservation. Their herp lab is home to hundreds of individuals of endangered amphibian species.

Monkey islands! Many monkeys won't swim past the moat, and if they can't jump to other trees, they are (relatively) contained.

In the bottom left you can see the Gray-Winged Trumpeter, a bird I got to know at the National Aviary. Amaru is expanding its number of multispecies exhibits every month: there are a number of small primates in here, as well!

For all the animals, there are currently only two keepers and the director Ernesto. They definitely need more manpower and more help. It's insane how hard they all work and how much they really love what they do. We were really blessed at the National Aviary and Oakland Zoo with the amount of volunteers we had...if you're looking for summer opportunities abroad, check them out, Pomona people!

There was a huge exhibit for Capybaras and Tapirs.

A really friendly, ex-pet Capybara. This is the issue with most of the animals on exhibit: most of their natural instincts have been extinguished, and they really gravitate towards people, who they believe will feed them.

Or pet them, or something. It can appear funny and enchanting, but in the end it's really sad. I'm sorry my species took you from your home, little Capybara.

Tapirs.

Tapirs that are not as interesting as the Capybara, says the Capybara.

The layout and exhibits really do pull off the very natural look. The zoo's doing an excellent job of that. They have an orquideria (tropical orchids to represent the cloud forest vegetation) and dry forest garden, too.

Three ocelots on exhibit, all seized pets.

A number of macaws and parrots on the outdoor parrot gym. Again, a flight aviary would be great and probably safer for these guys...stay tuned for later posts on how I want to help make that happen!

This lion in mid-yawn looks a lot more fierce than she is in reality. As I mentioned earlier, these lions are rescues from circuses in Quito and their progeny.

The ostriches are circus rescues, too. They also have the best view of the city, which is kind of unfair given their natural gift for getting good views.

At the zoo's exit, there's a photo-op...

...and signs about human impacts on the environment. Way to be insistent in sending the conservation message, Amaru. You're doing an excellent job.

A few more pictures of my second day after this! If you haven't gotten how much I love the views from the zoo, here's another picture.

I began my food prep and animal feeding training that day. Here are some of the trickier squirrel monkeys...they're really good at not staying in their exhibit during the day, but good at coming back at night.

The zoo also has a walk-through in the exotics section filled with various bantam species, peacocks, and guineas! I even get my poultry husbandry fix here. So awesome. Hi there, Silky Bantams!

Most of the food available around here is fresh and organic. The animals reap the benefits.

Whole papayas, for those of you in the states who are not familiar.

One final comment on the zoo's nature reserve mindset: I was able to see three native Anrean hummingbird species, two tanagers, a grosbeak, and various raptors on the zoo's property during my walk-through. This caterpillar was next to one of the pathways, too. So not only are they a zoo, a field station, a rescue center, and a botanical garden...but they are also preserving native habitat for wild and local Andean species. Incredible.

As my mentor at the National Aviary, Dr.Steve Latta, told me when he gave me Ernesto's contact: Bioparque Amaru is a wildly impressive organization, founded on the ambitious passions of a small group of amazing biologists. I am very grateful that I get to learn and work here for the next six weeks, and hope that I can help them live their mission in any way I can.

Please stay tuned for more zoo updates and details about the zoo's needs, future plans, and conservation programs! I am in the process of launching a kickstarter to fund the building of an Aviary and Vet Clinic for Amaru with floor plans and ideas given to me by the inspirational Dr.Pilar Fish (Director of Veterinary Programs at the National Aviary). I'd really appreciate your help in promoting the project!

I'll write again soon.
-Nikki