RAREC
LILAH CHOW
Deeper in the forest (about and hour an a half from the center of Iquitos) lies another NGO: the Rainforest Awareness and Rescue Education Center (RAREC). Here we met people from all over the world who have come together in support of one cause, to protect the Amazon rainforest. We worked with these people as we made enrichment items for the animals, visited a few of the furry friends, and hiked a very long, hot, and buggy trail to check in on some camera traps
Across the RAREC grounds are multiple animals, primarily monkeys. as well as sloths, small jungle cats, more manatees, and a bright blue macaw named Lucas. Lucas was a character of a bird, who was rescued from a restaurant that clipped his wings and let customers give him cigarettes to smoke. Because of this, he is a forever resident at RAREC. Lucas is not the only case of this treatment. Most of the animals are victims of the illegal animal trade, a trade which captures wild animals and forces them into human areas where they are mostly uncared for and mistreated.
The BioPark and RAREC are forces of light in this
cruel world that aim to protect the creatures that can’t protect themselves.
Group photo @ RAREC
Amazing artwork @ RAREC facility
Making enrichment feeders