Florian, the Saki monkey, was confiscated by ecological police in Tarapoto. When he arrived at Pilpintuwasi, he was dehydrated and infected by parasites.
At Pilpintuwasi, Florian found companionship with a female Saki monkey called Zecke. They spent three years together and then, unfortunately, even with the great care we had given her she suddenly got sick. We ran tests and found out that her kidneys were not functioning due to an unhealthy diet before her arrival. Although she received medical treatment, it was too late and she passed away.
Bad nutrition is an issue we experience a lot with wild animals that were kept as pets. Another problem with medical care is that symptoms often show very late in non-domesticated animals. In the wild, that is a coping mechanism especially with monkeys not to show their weaknesses to their troop. Otherwise, they would often be left behind or slow down the troop and put them at risk of predators.
After Zecke’s death, we wanted to release him with other Saki monkeys.
In October this year, we finally got the permission to transfer him to Monkey Island where he can be with Saki monkeys in freedom. We accompanied him to the island. We set off for Iquitos where we met the owner of Monkey Island and boarded the boat together. The journey was a little bumpier than expected. Ten minutes into the ride, a big storm came up that eventually forced the boat to stop and evacuate everyone. Thankfully, Florian wasn’t too stressed and after thirty minutes, the storm calmed down and everyone arrived well at Monkey Island.
As it was getting dark, we walked Florian to his enclosure where he settled in for the night. After ten days of getting used to his surroundings, he was released. Florian is now free to roam around Monkey Island and will hopefully find a new Saki monkey companion.
It is sad to see Florian go, but it is always an amazing experience to give an animal back its freedom.
