Zoorefugio Tarqui

Al rescate de la fauna Amazónica

Ecuador 2018

10 Febrero 2018

Summary:

One of the benefits to having my own wheels while exploring the country is that I can simply go wherever I want to without having to figure out how to get a bus to more obscure places. While I could probably have easily gone from Baños to Puyo with a bus, it was more enjoyable riding. In approximately an hour and a half, I went from volcano land to one of the entrances to the Amazon region and what better way to get acquainted than to visit some really big kitties and other cool animals. While I visited the "zoos" in Baños, they were pretty sad compared to Zoorefugio Tarqui. All of the animals at this establishment have been rescued and may or may not be able to be released into the wild. Seeing the Big Jovi's made me miss my kiddos back at home even more.

The Gear:

Sony A5100 Mirrorless Camera
$3.00 [Adult Admission]
Cattitude!

The Story:

I ended up staying in Baños longer than planned due to going in on trying out cuy with the group with which I went canyoning. It more or less tasted like chicken. As far as I knew, Zoorefugio closed at 17:00, and I had to go West from the East side of Baños. It isn't that long of a ride, especially through El Rutu de Las Cascadas, but there was a lot of traffic for Carnival. I made it by 16:55, and I got inside!

I was immediately greeted with signs in both English and Spanish that were well translated. There was also a lot of kitty cat print throughout the establishment.

Since I was in transit between locations, I had all of my stuff with me. I was carrying my big backpacking pack around with me. It would have been better and more comfortable walking around without it, but in a way it kept me moving along and from trying to climb fences trying to snuggle with big cats.

Guacamaya Escarlata

The birds were first up, but everything was more or less mixed together.

Guacamayo Verde

This macaw is known as the big-winged and is native to the Americas ranging from Panama to the Amazon basin. They reside in rainforests. Their plumage is predominantly green but also have some red and blue mixed in.

Caimán Negro

These guys are widely abundant in the Amazon River basin. Specifically in Ecuador, there are great populations in the Yasuni National Park. They inhabit many wet habitats including flatwater rivers, deep lakes, wetlands, and flooded forests. They can be really really big - up to 7 meters and weighing over 400kg.

Ocelote [Leopardus Pardalis]

Now onto the Slightly Big Jovi's - ocelots! I must have arrived at the right time because these cuties are sleepyheads during the day and are more active/hunt at night. They are your typical cats that like to nap. So cute!

Jaguar

The Jovi's just got bigger!

Not far from the ocelots, I saw this beautiful big kitty.

I thought this was the only one at first, and then I saw a jaguar kitten emerge from behind and start climbing. He/she climbed up to where there were two more jaguars! So there were two parents and also two kittens. I lingered for awhile watching them eat and play. They didn't seem to mind me.

MEOW!

As we transition from the cute to the not so cute,

I passed a cute sign as well as the veterinary area. There were also some people walking around in Zoorefugio shirts that said 'I volunteered in Ecuador' on the backs. It's a good sign that the animals are treated well here.

Tapir Amazónico

Now these things are a little less cute than the big cats. There was lots of mud. Apparently they like the water and are pretty good swimmers. This type of tapir is in the Amazon region of Ecuador in tropical and subtropical forests between 200-1500 meters altitude. Jaguars are their main natural predator.

Mono Araña

The primates are next beginning with the mono araña. I love watching monkeys play. They are so eerily capable and similar to humans, which seems strange after being around other animals. The way they grab onto things and eat food and interact is so interesting.

Then the next primates seemed a little bit jealous of the attention that the monos arañas were getting.

Machín Blanco

Say hello to the machín blanco! These monkeys were total goofballs.

Pecarí De Collar

The zoorefugio had A LOT of these. The picture on the left is only half. They can be found in all three mainland geographical regions of Ecuador, in altitudes up to just over 2000 meters.