There's a Reason Maruca Turns Away from the Camera
Maruca is doing better than she was two weeks ago. She had some blisters in her mouth but they've been treated and have cleared up. Despite the blisters and the quarantine, Maruca's life at Senda Verde Wildlife Sanctuary is so much safer and gentler than it was before she was rescued.
Poachers killed her mother when she was a baby and she was passed around as a pet four different times. Each time she was mistreated and suffered deeply. When she was a juvenile, the people who had her pulled her four canines out with pliers and in the process broke her jaw, her nose, and injured her left eye. The left side of her face was damaged and disfigured, and she still has the scars.
This is the reason Maruca does not want people to look directly into her face and almost always turns away from cameras. But that doesn't stop her from getting well-deserved love and attention from Vicky and Marcelo and building meaningful relationships (see recent posts with her allowing the baby howler monkeys to snuggle and nurse on her 💕) and funny relationships with the other animals at the sanctuary (see recent posts with her and Moises, the tortoise 🤣).
Maruca reminds us why it's important to support the good work of reputable sanctuaries like Senda Verde Wildlife Sanctuary. It is especially true in these times when they are quarantined, closed to the public, and have no revenue streams. They offer safe homes - and in the case of animals like Maruca who would not survive in the wild - they offer forever homes. ❤️
