Animalma – Animalma

Summer newsletter 2024

Animalma by Sarah Animalma, Nature protection, Wildlife refuge Senda Verde 30. June 202430. June 2024Animalma Association, Newsletter 0 Comment

“Look deeply into nature, and then you will understand everything better.” Albert Einstein

Dear Animalma-Family

In a month’s time, I will finally be travelling to Bolivia again. I’m really looking forward to my home of heart, to visiting our projects and, of course, especially to seeing what our donations are achieving on the ground.

A big personal highlight will be the 10-day jungle trip deep into the Madidi National Park. We will be travelling by raft in the “Alto Madidi”, spending the night in a tent, trekking through the Amazon without any civilisation or mobile phone reception. Pure nature – a dream come true…

Before I embark on this adventure, I would like to share with you my favourite achievements since spring.

Insurance for rangers extended

As communicated in the last newsletter, we used half of the donations from the 2023 anniversary celebration and unrestricted donations to extend the accident and death insurance for the 27 rangers of Madidi National Park.

Since the beginning of March 2024, they can therefore feel safer in their demanding and dangerous job for another year. This is nature conservation on the front line!

Click here…

…to the blog post of this story – including the personal fate of Alex, who needed our insurance last year.

“Margay mesh” for Senda Verde

The other half of the anniversary donations went to the Senda Verde Wildlife Refuge. & they could really use this help – with the arrival of another jaguar, they had to make changes in the big cats area.
The Margays’ existing enclosure was converted for the jaguar and the Margays were given new accommodation. With the CHF 1’000.- from Switzerland, they were able to buy the high-quality wire mesh fence for Sascha and Asjari’s enclosure.

A big thank you from the Senda Verde team to everyone who took part in the Animalma festival!

Birthday campaign

At the beginning of March, I launched my annual birthday campaign – an incredible CHF 1’285.- in birthday donations reached me from all over Switzerland for the “Jaguares” volunteer fire brigade. Thank you very much!

& because this project, which trains, equips and coordinates volunteers from the local population in and around nature reserves to fight forest fires, is so valuable to Animalma, we have contributed donations with no specific purpose.

After careful consideration and deliberation, the Jaguares were able to buy

3 fire-fighting backpacks
10 safety helmets
6 radios
various shovels, rakes, hoes, an axe and machetes
10 accident insurance policies for the volunteers
2 tents and petrol for logistics
1 first aid kit and
1 printer & writing materials

and carry out 3 training courses.

Muchas gracias from initiator Marcos Uzquiano and the now 58 volunteer firefighters who, thanks to you, will be able to manage the upcoming fire season more effectively and safely.

Update birthday campaign 24

Here you can find the official campaign update with the final account and all purchased materials.

Article in the Glückspost

Susy Utzinger herself presented us with a wonderful highlight: an interview with writer and journalist Blanca Imboden. The result of this two-hour conversation appeared in Glückspost at the end of March. You can read the article here:

Article “A life for the animals of South America” in the Glückspost

New page under “Knowledge protects”

Not only Blanca but also I wrote in spring: Introducing a country as multifaceted as Bolivia and bringing it closer to you is not that easy and yet it has long been my wish.
In the “Knowledge protects” section, you can now find an overview of our country of assignment, its beautiful, unique aspects and also the tough challenges that we face time and again under

Our Bolivia

What marvellous milestones, aren’t they? Definitely fitting for our 10th anniversary, which we are celebrating this year. I’m excited to see what else this anniversary year will bring us.

First of all, I’m travelling to Bolivia. & as experience has shown that I always unexpectedly come across animals, nature reserves and/or activists on site who are dependent on our support, I am sharing with you my travel campaign

Bolivia 2024.

I will take all donations received with me to Bolivia and use them exactly where they are needed most urgently and effectively – whererever it may be.

I would like to thank you in advance for your support – be it in the form of a financial contribution or by forwarding this campaign and sharing it on your social media channels.

DONATE NOW

I wish you, dear Animalma family, a wonderful summer! The next newsletter will follow in autumn at the latest and I am sure it will again be full of wonderful highlights made possible by your support.

