A Visit to a Peruvian Primate Sanctuary
Rebecca Austin, IPPL Volunteer
December 2006
Back in August 2006 I had the privilege of visiting Tarangue, a primate refuge in Peru run by Ikamaperou (an organization featured in the September 2006 issue of IPPL News). The primary focus of Ikamaperou is rescuing woolly and spider monkeys and protecting forest habitat in the Andean Highlands for them and for all the area's indigenous species.
It is apparent what my hosts, Carlos Palomino and Hélène Collogues de Palomino, and all their monkey charges are up against as soon as the plane approaches to land in Tarapoto, a small city two hours from Moyobamba (which is near Tarangue). Plumes of white smoke billow from the rolling hills as if the forest is signaling an SOS for someone to stop the burning. The locals practice slash-and burn-agriculture and also hunt anything edible in the forest. Woolly monkeys are a preferred target for bushmeat hunters, as they are large but timid. Many of the monkeys at
Tarangue are bushmeat orphans.
After a boat trip up the Rio Maya with Hélène, I climbed the steep bank to Tarangue, a beautiful 70-hectare (170-acre) sanctuary situated in secondary highland forest. Hélène immediately dispatched me to a tree-top platform to meet the woolly monkeys, who were foraging under the watchful eye of Amirio, one of the head caregivers. After an unsteady climb of 100 feet, I was eye to eye with these friendly primates (see the photo to the right). The woollies spend most of their time out in the trees, foraging and enjoying their favorite fruit and leaves under the watchful eye of their caregivers. When it is time to go back inside for dinner (they must have a safe enclosure at night to protect them from hunters), they obediently either hitch a ride on an available back (I think my record
was five) or follow alongside their caregivers. The staff at Tarangue is top-notch: Gardell, Amirio, Percibaldo, and Dennis work exceptionally hard, and their charges clearly adore them.
In addition to providing refuge for the monkeys, Carlos and Hélène are also working to reforest corridors between fragmented pieces of forest. This is a difficult task, as the damaged soil is very infertile. They work tirelessly: cultivating, planting, and in some cases re-planting both
primary forest trees and the monkeys' favorite fruit trees. I was able to see the results of their labor in one part of the sanctuary, where trees donated by IPPL-UK five to ten years ago are flourishing.
Carlos and Hélène also work diligently to raise awareness in the local community about the plight of the monkeys. They debuted a hard-hitting commercial while I was visiting. It is amazing how much they do with so little!
