Emuya was part of the first released group of red howler monkeys, back in 2018. In October, she became the first to give birth in freedom. She and her beautiful baby girl are in great shape!

Soon after, Pepper (second released group) gave birth to a boy. Sadly, she lost him a few weeks later. We are sad of course, but it is nature taking its course. It is not uncommon for a first time mom to lose a baby and we still take it as a win, seen the poor state Pepper arrived in, at Merazonia. All she did was whine as loud as she could in the ears of her caretakers. But their persistence (and agony) paid off, and we are sure she will get another chance to be a mom.

Daddy Floki, along with our other free female Ruby, took distance from the mothers, and haven`t been located for a few months now. And we also have a group fo five young howlers in our new release enclosure, that is eager to take its first steps into the wild soon!

IUCN milestone

Monkeys born in the wild is a milestone for us. One that has been 13 years in the making, ever since our first howler monkey, Neve, arrived in 2011. Now, we are painting the next dot on the horizon: having a third generation born in freedom. The IUCN considers that a fully successful reintroduction. It is a dot that is at least 6 years away from us. But we are confident we`ll get there.

And we think our released woolly monkeys aren´t far behind! Early in December, we succesfully set free another group. Youngsters Koba, Chester and Shimi exceeded our expectations: they moved swiftly away from their release site, foraging deeper and deeper into the jungle, gorging themselves on leaves, wild fruits and seeds.

They showed no interest in our team below them on the ground, struggling to follow them through the dense undergrowth. There now appears to be an interesting timeshare going on between this group and Ojo and Leo - members of the previously released group from 2023. Django also visits them sometimes, but he and Pedro Jr. are mainly full-time members of a wild group. It seems that the woollies are only a small step behind the howlers in producing their own wild offspring. Get ready for us, IUCN!

Tyra news flash

December came with more festivities: we also released the two tyras, Rowan and Betty). They arrived here early November and we prioritized their rehab because of their natural and non-human focused behaviour. A special thanks to Ian and Clare in the UK, who help us fund our tayra projects. We managed to shoot a quick video of them a week after release, shown in the compilation video below.

Spot the puma
Pangui received a thorough health check this month. Our current vet Randy put together a medical team that checked her inside and out. Conclusion: apart from a bit of arthritis and one broken tooth, she is super fit for her age! Nonetheless, we continue to adapt her enclosure for possible geriatric issues in the future.

Not to forget all the other animals that passed through Merazonia in 2024:

In 2024 a total of 36 animals were rehabilitated and released in Merazonia: 3 woolly monkeys, 1 red howler monkey (added to a previously released group), 10 sloths (3 two-fingered and 7 three-fingered sloths), 1 silky anteater, 1 Andean porcupine, 2 tayras, 1 opossum, 7 blue headed parrots, 2 black headed parrots, 1 oil bird, 1 striped owl, 2 common boas, 4 rainbow boas. In total we received 55 new animals, including an alarming number of new baby woolly monkeys (5) and red howler monkeys (7). Sometimes animals arrive to us too weakened or injured; 14 newly arrived animals unfortunately died. For 10 animals we have found a more adequate centre to live in, or be released from. Most went to our friends at Amazoonico. The total of animals in our care is currently 98.

Help us create a groundbreaking new hospital

We keep professionalizing our centre and are building a new hospital! We bought more land at the entrance of our reserve. This land comes with a building fit to be transformed into our new quarantine. This initial phase has been co-funded by the Dutch Jaap van der Graaf-foundation. But we need more help to finish the new quarantine. After that, we will also replace our current clinic. So if you, or your organization or company, want to  be part of creating the best wildlife health centre in Ecuador, then please contact us for the detailed project plan and costs. You can watch a  short introduction video here.