Pumapungo Aviary

Captain's Log, Day 73: Fabian Toral, a worker for the environmental ministry and pictured previously in my writing as the man who brought us our first Great Horned Owl some weeks ago, is also the stand-in director for Cuenca's Aviary: Pumapungo. The Aviary is located in a nature park in the center of Cuenca, below Incan ruins that are dated some 2000 years back. The Pumapungo Aviary is yet another place the environmental ministry brings birds seized from illegal trafficking...

I visited one free morning to talk with Fabian and see what life was like for the birds there. He and I had been discussing how beneficial it would be to develop an entire animal care network between Tarqui, Amaru, and Pumapungo for the animals brought in by the environmental ministry...

Out of the three places in Cuenca that take in trafficked animals, Pumapungo is the only one funded by the government. 

The property was beautiful, and the layout of the holding cages very well thought out. 

They had mostly parrots, and some raptors. All exhibits were furnished with native plants. 

The Aviary is located in the park's gardens. Gorgeous site...

...with some llamas, to boot. 

Savannah hawk. 

The front entrance. 

A tower for old films, apparently. They have special showings in the park sometimes. 

Although the Aviary property is well-furnished, the government funding is less and less each year. 

They have never had enough money to employ more than one keeper for three hours every morning to do the cleaning and feeding. 

This means no attention in quarantine, and no specialized care for the birds that arrive beyond what Fabian can devote to them. 

And, like Ernesto, Fabian does devote quite a bit of time to them. 

He was carrying around this parrotlet chick as we were touring the aviary. It was taken from a local market, and requires hourly feedings and constant attention. 

A mix of quinoa, cooked egg, and fruit juice was serving it well. 

What a lucky little guy to have Fabian...and how sad to be taken from the nest. 

The Aviary is a good tie-in with many of the local Incan legends about birds. 

Lucky for these guys that they get the funding they need to get by...but people like Fabian and Ernesto are never satisfied with just getting by. 

This is the outside of Pumapungo's quarantine, where there are many passerines that need specialized holding cages the Aviary currently doesn't have. 

Like Amaru, Pumapungo receives new animals almost daily. 

Exotic species such as this cardinal from Bolivia aren't turned away by Pumapungo. 

Because none are turned away, many pets end up living here when abandoned by their owners. 

It's dangerous to mix pet birds and wild birds in one holding area, but currently, Pumapungo has no other options. 

Fabian has many ideas for the future expansion of the Aviary, or the commencement of education programs. Unfortunately, these all require funding...

...that the government won't spare. Pumapungo is viewed as a more cultural attraction, currently. Many of us working with these animals would like to see that changed. 

After a heavy conservation rant, Fabian and I cooled down with a walk around the park. It was a gorgeous day...

The koi pond below the Pumpapungo (meaning "Puma Door") ruins. 

There were SO many frogs calling in the marsh area of the pond. I wonder if CCA has ever investigated here...

The work here can be pretty overwhelming, at times. When you're up close and personal with the sad stories of most of the animals we have...the breaks for the beauty, or the success stories like Fabian's parrotlet, make it all worthwhile.

Really, though: If we could establish a wildlife care network here in Cuenca, and secure a stable source of funding, the improvements to these animals lives when they first arrive to us would be heightened considerably.

Figuring out HOW to accomplish this, and WHO to hire to make it work...

I may have to come back to help Fabian in the future.

More about Fabian's work and the role of the Environmental Ministry soon.