Rescued monkeys get new home in Peru
In this April 18 photo, a monkey dips its hand into a water receptacle at the Amazon Animal Orphanage in the Pilpintuwasi rainforest, near Iquitos, Peru. The monkey was among 39 animals that Animal Defenders International, with the assistance of the Peru’s air force and navy, airlifted Saturday to the animal refuge in Peru’s amazon rainforest from Lima, where they were held after being rescued from animal traffickers and circus programs. (AP Photo/Rodrigo Abd)
In this April 18 photo, Jan Creamer, president of Animal Defenders International, poses for a photo while holding a monkey, inside the British charity’s jungle sanctuary, in the Pilpintuwasi rainforest, near Iquitos. Creamer who organized the Saturday airlift and rehoming of more than three dozen mammals rescued from circuses and animal traffickers, said the sanctuary would be their permanent home. The animals are accustomed to human contact and feeding and could not be released into the wild. (AP Photo/Rodrigo Abd)
In this April 18 photo, a monkey holds onto the finger of an Animal Defenders International worker, as pet carriers housing rescued animals are unloaded from a military aircraft at the airport in Iquitos, Peru. More than three dozen mammals rescued from Peruvian circuses and animal traffickers were taken by boat to their new home in a jungle sanctuary, after they were airlifted from Lima to Iquitos. The animals are accustomed to human contact and feeding and could not be released into the wild. (AP Photo/Rodrigo Abd)
In this April 18 photo, a rescued monkey reaches out from a pet carrier to touch the pant leg of an Animal Defenders International worker, on the tarmac of a military airport in Lima, Peru. The monkey is one of more than three dozen animals rescued from Peruvian circuses and traffickers airlifted to a new home in a jungle island sanctuary. The animals are accustomed to human contact and feeding and could not be released into the wild. (AP Photo/Rodrigo Abd)
This April 18 aerial photo shows the Nanay River winding through Peru’s Amazon jungle near Iquitos. More than three dozen mammals rescued from Peruvian circuses and animal traffickers, including five different species of monkeys, have a new home in the Animal Defenders International’s jungle sanctuary, located along the Nanay. (AP Photo/Rodrigo Abd)
In this April 18 photo, an Animal Defenders International worker unloads pet carriers housing monkeys, from a military aircraft at the airport in Iquitos, Peru. The monkeys that include five different species, are part of a group of animals rescued from traffickers and circus programs. On Saturday, they were airlifted from Lima to their new permanent home at the Amazon Animal Orphanage in the Pilpintuwasi rainforest, near Iquitos. (AP Photo/Rodrigo Abd)
In this April 18 photo, a rescued monkey looks out from a travel pet carrier, sitting on the tarmac at a military airport in Lima, Peru. The British charity Animal Defenders International, with the assistance of Peru’s air force and navy, organized a rehoming and a airlift from Lima, of a group of animals rescued from circuses or wild animal traffickers, to a sanctuary in Peru’s Amazon rainforest. (AP Photo/Rodrigo Abd)
In this April 18 photo, a house boat floats on the River Nanay, near the Amazon Animal Orphanage in the Pilpintuwasi Peruvian rainforest, where more than three dozen animals rescued from circuses and animal traffickers, were given permanent homes Saturday, an action organized by the British charity, Animal Defenders International. (AP Photo/Rodrigo Abd)
In this April 18 photo, an Animal Defenders International worker shoulders a monkey in a pet carrier at the Amazon Animal Orphanage in the Pilpintuwasi rainforest, near Iquitos, Peru. More than three dozen mammals rescued from Peruvian circuses and animal traffickers, including five different species of monkeys, were airlifted from Lima to their new home at the jungle sanctuary. (AP Photo/Rodrigo Abd)
In this April 18 photo, an Animal Defenders International worker, unloads a pet carrier housing a monkey, at the Amazon Animal Orphanage in the Pilpintuwasi rainforest, near Iquitos, Peru. With the assistance of the air force and navy, 39 monkeys, were flown from Lima to the city of Iquitos, around 600 miles northeast of the capital. The animals were then loaded on boats and taken up the river to reach the protected sanctuary. (AP Photo/Rodrigo Abd)
IQUITOS, Peru (AP) — More than three dozen animals rescued from Peruvian circuses and traffickers have a new home in a jungle island sanctuary.
The 39 monkeys, South American coatis and kinkajous — also known as honey bears — were flown from Lima to the northern city of Iquitos over the weekend on a Peruvian air force transport.
From there, the animals were loaded on boats and taken up the Rio Nanay to a private sanctuary at Pilpintuwasi, where they were released into large fenced enclosures.
The animals are accustomed to human contact and feeding and could not be released into the wild.
The animals will be evaluated individually to determine whether they can eventually be released into the wild, said Jose Rafael Vilar, regional spokesman for the British charity Animal Defenders International, which organized the action.
A 2011 Peruvian law for which Animal Defenders International lobbied prohibits the use of wild animals in circuses.
The charity also has taken in big cats, including lions, from Peruvian circuses. They are to be sent to the United States.