Parque Ambue Ari

Parque Ambue Ari is a Bolivian wildlife sanctuary run by Inti Wara Yassi. The park was bought in 2001 when it was thought that Parque Machia would be closed due to conflicts with the local population. The land is not ideal, the entire park is prone to flooding during the wet season, but at the time of purchase Inti Wara Yassi needed land in a hurry.
The park rescues abused jungle animals and those that are housed inhumanely or slated for death. It is illegal to release large cats in Bolivia; therefore all pumas and jaguars acquired must be housed indefinitely. Smaller animals are generally rehabilitated and released into the jungle unless they are too injured or humanized to survive. Although Ambue Ari is famous for its cats, it is also home to several monkeys, around fifty parrots, five rheas, a dog, and several free-ranging peccaries. As for its cats, the park is currently home to the following:
Five jaguars: Yaguarupi, Yaguaru, and Sama, males, and females Katie and Amira
Thirteen pumas: Males Carlos, Popular, Tupac, Sayan, Leoncio and females Inti, Wara, Yassi, Elsa,
Niko, Maggie, Wayra, and Yuma
Four ocelots: OB ("Ocelot B") and Lazycat, females, and Engine and Vanesso, males
Volunteers pay a program fee of $9 per day for food and lodging; this and donations are the park's only source of income. There may be up to 90 volunteers present during the high season and as few as ten during the wet season.
Volunteers may be assigned to work in quarantine (feeding, cleaning up after and exercising the new arrivals), construction, the monkey park, or with a cat. Volunteers may feed, water, medicate, walk, and swim with their charges after training. Volunteers are responsible for their own safety.
The park is located in the department of Santa Cruz, five hours north of the city of Santa Cruz by bus. It is forty minutes from the town of Guarayos and eight kilometers from Santa Maria. The park is bisected by a highway.
http://www.intiwarayassi.org/

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