It's a jungle out there...

I travelled to Iquitos in Peru to visit Luis - a Peruvian vet I had worked with on the Nicaraguan Veterinary Project   He works at a small zoo about 15km outside Iquitos

Suburbs of Iquitos!!

The city is huge - more that a million people camped out on the edge if the Amazon - there are no roads into the city - the only way in is by air or boat!

The zoos animal inhabitants reflect this proximity to the jungle - nearly all the animals come from there.



The zoo is not without it's problems - Iquitos has a great deal of poverty and revenue from paying customers is low - it's less than £1 for an adult to get in! The zoo is owned by the local government but with lots of social problems in Iquitos the zoo is way down the priority list. The end result sadly is a place where a lot of animals are kept in far from optimal conditions. But there is awareness that things are not as they should be - a few days before I arrived there was an article about the zoo in the local newspaper.  Luis also is all too aware of the poor conditions and is doing his best to help improve facilities and welfare - for that I admire him


It had been over 25 years since I had visited a zoo and it was difficult to see the animals in small cages - especially the big cats - the jaguars and pumas - pacing back and forth...

Big Cats Small Cages

For me a glimpse of an animal in the wild is much better than seeing one a few feet away but behind bars. I know everyone doesn't have the opportunity to see animals in their natural environments but I don't think that's a reason to imprison them...



On a more positive note the day before I left I got an incredible opportunity to help a couple of the cats They were the  Jaguarundi -  Lola and Lila

 Although they are one of the smaller members of the cat family weighing in at just 10kg it doesn't make them any easier to handle. An adult Jaguarundi being quite able to kill a human being! So it was a couple of very brave keepers who netted the cats for us.

Netting the Jaguarundi

We brought them back to the treatment room and anaesthetised with xylazine and ketamine and placed a catheter.

Transport to the treatment room

Under GA

They were in for dental treatment - an oral exam revealed a fractured canine in both cats This is a common problem in zoo animals - the fracture occurring during the eating of bones or by chewing the metal components of their cages.  In the cat the pulp canal or nerve of the tooth is very near the tip and even the smallest chip can lead to pulp exposure Once the pulp is exposed bacteria can travel up the canal to the top of the root and create a painful abscess There are 2 options for treatment - root canal therapy or extraction - the latter being the only option available to me

Lola's fractured canine - note the discolouration due to seepage on necrotic pulp into the dentine canals

This is the other jaguarundi's tooth - Lila - the very tip was chipped off - a close up photo revealed pulpal exposure - the black spot in the centre

Luis doing the ultrasonic clean

As with previous dental treatments on the trip equipment was limited - this time I did have a luxator which helped no end! So by the light if an iPhone I raised a flap and loosened & extracted the tooth before seeing things up. As you can see from the photos one of the cats had a nasty abscess which would certainly have been causing intermittent toothache

Raising the flap to expose the tooth root 

Tooth extracted and flap sutured

Lola's canine - her tooth was fractured higher up the crown  - note discolouration and large pulp exposure - very little significant apical pathology though

Lila's canine - her tooth was fractured  just at the tip  - little  dicolouration and tiny pulp exposure - huge apical pathology  - she was in pain with this condition

Luis waking the Jaguarundi up 

Even though zoos are not my thing each animal was an individual who deserved respect. There were some lovely moments with some if the animals there - Yuri the baby squirrel monkey was just about the cutest thing possible. The otters Greta and Linda were very cheeky and playful and the baby sloths Toby and Isabella had me oohing and aahing like a kid. See my special post on Yuri and the Sloths here!

Greta the Giant River Otter - personality plus! Check her feet and tail - no wonder she can swim fast with that equipment!

On the move with a mouthful of fish!

Linda - one of the smaller otters but twice as cheeky!!

Doing what she does best!

The Macaws imitating each other!

2 toed sloth

I would like to thank the staff at Complejo Quistococha for welcoming me there -  especially mi amigo Luis and Evelyn the biologist

Luis on a house visit!!

Evelyn with Yuri

The staff preparing dinner for the animals

By the time most of you read this I will be back in the UK. It has been a great privilege to make a difference to the lives of animals so far from my home - something I want to keep doing...