Captain's Log, Day 220: It has now been five months since the Razoo project to fund Amaru's Vet Clinic and Flight Aviaries ended. This past week, I have been walking around Amaru in awe of all the changes realized since November, and talking with Ernesto about Amaru's future conservation education goals. In the coming months, we're going to be focusing more on the completion and collaboration of the Condor Conservation Project with the National Aviary...and getting ready to receive Guambi, our first Andean Condor at Amaru, from Centro de Rescate Ilitio near Latacunga.
Hey, readers. Remember what it was like at Amaru in November? The following link will remind you of our quarantine crowding, need for more aviary space, and previous biosecurity standards.
http://onehealth47.blogspot.com/2013/10/en-la-frontera-de-la-conservacion.html
Things have changed.
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| The Paramo Wolves have really thrived in their new exhibit. |
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| Remember this guy? He's found a new home in one of Amaru's new flight aviaries. See below. |
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| Amaru has progressed leaps and bounds in finding space for our raptors. This spacious aviary, while hard to picture, is occupied by a much happier Variable Hawk, and our Black and Chestnut Eagle, Spizaetus isidori. This aviary is only one of more than eight new flight cages already being occupied or under construction at Amaru. |
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| More pictures of the condor exhibit construction to come soon, but here's a sneak peek: this entire HILLSIDE will have ledges of natural earth, planted with Andean native plants, complete with various nest-possible sites and a maintenance area with multiple shift cages above the exhibit. People will be able to look up at the condors we will have...quite an impressive view. This exhibit will be possible thanks to the support of the National Aviary! |
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| The Cafeteria Patio is now tiled and complete with an educational classroom behind the tables for visiting speakers and public education events. |
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| The Philidelphia Zoo has supported Amaru in the construction of a reptile lab and serpentarium to supplement the excellent work already being done by the Center for Conservation of Amphibians! Under construction with hopes for completion by USA autumn. |
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| The Center for Conservation of Amphibians is now decked out with MORE native plants, outdoor ponds for some of our rescued frogs, and continued research projects for four focal, native Cuencan species. Lookin' good! |
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| Ernesto completed another exhibit with a moat to accommodate incoming primates. The Capuchins from quarantine will be grateful---we definitely needed more monkeyspace! |
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| With the help of the incredible Dr.Alejandra Recalde, Amaru's biosecurity and nutritional changes are now practice. The division of labor between the zookeepers, separation of animal diets for health reasons, work of a single nutritionist who prepares all the food to minimize biocontamination for all of our animals, more complete washing of incoming fruits and vegetables, and sanitation of all food preparation instruments are now realities of Amaru practice! |
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| Dr.Recalde has used a Latin-America made software, Diet Calc, to measure out specific diets for all our animals. Wilmer, the backup nutritionist and enrichment specialist, is preparing the day's diets for frugivores in this photo. This ensures that we don't overfeed or underfeed any of our animals---and cuts down on a lot of previous waste of vegetables and fruits. We also have increased access to balanced diets for animals like our Andean Bears thanks to Dr.Recalde's connections with the zoo clinic at the University of San Francisco Quito! She has been teaching the zookeepers about assessing body condition and signs of health in many of Amaru's animals, and generally going above and beyond the call of duty to improve Amaru's standards. We'll miss her when she goes to Mexico to start her Master's at the end of this month! |
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| The standards of cleanliness and separation of animals in quarantine has also seen vast improvements. Note all the cleaning supplies and plastic glove and boot protocols: we've not only improved the health of our animals, we've also reduced the risks for our workers. |
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| And hey--look who's getting all grown up? Our leoncita is now living without her parents, who have been sent to a spacious exhibit in Ecuador's oldest zoo, Ecologico Zoo San Martin in Baños. |
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| Which brings us finally to the vet clinic. With donations of materials from Graiman, Hormipisos, and Tugalt, we have all we need to complete the building...but as of yet, we are lacking the funds to pay the construction fees. Our Razoo fundraiser of the past year enabled us to put more concrete down in quarantine to improve the health of the animals therein, build various flight cages to accommodate our burgeoning bird populations, and get to this level of construction on the clinic, and for that we are insanely grateful---but unfortunately, the funds fell short of the project's completion. |
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| Raptor quarantine looking spiffy with the plants growing from the season's rain. |
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| So....we're brainstorming. There are various US non-profits that donate funds and medical equipment to hospitals, and we have recently sent them a number of emails. If you are interested in helping us finish up this very important step forward for Amaru, please contact me at nbecich@gmail.com. |
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| And remember: Amaru is a governmentally-recognized non-profit organization. If you would like to contribute a tax-deductible donation, you can do so either directly or through the National Aviary in Pittsburgh, PA. |
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| More to come about Amaru's Condor Exhibit and Guambi in the near future! He's grown a bit since this last photo was taken... |
It's wonderful to see that Amaru continues to think big when conservation is concerned.
Updates to come on our trip to Centro de Rescate Ilitio near Latacunga, where we met with most of the nation's biggest players in Condor conservation.
Cheers from the southern latitudes.
-NB
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