|
The ALF >
Worldwide Actions >
Peru - Index
Rescuing Peruvian Squirrels
While I am a Peruvian citizen and live down here, I
did get to spend some years of my childhood in beautiful Canada and always took
a liking to squirrels.
Now, so many years later, I participate actively in trying to save our
squirrels as they are targeted by poachers endeavouring to take them out of the
country, believe it or not, to the Orient and to Europe... we have our greys in
northern coast of Peru, all desert and dry; the small red-brown Amazon types and
the big bright red Amazons, both are endangered species.
Here are some photos that I hope you will enjoy!
Baby Grey and her two siblings were rescued from a poacher who kept them with
a rope around their midsection - they were given to me when they were tiny
babies; they are teens now. The terrible thing with rescuing squirrels here is
that there is no active programme to rehabilitate and take them back to their
natural habitat - it is too far from Lima and they are not endemic to this part
of the country. If we let them loose here, they will have nothing to eat and
people are quite mean. Her name is Daphnie.
Leonardo: this is very special as Leonardo also came as a baby, quite ill
and he is a mutation from the Grey, he is beige, medium size and BLUE eyes, very
sweet and tame. These squirrels must have been taken from the Equatorian-Peruvian
border - no such squirrels in the rest of the country. He now has a bride
Mariuska
Rojo behind bars: he is still young and growing, Rojo (Red) is the big
Amazonia squirrel - he came without much of his fur and quite scared. We are
working on getting him well physically and emotionally - he is eating better and
bright orange new fur is growing on his back and his gorgeous tail. No friend
for him yet.
I don't have at hand the small red-brown Amazonia squirrels but I promise I
will send you some as soon as I find the disk.
I hope this has not be troublesome to receive but I truly believe you will
understand the plight of these beautiful creatures and the harm that is being
done to their species.
Cristina Loayza
|
