Santuario Animal de Cochahuasi

These pictures are from the animal sanctuary about a 20 minute bus ride outside of Cusco (http://santuariocochahuasi.com/). This has probably been my favorite hidden gem I've discovered here, though the planetarium was pretty amazing too. Another student I met at the school heard me saying I was going out here and joined me. We jumped on one of the local buses and fortunately ran into someone who was volunteering in one of the outlying villages and had seen the place before, and so told us when to shout for the bus to stop. We just wandered in the front area and someone ambled over and just started explaining everything, telling us about the different animals. They dont charge for access but at the end have a store you can purchase various local craftwork, and a donation box which I was more than happy to give to. All in all a very different attitude than what I was used to around Cusco.

Overview from the entrance

Macaws are frequently poached from the Amazon for their high sale value throughout the world. They are often transported in PVC pipes with a disturbingly high fatality rate. They have 3-4 of them here at this animal sanctuary. They are completely free, and can  fly wherever they like, but return for food and to sleep in their sheltered area.

Stork

A couple local rabbits have been harassing the alpacas, nibbling off pieces of their long hair to use for their underground nests. It was pretty amusing to see this crazy rabbit jumping madly at the alpaca while it ran around and eventually took refuge in the water.

This guy had just been brought in earlier that day and they were in the process of building an enclosure for him. Im actually not quite sure what kind of animal it is, but Id be curious to know.

This puma was rescued from a night club in Lima where the owner kept it in a permanently semi-tranquilized and charged club-goers $10 to take a picture with it. As a 7 year old cat it only weighs 60% of what a normal adult weight should be, which is attributed to all the anesthetics.

Below are a series of pictures with the Condors. They have a mated pair in a large enclosure whose offspring they have been releasing back into the wild. There is also a new younger condor (they dont change to their adult colors until something like 5 years old), as well as another adult Condor which is in a second enclosure within the first. This is because he was kept at a resort at Lake Titicaca on a short chain from early life for many years, and his muscles are atrophied to the point he can not fend for himself with the others. With time they plan to introduce him into the larger habitat.

This male is approximately 60 years old, which is really getting up there in condor years. So, we were told to cut him some slack for half running half fly-hopping back up the hill to his favorite perch.

Below are some examples of the local crafts. The first picture shows the various color of dyes they are able to make locally, with the plants they are made from in the baskets above.