Inherent Risks

When I arrived unnanounced in the Bolivian jungle to work at Inti Wara Yassi as they had suggested since they have no cell phone access or internet to make a reservation, I had to sign some liability waiver that stated that I was aware of the "inherent risks" of working at the wildlife refuge. Fern, a Brit who started the same day as me, asked, "what exactly do you mean by inherent risk?". We were told that we could break or sprain an ankle by running through the jungle. I then specifically asked if there is any danger in working with the pumas and jaguars. We were told that there is no worry. I then asked if there have been any accidents working with these animals. Again, I was told, nothing bad. Of course, after signing the waiver, the other volunteers told me the horror stories.

Inti Wara Yassi currently has 2 animal refuges in different parts of Bolivia and they have just raised enough money to put a down payment on another jungle area to continue to grow their space. The one I went to is much more remote with 5 jaguars, 11 pumas, 7 ocelots and 1 tigrillo. Each animal has its own history and is leading a better life in the jungle with this organization than if it was sold on the black market as most are. The biggest animals are definitely the jaguars. On my first day, I learned of how a volunteer pulled the leash of Rupi, the biggest jaguar, and Rupi slashed open his leg which then required 20 stitches. By the way, you are never suppose to pull the animal's leash. They lead us and not the other way around. With each new volunteer, Rupi likes to show who is boss and he puts their head in his mouth, tackles them to the ground and sometimes scratches their stomach. Some people quit the first day, others change animals, but those who stick around are in the end thankful for the experience to work with a jaguar. Aaron, an Aussie, who is the newest volunteer for Rupi can't even wear his shirts annymore after Rupi slashed them to threads on his first day while he was wearing them. If Rupi really wanted to kill a volunteer, he could, but he hasn't. He has been trained since he was small to not close his mouth on volunteer's heads. Apparently, jaguars go for the head and pumas go for the neck instinctually. Rupi requires two male volunteers to walk with him since he is so big and 2 men can help stop him if he bolts. Also, he gets overly excited when there are women around and might do more harm to them. I don't have a pic of Rupi, but here is a pic of Amira who use to be a pet for the Mafia. Interestingly, many of the animals have gender issues and can not work with one gender or the other. Usually, this is because of who mistreated the animal and with which gender the animal associates abuse. Waiyra is a puma who use to work in the circus. Due to mistreatment, she is a little psycho and can go crazy at anytime. I don't now why anyone would put themselves into harm's way by working with her, but they do. Flo, a Frenchman, works with her and she decided to bite into his hand one day. Below is a picture 2 weeks later as the hand is still healing. Trent, an Aussie, showed me his leg scars from Tupac, a puma going blind, who decided to bite into his leg. Thankfully, he didn't have any nerve damage and now he is on great terms with him. When I look at the volunteers who have been around for some time, I see the irrepairable scars from animal wounds. Jo, an Aussie, told me that on her first day, she had to remove Vanesso, an ocelot, from Naomi, the main Bolivian person running the place, after Vanesso attacked her face. Naomi required stitches to put her torn ear back. Here is a pic of Lazy Cat so you know what an ocelot looks like. Supposedly, I was given the three sweetest pumas with which to work. They are named after the park, Inti, Wara and Yassi. Inti is the bully of the three and the one on a diet since she doesn't exercise much. On my first day with the sisters, I had to walk Inti. After I carabined myself into her with rope, she bolted. I wasn't ready for her to do this and so I fell flat to the ground. She then dragged me through the jungle for a bit and I scratched up my face; I'm still hoping the scar goes away. I then nicely uncarabined myself from Inti and handed her over back to Jessa, an Ausssie. Alan 2, a Brit, started the same day as me with the sisters. On our second day, he walked Yassi. They got a little lost in the jungle and out of the blue, Yassi jumped at him and scratched his stomach. Later that evening, Wara refused to be chained up. We always chain up the cats before we feed them so they don't charge us. Wara hissed at Flo when he tried to chain her to a pole and so Flo let her be. When Flo came back into the cage with meat, Wara charged him and Flo just threw the meat at her which stopped her charging. Very scary moment because I thought for sure she would take him down. Alan 2 quit that day. Naomi moved him over to work with Carlos who is a baby puma. All in all, the sisters are adorable and just sometimes overly playful. One day, I was working alone with them since for one reason or another, my teammates were not around. Yassi just ended her time being in heat and had a