Kiwi - The Woolly Monkey

Kiwi is the alpha male of the woolly monkey group. He came to us as a very young baby and was hand-raised by amaZOOnico staff. Kiwi often sits on the ground which is very unnatural for a monkey. We try to motivate him to climb by hanging food high in the trees.

By adopting Kiwi you can help us buy these fruits and give him a good reason to climb. 

Diego - The Woolly Monkey

Diego joined us from another rescue center as he was facing challenges with his social group. Now, he’s exploring treetops for the first time in our large jungle training enclosure. Woolly monkeys like Diego face serious threats in the wild from deforestation and the illegal pet trade, which takes a devastating toll on their populations. With their prehensile tails acting like a fifth hand, they are perfectly adapted to life in the trees — a life we strive to give them here at amaZOOnico.

Keisha - The Woolly Monkey

Keisha has been at the center since 2012 and was transferred from a university in the coastal region of Ecuador. Because of her time in captivity she is severely traumatized and often hides her face in her arms and cries. Since she has been living with the group in our large new enclosure, she has blossomed more and more and has become more self-confident. 

We hope that with your support she will be able to overcome her trauma in the future and live the rest of her life here in peace. 

Shila - The Woolly Monkey

Shila, our smallest woolly monkey, was rescued in 2024 from a nearby community, a place known for hunting wildlife to stock local mini zoos. While locals claimed she simply wandered into the village, this is unlikely given her species' natural behavior. We believe that she was abused as part of a tourist attraction. She is very intelligent and was the only wolly monkey to escape from the enclosure. She is still a teenager but she is growing fast and becoming more confident every day. 

With your help, she will never again be used as a tourist attraction. 

Forrest - The baby Spider Monkey

Forrest was born in February 2024. He is growing up in the care of his mother, Mea, and will eventually be released into the wild as part of our Makisapa Alpa project. Since spider monkeys are endangered, we are dedicated to giving their offspring a chance to thrive in their natural habitat. Forrest, along with other spider monkey babies, will be released once he becomes independent at around 2 or 3 years old. 

Your support can help make his return to the wild a reality !

Mea - The Spider Monkey

Otto - The Spider Monkey

Lucy - The juvenile Spider Monkey

Libertad - The Spider Monkey

This little guy was born near the end of 2022. We have high hopes that libertad will be a future leader of his very own band of wild monkeys. For that reason he is now living in our isolated rehabilitation enclosure, preparing for life in the wild.

Please help us support Libertad's journey to freedom!

Sacha - The baby Spider Monkey!

This baby spider monkey was born in 2024. When she is old enough, she will be released into the wild with the help of our rehabilitation program. 

If you adopt our little monkey, you are welcome to give her a name. 

A Kinkajou

At the moment we have a few kinkajous here. Kinkajous are nocturnal animals, which is why we don't see them out and about during the day. We have a large, healthy kinkajou population around our center and because the animals are very territorial we can not release our captive individuals. People keep kinkajous as pets because they are very cute as babies. Over time, however, the owners realize that kinkajous are very bad pets because they attack people and destroy furniture.

We need your help so that we can give our kinkajous a healthy life here at amaZOOnico. 

Kakerlake - The Coati

He arrived here in the Summer of 2022 as a juvenile, and was brought by the Ministry of Environment. His story is quite strange, as he was turned over by a man saying that a wild coati showed up at his house. Coatis are taken out of their environment for people to keep as pets when they are still babies, but when they grow up, coatis become more aggressive and are quickly abandoned.

Unfortunately we cannot release Kakerlake but you can help us enrich his life. 

Igu - The Tayra

This Tayra is called Igu. Until now we have not had many Tayras in amaZOOnico, as these animals are usually very shy and avoid contact with people. Igu is also very intelligent and gets bored quickly. That's why we regularly make him enrichments (little puzzles that he needs to solve to get food). Before Igu came here he was kept as a pet. He has an injury to his hind leg and is receiving physiotherapy. Due to his history, Igu is very curious and playful and likes to stay at the fence of his enclosure to enjoy the attention of volunteers and visitors. 

With your help we can give Igu the best possible life. 

Don Tyson - The Ocelot

This ocelot, Don Tyson, is very shy. We usually only see him during feedings. He comes from another rescue center, and unfortunately we don't know much of his history. We assume that Don Tyson is very old. That's why we're trying to give him the best possible life for his final years. 

With your support, we're  sure we can do that. 

America - The Tapir

America came to us when she was four months old. She was always very aggressive, and was released when she turned one. America gave birth to four offspring in the wild, however, she also caused many conflicts by raiding crops on local community lands. A big issue when wild animals lose their fear of humans. Now America lives safely again at amaZOOnico.