Muchas gracias y saludos,
Sarah from Animalma

Update birthday campaign 2024

Animalma by Sarah Animalma, Campaigns, Nature protection 29. June 202430. June 2024Animalma Association, Campaigns, Nature protection, News 1 Comment

Small things are responsible for big changes. – Paulo Coelho

So many gifts…

…in the form of a donation were received for Sarah’s birthday in March 2024, so that we were able to count an incredible CHF 1’285.- in the donation pot.

Many thanks to Anita, Patricia, Max and many supporters
who prefer to remain anonymous.

Because we at Animalma wanted to increase the effect of this generosity and the joy of the voluntary forest fire fighters, we added unrestricted donations and were thus able to donate an impressive CHF 2’630.- to the Centro de formación de bomberos forestales voluntarios “Jaguares” (training centre for volunteer forest fire fighters “Jaguares”) project.

Thank you Darleen, Sina, Fabian and Simone for your trust.

The result

The generous help from Switzerland was used for the following fire protection and training materials:

3 firefighting backpacks with 20 litre capacity from Fireline
10 protective helmets from Portwest, resistant to high temperatures
6 Motorola radios with 32, 40 & 56 km range
1 Pulaski axe
1 forestry shovel & 1 hoe
3 rakes
4 machetes
1 McLeod multifunctional tool (for drawing firebreaks)
2 tents & petrol for logistics within the fire areas
10 accident insurance policies for the volunteers
1 first aid kit
1 printer & writing materials
3 training courses

They will be of enormous importance in the upcoming and many other fire seasons. Once again, we are deeply touched by how we achieve great things on a small scale!

Below are a few pictures of the materials and impressions from two courses; one for the EBB rangers, one for the population and students of a small community within the protected area:

Animalma_Jaguares_Geburikampagne-24_Bild-3-2

Animalma_Jaguares_Geburikampagne 24_Bild 1

Animalma_Jaguares_Schulungen Juni 24_Bild 1

Animalma_Jaguares_Schulungen Juni 24_Bild 2

Animalma_Jaguares_Schulungen Juni 24_Bild 5

Animalma_Jaguares_Schulungen Juni 24_Bild 4

Animalma_Jaguares_Schulungen Juni 24_Bild 3

Many thanks on behalf of the Jaguar firefighters, Sarah and Animalma!

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Our Bolivia

The beauty of Bolivia leaves you speechless – like here in Los Yungas.

Our country of assignment, Bolivia, introduces itself – with its beautiful, but also its dark sides.

Home of the heart

Our founder Sarah Fehr got to know and love Bolivia while travelling through South America. Her life was turned upside down when she volunteered at the Senda Verde animal reserve; since then, she has passionately pursued her path in animal welfarce and nature conservation with Animalma.

Bolivia, our country of assignment, is one of the countries with the highest biodiversity in the world, both in terms of flora and fauna. That is why we would like to introduce you to our heartland, its natural treasures, but also their threats.

The overview

Bolivia is often referred to as the heart of South America, as it is centrally located between Peru, Paraguay, Chile, Argentina and Brazil on the South American continent.

12 million inhabitants live in a country of around 1,000,000 km2 (approx. 26 times the size of Switzerland). The Bolivian population is diverse and a colourful cultural mix of indigenous people (Quechua, Aymara, Chiquitanos, Guaraní, Moxos), “mestizos” (partly of indigenous & partly of European origin from the colonial era), whites and Afro-Bolivians.

The 36 official national languages and the term “plurinational state” defined in the constitution symbolise the multi-layered and therefore often complex encounter between different cultures.

Where different ecosystems meet, there is an incredible diversity of species. In Bolivia, it is the majestic Andes mountains and the evergreen Amazon that create an extremely diverse flora and fauna. In addition to 17’000 plant species, there are

389 mammals
1’435 bird species
908 different fishes
313 reptiles
251 amphibians and
13’719 insects

which have been counted to date.

The heights of the Andes are home to llamas, alpacas and vicuñas, as well as Andean foxes, condors, flamingos and many other animal species. The habitat of the spectacled bear – the only bear species in South America – stretches from the high mountains through the cloud forests down to the Amazon.

