She’s fortunate to have parents back at home who worry about her and who wait patiently for her return. The people she volunteers with come and go – their “real lives” are outside the parque, and Coleman struggles to figure out the right time to go. She’s not sure where she belongs or what she should be doing with her life. Coleman also writes a lot about the impacts of climate change and deforestation, so if you’re looking to read more books on environmental topics, this was a fascinating one.Īs the title indicates, this is a story about Coleman’s own growth as much as a story about animals. The physical challenges Coleman describes are disturbing but told in a humorous way (an example is the parasite that has to be squeezed out of her leg). Life in the parque is incredibly hard and often dangerous. Far away, the eagle disappears, lost within the clouds. She puts her cheek on both her paws and gazes at me.

She turns to me and flicks her tail mildly, agreeing.

I can’t believe its taken this long to say it out loud. We both watch an eagle soar across a patch of sky. Her neck arches into the sun, catching a sweep of gold.

“I love you,” I say quietly, my voice breaking. I loved how Coleman describes their personalities, each of them becoming individuals rather than just abused creatures. At the same time she portrays their wildness and animal natures. Many of these animals didn’t learn essential skills because they were captured and abused by humans. They will never be able to live in the wild on their own, or be able to interact naturally with others of their kind. They seem torn between longing to be free and needing to be cared for, and the parque tries to meet these needs, with serious resource limitations (and some questionable management practices). The animals they care for in the parque have been mistreated, so they are angry and dangerous. You could see as her initial horror and fear of Wayra gradually turns to love and trust. But she does, and at some point the jungle becomes her home, and the animals become her family.Ĭoleman’s writing is vivid and beautiful, though it could be a bit repetitive at times. When she’s assigned to “walk” a puma named Wayra, she thinks she won’t last 24 hours. I was struck by her horror on her first day, from the lack of accommodations, the outhouse, the poisonous insects, and the monkeys and other animals running around freely. In her early twenties, Coleman quit her job in England and backpacked around Bolivia. Wanting to do something different, she signs up for a 30 day stint at an animal “parque” in the jungle.

The Puma Years by Laura Coleman