Akumal Monkey Sanctuary
I believe that zoos are just prisons for animals. No species should be held in captivity, yet in modern society we have become accustomed to seeing this through aquariums, zoos and animal petting experiences.
As someone who is firmly against these types of institutions, I approached Akumal Monkey Sanctuary (AMS) in Mexico, with caution and scepticism.
Luckily my fears were unfounded when we discovered it to be an amazing organisation that truly cares about the protection of monkeys and other animals. They provide a loving home for animals rescued by the government agency PROFEPA. Often the animals are confiscated from wildlife traffickers who are exploiting them; typically to sell photos to tourists, petting experiences or selling them as pets.
When they arrive at the sanctuary, the animals have to undergo intense physical and psychological treatment as many, if not all, have been abused by their previous owners. Because of this, they are not fit to return to the wild as they lack survival skills due to being taken from their families at such a young age.
PROFEPA bring the sanctuary so many animals that they are running out of space to keep them, and urgently need to build more enclosures but don't have the money to do so. Despite the lack of resources, the team are doing amazing work with the animals and the vibe around to place is so positive and warm. You can really tell everyone genuinely cares, shout out to Steffie who has been our mentor as we continue to volunteer and create content for the foundation.
AMS is in the beginning phase of a project to rehabilitate captive spider monkeys back into their native habitat. The sanctuary are monitoring the behaviour of animals and teaching them to become wild again. They undergo various phases of rehabilitation as they form new family groups and begin foraging for food independently. The final stage involves the monkeys being released into a large enclosure on their own with tracking collars. If this goes smoothly, the final stage is to fully release them into the wild.
I am excited to see the journey of this project and will be documenting any developments. If successful then this will be a pioneering project in mitigating the damage humans are having on captive animals in Mexico.
If you would like to check out more of their work or donate please check out the following links:
Photo taken by Akumal Monkey Sanctuary