little too many hormones running around inside her. She kept jumping her sisters over and over again. I asked Zandro, the park vet, to stick around outside the cage to make sure I would be ok inside. At some point, Yassi decided that I should join in the fun and she jumped me and would not get off. Her claws and teeth hung onto my back. I yelled for Zandro to help me, but he had trouble opening the gate. Eventually, Yassi got off of me and I left the cage. I only had a few cat scratches and a sore back, but the psychological damage was pretty severe that day. The sisters jumped me one other time. When we walk the pumas, we are at their beck and call. They call the shots and decide when we walk and when we sit. We are required to bring flashlights with us since sometimes, the sisters have been known to sit around for hours. When walking them, we have to keep them on a short leash when we pass other volunteers or their sisters since they might jump them. It is in their nature to jump. We can never have our backs to them either since that is due cause for jumping as well. When walking 3 pumas, we need at least 4 volunteers so that there is one volunteer with each puma and 1 volunteer to run in between the pumas to make sure everything is ok. Our alarm codes are: 1 “koowee” to signal where you are at, 2 koowees to signal trouble or I've lost my cat and 3 koowees to signal that you are lost with your cat. On my last day, the other cats and volunteers had already started walking home from the river and Wara and I were left behind because she wasn't ready to leave. So I just stood next to her while she sat there. I called her name and told her “vamos” as in let's go, but she ignored me. At some point, she got that scary jumping look in her eye and jumped up and clawed into my butt. She would not let go. I was all alone and wasn't sure anyone would hear me and so I screamed. Flo and Poncho came running back. Flo then told me never to scream since it only excites the pumas to play more. I'm sorry, but when a puma's claws and teeth are attached to my butt, the first thing going through my head is not to yell koowee twice. Poncho headed back to the other pumas, and Yassi, who might have been aggravated by my screaming attacked Poncho when he returned while Waldo was holding her leash. She jumped at him, clawed into his chest and took him down. Eventualy, he got her off. Rebecca, an Aussie, told me it was the worst she has seen. Yassi and Wara had been jumping Poncho and Waldo, 2 new Chilean volunteers, for the past couple days. The guys have been really good about it all, not screaming, and able to get them off each time, but this time, Yassi attacked and ended up marking him with a good scratch on his chest and a torn shirt. The other volunteers tell me that you get use to being jumped and scratched; it's all part of working with these animals. I must be a total wus and really am not sure I could ever get use to it. When the cats are in heat, they are the most calm. They just sit in their cage all day and meow like crazy hoping a male puma will respond to their desperate cries for love. I feel bad for the cats. It's unnatural for them to stay in heat without any action. The last thing the park needs is a baby cat, but I wish there was some kitty condom we could use for them. The cats are in heat for almost 2 weeks every month. Yassi cries out the most and sits on top volunteer laps. She gets especially excited around male volunteers during this time. Wara yells a lot too and likes to wrap her paws around my legs and pretty soon my whole body is engulfed with hers. Inti doesn't do much of anything and just sits around listening to her sisters meow. Every day, I bury their poo and remaining meat in the ground outside their cage, give them fresh water, scrub down their platforms where they eat, and feed them. If they are in heat, then I work on buiding a pool for them, play with them in their cage, clean up their trails using a machete (I am now a machete master), chop down ferns to add to their cage, or whatever needs construction. If they are not in heat, then we go for walks and swims in the river. Swimming with Wara and Yassi has been the highlight of my time with them. They are amazing swimmers and I love being in the water with them with my full space suit to keep the mossies from attacking me. Wara and Yassi really only like to swim when the volunteers swim with them and they don't just swim anywhere. They swim directly to us. However, we have to be careful since they swim with their claws out and they keep their eyes riveted on us. Inti doesn't care much for swimming which is probably why she is so overweight. Allthough, she dragged me through the jungle on the first day, Inti has not jumped me and was super affectionate to me on my last day. Wara use to be my favorite, but Inti now is. Yes, I´m fickle. For the most part, they are like regular cats. They like to play, jump, eat grass and throw up, be petted and meow a lot. They just have killer instincts and can't be trusted with your back turned to them. Upon reflecting on the experience, I feel so honored to have worked with them, but I'm not sure I can do it again.