Visit our current fundraising page! Amaru needs your help!
Bioparque Amaru Zoo is a wildlife rescue and sanctuary for animals who have been victims of illegal wildlife trafficking, habitat destruction, or abuse at the hands of humans as pets or circus attractions. Between November 2017 to the present, they have taken in 457 animals for treatment and placement. This in addition to the over 915 individuals currently living on the 1000+ acres of the zoo property in the hills of Cuenca, Ecuador in the Southern Andes.
I have worked with Amaru's organization for over 5 years now, and their growth has been exponential. We have watched their team quadruple in size, their exhibits double, and helped crowd-fund the cost to build them a vet clinic in 2013, which was completed in 2014.
The intake of wild animals in need is never-ending.
Amaru's mission is to educate the public on the incredible biodiversity in their home country. According to the Biodiversity Institute, "roughly 8% of amphibian species, 5% of reptile species, 8% of mammal species, and 16% of bird species in the world are found in Ecuador, which comprises only 0.2% of the world’s land area". That's over 1,600 bird species- 128 hummingbird species alone, in an area roughly twice the size of my home state, Pennsylvania.
Through community outreach, education on the zoo property, conservation research involving local volunteers, and nation-wide efforts to raise awareness of issues threatening beloved species like the Andean Condor, Spectacled Bear, and Harlequin Frogs, Amaru is trying to do its part to encourage people to make lifestyle changes and demand protection of its wild places and their inhabitants. The government brings them conviscated wildlife to rehabilitate and, if they are non-releasable due to injury or illness, they place them in an appropriately natural enclosure at the zoo. This helps city-dwellers and visitors get closer to these animals and foster an appreciation for them, while learning about the issues that took them out of the wild in the first place.
More than ever, they need help to support their efforts to heal, release, research, and care for these victims of the illegal wildlife trade. Every day at Amaru is another step forward in getting people to understand the value of natural life and tropical ecology; it's another child taught why monkeys aren't pets, and even the smallest stream is important for frogs and fish, and ultimately, humans.
I am asking for help in donations to help Amaru purchase refurbished and new hospital equipment for their Zoo and Wildlife Veterinary Clinic. These medical tools will cost them anywhere between $12,000 and $39,000, depending if we get them donated in the United States versus buying them from companies in Ecuador, where tech is more expensive.
The basic list so far is as follows-
Sevoflurane Inhalant Anesthesia Machine
Oxygen concentrator
Dry sterilizer
Multi-parameter monitor (shockproof)
Surgical instrumentation equipment Manometer
Portable ultrasound
Microhematocrit Centrifuge
Ganzo neck lamp
Electrocardiograph
Stethoscopes
Autoclave
Infusion pump
Ceiling lights for operating room
Flow meters
Stainless steel cage for Hospitalization
Washing well
Surgery shelves
Stainless steel table
A pricing document with more specific details can be found in my google drive here:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1FWdS8NZlB7BkCRl98zpMCQ1gg3ERa4IuHo6EZ6W5_dQ/edit?usp=sharing
Since we built the vet clinic in 2014, almost 2,000 animals have benefitted from hospitalization and care. There have been over 15 workshops training future zoo and wildlife vets from over 11 countries (for example, this one:
https://www.mightycause.com/story/Amarupanamericanaeducation?fbclid=IwAR3jbxUy3OcoFc0EXFrGHyL-fqockOCg7PC2WHQpyITDEDXSTZ-mv6SLM5s ), and with your help, that scope could widen.
This is a fantastic way to promote the conservation of biodiversity across the globe.
We are starting with the lofty goal of $20,000. We are hoping to raise this in just 33 days: our fundraiser will end on JANUARY 16th, 2019. At the conclusion of this, I will bring some donated equipment to Ecuador, and help them buy the rest of it in-country.
All donors will receive special, personalized thanks on behalf of the Zoo and its animals at the conclusion.
Bioparqe Amaru was a vision hatched in mid- 2007 during biological surveys of the Andean highland river basins around Cuenca, where there are now many mining projects. These studies were the first to bring together many Ecuadorian and foreign biologists, environmental activists, and other professionals associated with the local and national government.
This group, aware of the need for more public conservation education, centers for wildlife rescue, and biological stations for constant environemtnal monitoring, began the construction of Bioparque Amaru Zoo, whose mission is:
"To promote and facilitate the knowledge, respect, appreciation, research, conservation and dissemination of knowledge of Ecuador's incredible and abundant native flora, fauna, natural and cultural resources. The conservation of tropical biodiversity, especially the native biodiversity of Ecuador, will be the main focus of the Zoo, which will always take into account the protection, rehabilitation and/or reintroduction of wildlife; as well as the ecological processes, evolution, equilibrium, interaction with and dependence upon the natural environment."
I first met the Arbelaez family in 2013, working for the National Aviary (Pittsburgh, PA). Ernesto, the director, his wife Amanda (a biologist and botanist, and Vicky, administrative director, were working around the clock to improve the quality of life for the animals they cared for and gave sanctuary. They are some of the most dedicated, optimistic, and inspirational people I have ever met.
Working with them was one of the many reasons I decided to go to vet school, with the hope to practice conservation medicine both locally and globally.
Please consider donating to their cause for future populations of animals!
For more information, see the official webpage for the zoo:
http://www.zoobioparqueamaru.com/
Or their facebook page:
https://www.facebook.com/zoologicocuenca/
Or my blog chronicling visits spanning 2013-2015:
http://onehealth47.blogspot.com/
Sincerest thanks,
Nikki Becich, DVM
Veterinarian at the Avian Conservation Center of Appalachia and Cheat Lake Animal Hospital
Field Associate for the National Aviary
