The black market maybe something we only see or hear about in movies, t.v., or books but the reality is that it is still very much alive and is one of the greatest dangers to the jungle communities. Amazonia Expeditions has actually two lodges within 45 mins of each other by speedboat. One one is the main lodge and the other is a research centre. For the first two days of my stay I spent it at the research centre and then switched and spent the remainder of my days at the main lodge.
When we arrived by speedboat, my room was still being prepared so I waited around and took photos and scouted out the surroundings. I came across a beautiful Macaw. But lovely as the creature is, there was only one problem.....Macaws should be in the jungle. While travelling on speedboat i often saw two of them flying together. This is because Macaws mate for life so where you see one you'll often see their partner.
So there was already something wrong with the fact that I was able to snap photos and of a Macaw because it should be flying high above the trees and not strolling around the lodge. My guide told me the story, this Macaw had been rescued a week ago from the village. Someone from the village had shot the poor creature and had intended to eat it. The organisation was alerted and was able to intervene and bring the bird back to the lodge for rehabilitation. At the time of my visit it was unknown if the Macaw will ever be able to fly again. Only time will tell…..
But this Macaw isn't the only lucky creature, while on our way to go look for poison dart frogs we stopped by to see a monkey named Dorilla. 7 yrs ago she was rescued off the black market in Iquitos when the organization bought her and released her back into the wild. Instead of galloping into the unknown she decided to hang around.
There is one thing you should know while watching this video if you are planning to come. Seeing the monkeys was on route while going to look for Poison Dart Frogs. There is no excursion just to see the monkeys, they were just an extra thing that happened on the way to do frog hunting. It is important that this is clear because I don't want people watching this video, getting excited and then contacting the company about having an excursion just to see the monkeys.
For those of you interested, the species of both the monkeys in the video are Woolly Monkeys. I am sharing this story with you because I want you to be made aware of the existence of the black market for exotic animals and the beautiful stories of animals that survived them.