Parque Jacj Cuisi, opened in 2008, is the newest of 3 Bolivian run parks under the organisation of Comunidad Inti Wara Yassi (CIWY). CIWY was established in response to the dilemma of what to do with wild animals who can not survive in the wild. For the large part, these animals, ranging from monkeys to birds to wild cats, cannot be reintroduced into the wild as they have become wholly dependant on human care. To some extent, they lose their instincts to survive. The puma I worked with, Luna, had been in captivity for the main part of her life after her mother was poached. Luna was then sold on the black market and has been with humans ever since. She would find it both difficult and disorientating to be left to her devices in the wild. Hence, the aim of CIWY is to try and give these animals as normal an existence as possible. In the case of the pumas, each animal has its own cage, trails and territory. The job of the volunteers is to walk and feed the pumas. There are always two volunteers with a cat, one attached on a rope and the other as a support person. By these means, we would try and encourage the pumas to walk as much as possible and keep a normal daily routine. We also spent hours sitting waiting while they napped...
Buzzing, panting, sqwuaking
And the bleep of a watch.
Rustling of pages
An alarm call sings from the tress
A cat sneeze.
Sighing, itching and the scribble of a pen.
Chew chew of coca
An insect whines and padding of paws.
Pensive thought, admiration, intrigue.
Time spent in watch of a puma-
An illusion of serenity.
Snap and action
Someone moves and the spell is broken.
The puma paces, anxious.
Time to move.
Over an hour from town, with no electricity, eating simply, sleeping on straw and bathing in the stream; its a simplistic way of life at Jacj Cuisi. Waking at dawn to a misty haze of light and the far of groans of howler monkeys. Brushing ones teeth beneath a brilliance of stars with fireflies illuminating the jungle. Seldom did one miss the luxuries of modernity. After a hard day in the jungle, everything and anything was a luxury.
There is pleasure
In aching bones
In the lick from an animal
In floating in a stream
In living from nothing
And doing nothing but live.
Working with a wild cat; it seems something that only those addicted to the extremes in life would consider. I am anything but, and it was a string of coincidences that lead me there. After an amicable but nevertheless life-shaking break-up whilst travelling, I felt compelled to re-evaluate and re-establish who I was. My way of doing this took the form of throwing myself into situations with little thought for the consequences. Some may call this reckless. I, on the other hand, rejoice for this frame of mind because it allowed me to accomplish things I never would have embarked had fear and reality come into the equation. Throwing myself into the Bolivian Amazon to work with pumas seemed about the most challenging concoction I could come up with, so naturally, I was in. With little thought as to the nature of such work, I turned up on a mission to prove to myself, and to others, my worth.
I despised it. I was absolutely petrified that first week and angry at myself for committing so blindly to it. I consoled myself only by the notion of leaving halfway through my month long stay. I was terrified of Luna. I couldn´t stop my mind from concocting scenarios of fatal puma induced accidents. I couldn´t relax around her, at every moment expecting her to jump on me. This became a real barrier to my getting to know her. However, after one week, her senior volunteer left and I was thrown into this position of repsonsibility. Its quite something, feeling completely responsible for the life of such an incredible animal. Feeling wholly unprepared, I was still petrified. Luna tested me hard that week. She sulked, took the wrong paths and jumped me daily.
This latter occurrance became the turning point for me. As soon as I came to terms with the fact that she did not want to hurt me, solely to play, the fear dissapated. I came to know how to handle her jumps, so before long she grew disinterested in using me as a toy and stopped. From then on, things only improved. I suddenly found myself completely comfortable around what may be deemed a potentially dangerous animal. In my mind, she shrank to the size of a house cat. Besides just conquering a fear, I began to enjoy my time with her. I no longer associated feeling fear with her. By the end of my month, I felt a very strong protective love for her, something I never would have anticipated. I feel that this trust relationship was mutual. If ever upset or unsure, she would turn back to me for reassurrance. For a pat, to lick my arm or just a purr. When happily walking through the jungle purring, she would often turn back to check we were still there. She hated it when we left her in the evening, and arriving in the morning was always special. She would be all purrs and licking.
I call her name
She answers.
Anticipation...
Elation and small nicities as we meet.
She licks my hand
I rub her neck
Reassured, both.
With so much affecton from such an animal, it is impossible to remember that you were once scared. You became very trusting in each others abilities to handle situations. She trusted us to look out for her, and we trusted her not to hurt us. You learn to really trust in your own abilities and ultimatily, to trust in the world. Things can go wrong, but thats why you need such mutual trust. There is something very special, and in some ways superior, in developing this kind of bond with an animal.
Leaving Luna was no easy feat. Despite harbouring a deep hope to return one day, there was an uncomfortable finality in saying goodbye. For the most part, I feel incredibly lucky to have met her, to have had the chance to be responsible for her and I feel an immense gratitude towards her for helping me learn about myself. As the days pass since I left, my conviction to return does not diminish.
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