April 25, 2025

We spent an amazingly impactful week volunteering with R.A.R.E.C (Rainforest Awareness Rescue and Education Center) located about 30 miles from Iquitos in the Amazon Rainforest. The non profit focuses on rescuing and rehabilitating Amazonian wildlife, including species such as manatees, ocelots, tapirs, anteaters, sloths, and various primates including white bellied spider monkeys. The organization also aims to educate the local community on sustainable practices that reduce pressure on the rainforest.

But before we started we had one day in Iquitos, Peru, the gateway to the Amazon.  One final day of civilization before we headed into the rainforest to start our weeklong volunteer work program. We spent most of that day walking around town purchasing some last minute supplies, but we did manage a harrowing tuk tuk ride to a dock where we took a small boat to Al Frio Y Al Fuego, floating restaurant with a fresh water pool in the middle.  

Once at RAREC we had an initial day of orientation where Joe, the volunteer coordinator from Northern England, gave us a tour of the extensive facilities and introduced us to all of the animals.  The next day we started the real work which included preparing food for the animals, feeding them, cleaning their cages and facilitiating "enrichment activities" with them like taking them for walks or creating toys for them to play with.

Our first two days we were stationed in the nursury where we got to feed a sloth named Big Daddy, a Tamandua (like a small ant eater) named Maki, a Giant Ant Eater named Sonny, various monkeys and an Oncilla (like a small leopard) named Meraki.

The next day was our day off and one of the RAREC staff took the volunteers to visit an indigenous Amazon rainforest tribe up one of Amazon River tributaries called the Nanay River. The tribe is called Kukama and they have recently begun to have more contact with the nearby town of Iquitos, but still mostly keep to themselves.

After a journey that required a van ride share (called a combi), a tuk tuk and a boat, we reached the village of the family (Tayras Kukama) that our staff member has a relationship with. First they painted our faces with red color from an achiote plant, then they performed a couple of traditional dances for us in their traditional dress and invited us to participate in one. It was a dance to rid ourselves of any negative energy and involved the chief's daughter dancing around with a boa constrictor around her neck - which we were then encouraged to do. 

Afterwards they made their crafts, paintings and trinkets available for purchase and we snagged a few baubles to support the Tayras Kukama village.

We ended the day with lunch at The Sky Bar in Iquitos with views of the Amazon River and an infinity pool.

A couple of days that week after work we had lectures, one on butterflies and moths and another on frogs and toads.  And following each lecture we got to go on a "survey" where the staff observes and records (catch and release) whatever they/we find.

The buttefly survey was during the day and the frog survey was a night walk through the jungle.  The kids don't mind this kind of school.

The kids also participated in a couple of classes that Eden, the Education Coordinator from Portland, OR, runs for local children in the nearby village of Petroleros. 

The next morning we got up before dawn to head to the Amazon River in search of the elusive Pink Dolphins. Actually they are not that elusive if you have a local who knows where to look for them. We saw several (it's actually only the males who turn pink from scar tissue when they get into fights) as well as several Gray Dolphins who came up river from the ocean eons ago. We also saw some squirrel monkeys playing in the trees. Definitely a cool experience from the team at RAREC who have a relationship with a local fisherman who knows where to find them. 

We also participated in a community outreach where the vets go into the nearby town of Petroleros to do checkups on the local dog population free of charge.

Everything is bigger in the Amazon!  Including the ubiquitous Wolf Spider and the ephemeral Giant Silk Moth who's males have no functioning mouths and can't eat and therefore die after a few days. They are only alive to find a mate and reproduce. 

On our last afternoon of work at RAREC the kids got to feed the baby sloth and baby manatee.

Neo, the baby sloth, was rescued from a local who had shot and killed its mom in order to get her baby and sell him. The baby sloth was shot in the foot in the process. RAREC staff had to break into the guy's house at night to rescue Neo. 

Newt, the baby manatee, was rescued from a fisherman's net and still needs to be milk fed. RAREC never found its mother.

The whole experience was enriching, but of course caring for the animals was the highlight.  Each of them has a tragic story about why they are at RAREC (illegal traffiking, abandoned pets, shot by poachers, etc.).  Many of them will be re-released into the wild, but many of them won't ever be able to survive in the wild again and so will be cared for by RAREC indefinitely.

We were really proud of the kids who worked very hard in the swealtering heat under constant attack by mosquitos and even the threat of an escaped Spider Monkey.  And they understood the reasons that we were not allowed much direct contact with the animals - this was not a petting zoo or an eco-tourism play, but rather an ethical rescue and rehabilitation center where human contact and in some cases interaction was limited for their safety and wellbeing as well as that of the animals. The kids took it in stride and learned how important the work RAREC is doing is for these animals.

The human element was culturally enriching as well as there were so many nationalities represented at RAREC including USA, Canada, France, Spain, Peru, Colombia, England, Scotland, Israel and the Czech Republic.