In the world’s largest remaining rainforest, jaguars are at the top of the food chain and ensure balance within the ecosystem.
The trees are home to various species of parrots, toucans, sloths and different primates, while caimans, river dolphins, giant otters, capybaras and piranhas live on the ground and in the waters – to name but a few.

Although around 15% of Bolivia’s land area has been declared protected areas and national parks, this marvellous biodiversity is endangered.

Photos by Kristi Odom, Maxine Lister & Noelia Chalfoun

The challenges

Meat, fire & cocaine

At 6.7 million square kilometres, the Amazon is the largest remaining rainforest on earth and is not only home to countless animal species and indigenous people, but is also directly linked to the global climate.
It is endangered by deforestation and slash-and-burn agriculture – including in Bolivia. The country is home to 6,6% of the Amazon – that may not sound like much, but it covers an impressive 442’200 square kilometres, that’s 10 times Switzerland.

The destroyed areas are used as grazing land for cattle or as soya plantations, the harvests of which flow back into livestock farming. In addition, there are large coca plantations that extract all the nutrients from the soil. The plants are processed into cocaine in laboratories deep in the forests of Bolivia and distributed all over the world via smuggling routes.

In 2022, Bolivia ranks third in the loss of tropical rainforest worldwide for the third year in a row, 10% of the 41,000 km2 of primary forest lost. At the same time, the export of beef – especially to China – is increasing annually, for example by 299% from 2019 to 2020.

Illegal wildlife trade, corruption & poverty

The illegal wildlife trade is the fourth largest criminal activity in the world with an estimated turnover of USD 9 – 23 billion and is only topped by drug, counterfeit and human trafficking. In addition to local demand in South America, endangered species in particular generate high sales in the international destinations of North America, Europe and Asia. The animals are kept as exotic pets or parts of them are consumed in rituals, “traditional medicine” or as bushmeat.

Wildlife trafficking is often linked to other criminal activities and is fuelled by corruption and poverty – as is the case in Bolivia. The production of cocaine gives the illegal wildlife trade in Bolivia a special twist, as cocaine laboratories are hidden deep within the natural habitats of many coveted animal species. Small aeroplanes, airstrips and existing smuggling routes are used for the export and transit of wild animals in addition to the drug trade.

Particularly affected in Bolivia are birds (various parrot species), primates, Andean bears, caimans, vicuñas and jaguars – the latter’s rice teeth are traded in China as a fertility elixir.

Gold, Gold, Gold

The illegal exploitation of gold at the expense of the environment is a harsh and often concealed reality in Bolivia as well as in other South American countries. Rivers in the middle of nature reserves are contaminated with mercury, indigenous peoples fall ill and are exposed to blackmail, violence and greed for profit. Activists and rangers face a powerful, corrupt mining lobby.

A secretly taken video by an activist of illegal gold mining in the Bolivian Amazon

The hope

Staggering facts and figures dominate the preceding paragraphs. But as long as these unique ecosystems are not completely destroyed despite all the challenges, there is hope. Bolivia’s younger generations are taking to the streets in defence of nature. There are incredibly inspiring personalities on the ground who are fighting with all their might against the greed for profit and for the preservation of this natural paradise; such as Vicky Ossio & Marcelo Levy from Senda Verde, ranger & activist Marcos Uzquiano, indigenous protector Ruth Alipaz, veterinarian Carla “Carlita” Prudencia and many more.

Animalma supports this hope and this fight from Switzerland. With our campaigns, we help animal and nature conservationists on the front line to rescue and care for poached animals, fight forest fires and support endangered nature reserves. We are regularly on the ground, visit our projects, provide immediate aid in emergencies and want to be a voice for Bolivia. Our message:

Bolivia may be a small, unassuming country in South America, but it is home to incredible biodiversity that now needs our help and our voice.

Be part of our mission by supporting our projects:

Protecting Bolivia’s nature

Our nature conservation project includes sending fire-fighting teams and veterinarians to crisis areas, preventive measures against forest fires, help for rangers in nature reserves and much more.

#SOSSendaVerde

Since the coronavirus pandemic, we have been supporting the Senda Verde animal reserve in providing basic care (food and medical care) for the 1000 wild animals in the reserve.

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