As we can no longer release her, it is even more important that she finds a nice person who will support her hefty appetite. 

Poppy - The Tapir

Poppy is the 2nd child of Navidad and Carnaval. Their 1st baby, Pumpkin (named as he was born near Halloween) is one of our success stories and he was released into Selva Viva (2018). There are currently many wild Tapirs outside Amazoonico in Selva Viva, which means unless they change their territory and move further away we will not be able to release Poppy. We are continuing to explore other opportunities to release him. 

Until then we are searching for a nice person who would like to adopt him. 

Buffy - The Caiman 

Buffy was rescued from a private ranch in 2017, where she was kept as a tourist attraction. Initially living in the charapa pond, she made the choice to move to the tapir pond, where she now prefers the right side. Caimans are quite intelligent animals, they observe their prey before killing it to learn their behavior and save energy for the attack. 

Dracula - The Caiman

Dracula is a male dwarf caiman. He arrived at the center in 1995 and has since become known for his elusive nature. He usually stays on the far side of the pond and hides during the day as caimans are nocturnal creatures. When the pond is drained for maintenance, Dracula has a habit of disappearing for weeks, hiding in hard-to-reach spots. Like other caimans, he communicates through sounds, postures, and movements.

A Charapa Turtle

Luther the Tapir

The Military Macaw

This extraordinary macaw is the first of its kind that we have had here in amaZOOnico. Unfortunately, its species is now classified as vulnerable to extinction. Macaws often form groups of up to 30 individuals. He now lives with a group of Scarlet Macaws and Amazonian Parrots.

We would be very grateful for your support and love if you adopt this amazing bird. 

An Amazonian Parrot

We have many Amazonian Parrots here in amaZOOnico. They are often kept as pets, but they live to a very old age (up to 60 years) and can be quite loud and messy. That is why many owners abandon their parrots after a while. These parrots can also imitate human sounds. They do not do this for fun, but rather as a reaction to confuse predators. Due to physical and psychological trauma, most of these birds cannot be released into the wild. 

But we would be happy if you could help us give them the best lives possible. 

A Red & Green Macaw Couple

The center have two bonded macaws that need your help! Devoted to each other, they show lots of care and make lots of noise together, like a very happily married couple! Having been rescued from the pet trade, they are not able to look after themselves in the wild. 

By adopting this special duo, you'll be supporting their care and providing them with the best food and attention, ensuring they can continue serenading us with their vibrant calls for years to come!

Isla - The Toucan

Isla was released back in 2018. But with her attachment to people, she was quickly recaptured in less than a week and was being held again as a pet. The women from the local community notified us, and helped us rescue her again and she was returned to her enclosure at amaZOOnico.

Please help us give Isla a great life at the center!

Emma - the old Tayra lady

Our gorgeous Emma lived at the Quito Zoo for many years. But now she has found a new home here at amaZOOnico where the climate suits her better. She is in a socialization process to join Igu in his enclosure, we hope they will be great friends.

Help us by supporting our smart and gracious Emma .

Maya - the Spider Monkey

Maya was kept as a pet. Her mother was killed and she was taken from the forest roughly 3 years ago. After causing some trouble with her human keepers she was kept in chains.
Now Maya lives in amaZOOnico. She is too humanized to release her again, so we are trying our best to restore dignity to the life of this helpless victim.

To help us with this mission, you can adopt our beautiful Maya.

Our two three-legged Yellow-footed tortoises

Yellow-Footed Tortoises are heavily trafficked on the illegal market. In the past 30 years we have rescued almost 500. Sadly, they typically suffer from vast deprivation in private homes and often arrived malnourished and deformed. 

Our two resident tortoises only have three legs and can hardly carry their shells.

Please help us rebuild healthy lives for these guys by adopting one today!

Pancho - Guanta

Pancho, this charismatic Guanta was kept as a pet. Our volunteers lovingly refer to him as the "big cute fat rat" :) 

Guantas are from the same family as the Capybara. It is rare that people keep these animals as pets, and Pancho is an unlucky exception.

As Pancho is too humanized, he can no longer return to the wild. That's why we would be very grateful for your support. 

The squirrle monkey with no name

Before this little squirrle monkey came here, he was kept as a pet, which is why he is very humanized and shows neither fear nor flight instinct when humans are near him.

For this reason, we are unfortunately unable to release him back into the wild and are therefore trying to give him the best possible life here in our rescue center. Fortunately he is not alone but now but living with our other squirrle monkey Johanna. 

If you would like to support our squirrle monkey, you are very welcome to adopt him and thereby give him the chance for a better life here in our rescue center.

Esmeralda, our anaconda has been adopted by Josua Hannik!