We believe that restoring neotropical wildlife populations begins with aiding in rehabilitation efforts across Latin America.
The Fate of the Amazon Rests in the Hands of Those Who Rescue its Wildlife
Wildlife Trafficking Education
Along with caring for animals in need, wildlife rescue centers often provide a source of education for the local public on the growing problem that is wildlife trafficking. Depending on how each operates, they may offer tours to visitors, provide educational seminars to students, or promote impactful messages about the illegal pet trade.
Wild Animal Rescue
Rescue centers receive injured, orphaned, and confiscated wildlife almost daily. These animals are sometimes brought to rehabbers by law officials cracking down on the illegal wildlife market. Other times, they’re dropped off by individuals who have purchased the animal as a baby and can no longer care for them as adults. Occasionally they are found by the center workers themselves or by Good Samaritans eager to help an animal in need.
Each animal’s rehabilitation journey is unique. Some animals are just in the wrong place at the wrong time and simply need to be relocated far away from human encroachment. Others suffer debilitating injuries and contagious diseases which must be medically treated immediately. Psychological set backs however, are the most complicated problems for both the animal and the rehab center. Animals psychologically impacted by a life in captivity may have a difficult time becoming eligible for release back into the rainforest.
Rehabilitation
Wildlife victims of illegal pet trade often need to be rehabilitated after being rescued due to the psychological damage that is caused by being ripped from the jungle as infants. The neglect, abuse, and torture to follow adds to the decline in their mental health. Without appropriate care from their mother’s and experience surviving in their natural habitat, these animals lose social and survival skills. If not properly rehabilitated, they risk being quickly killed in the wild, permanent isolation if they are unable to make “friends” and form troops, starvation, and possibly even recapture. Proper rehabilitation is about teaching wild animals to be wild again. The end goal for all animals being treated and rehabilitated at all rescue centers should always be release back into the wild. The focus should not solely be that of the individual animal, rather the greater good of the species as a whole should always be considered.
The Problem.
Wildlife rescue centers in and around the Amazon rainforest face many hardships, and so do the animals they save. Most centers are run by well meaning, passionate individuals who have dedicated their lives to rescuing wildlife. However, majority of these people have no formal education or training in veterinary medicine, zoology, biology, conservation etc. Despite these apparent shortcomings, the care provided by those who have grown up in a world surrounded by these animals is invaluable, and a lot can be learned from their approach. Those who have been doing this work for ten plus years possess a knowledge and understanding of these animals that simply can not be taught. At the same time, it could be argued that, for the animals’ well being, their caretakers gain education in the field they decided to pursue and are able to receive up-to-date information on the species they care for, especially if the animals are being treated medically at these facilities. Jungle Rescue Reform aims to help achieve this goal in several noninvasive ways. We want to provide rescue centers across Latin America with educational literature and access to scholarly articles about Amazonian species and their care. We would like to arrange seminars to visit these centers once or twice a year and give educational talks on wildlife rehabilitation, community outreach, conservation and environmental science, at no cost to the center of course. Furthermore, we’d like to aid in placing local biologists, veterinarians, veterinary nurses, zoologists, conservationists, etc. at these centers for long term volunteer opportunities, internships, and job positions in order to help lighten the work load of the primary caregivers and keep these fragile animals in the care of people passionate about the cause and professional in their work ethic. The key word here, however, is local. Jungle Rescue Reform has evolved in recent years to recognize the need for locally run and operated wildlife organizations.
Majority of wildlife rescue centers in Central and South America are not-for profit. They rely solely on donations and volunteers. Some have come up with clever ways to make money by providing tours for a small fee and offering visitors snacks and souvenirs. Jungle Rescue Reform wants to expand these centers’ reach when seeking donations by helping organize fundraisers. We also want to regularly collect and donate supplies, food, formula etc.
Most wildlife refuges in the jungle are not regulated. Sanctuaries may hold on to rescued animals eligible for release for far too long for one reason or another. This is not only harmful to the animal and its species, but for the centers struggling to care for and support their rescues properly as they risk being overloaded and overwhelmed. We want to help focus on the importance of release and help make release a possibility for as many animals as we can. The goal is to work with these sanctuaries and offer assistance and guidance with the appropriate care of the animals as the primary goal.
It is not enough to rescue these animals from illegal trafficking. They must be given the opportunity to recover properly. They must be given a real chance at survival, not just at a rescue station, but back in the wild, where they can contribute to genetic diversity and the continuation of their species in these areas. Jungle Rescue Reform is committed to aiding in this cause and making a difference for these animals and the species to which they belong.
Did you know?
Monkey’s in captivity develop clumsy climbing habits, unsuitable for thriving high up in the trees of the jungle where they belong.
Rescued monkeys also develop ground dwelling behaviors which are dangerous if carried out in the wild. Most New World primates (the ones you find in the Amazon) are designed for a life in the trees. Being too comfortable on the forest floor, which most rescues are, makes them susceptible to predators, foreign pathogens, and poachers.
Primates reach sexual maturity later in life compared to most other animals, usually several years after birth. Woolly monkeys, for example, mature anywhere from 5-8 years old depending on sex. They have a gestation period of almost 8 months, and nurse for about a year. Adult females will give birth to one baby once every other year. This long reproductive cycle is one of the reasons why it is so important to release rescued primates so they can help contribute to the continuation of their fragile species.
Jungle Rescue Reform was designed with deep appreciation for genetic diversity. Genetic diversity is the way in which species populations adapt to changes in order to survive and ensures the overall health of a species. Variations in alleles help populations fight disease, adapt to climate change, and other environmental changes. Genetic diversity is the driving force of evolution and adaptation. Species that can not adapt adequately often eventually go extinct. For species already struggling to survive due to deforestation and poaching, genetic diversity is even more crucial which is why we must put as many rescued animals back in the jungle where they belong.