Earlier this year, journalist Pedro Andrade visited Merazonia to film an episode for a new VICE TV series. The results can now be seen in the series Unknown Amazon. The star of the show is Pedro Jr, a baby woolly monkey that happened to arrive during filming. In this article we update you on Junior, the friends he has made and other animals!

A timely arrival

Pedro Jr's sad story is most likely one we see often: his mom got shot and Junior, clinging on to his mom, fell down the tree with her. His mom was eaten, while Junior was sold on the illegal market as a pet. Can you imagine how traumatic that experience is for any young being? Some never recover from this. Luckily, Pedro was brought to us at an early stage in his life, which increases his chances to return to the wild.

Since he arrived in Merazonia, late January, Pedro got over his initial shell shock. A good diet, including fresh leaves, help him grow and keep him healthy, but most importantly: he got playmates from his own species. This is vital for his psychological development.

Junior's gang

Pedro now has company from three more young woolly monkeys: Chancho, Django and Leo (who arrived only last week). The four of them form our own woolly monkey kindergarten, where they playfully develop their climbing and foraging skills and learn to interact with other monkeys. That social part will be needed to become part of a group later on and, later on in life, survive again back in the wild.

Junior is one of the more boisterous of the youngsters. But little by little, all four are making great progress. For some, that takes more time. Like Chancho. He has lived outside the jungle for far longer than the rest and without any other primates around. He also had some physical issues that lead to the amputation of his arm. Despite all this, he is slowly crawling out of his shell and interacting with the other monkeys more often. Some monkeys simply need more time.

Of human news

Pedro Andrade's best human supporting actress in the show, Merazonia's own veterinarian Louisa Baillie, has recently injured her knee. She sustained the injury during a typical jungle vet activity: she was following a released anteater to gather a poop sample from him and ensure he was doing well. Unfortunately her leg got stuck in the mud and she damaged her meniscus. She is on the mend but frustrated because she cannot practise her favourite pastime: trail running. We wish her a speedy recovery and admire her dedication to the job. But the anteater (seen here on the right) is happy and free though. Oh yes, and Pedro Andrade Sr. discusses his experiences filming Unknown Amazon in this podcast.

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