Keepers of the Wild

This article first appeared in our Health Revolution issue of My Green Pod Magazine, distributed with The Guardian on 24 July 2020. Click here to subscribe to our digital edition and get each issue delivered straight to your inbox

To the east of the Ecuadorian town of Baños, overshadowed by the mighty Tungurahua – the ‘Throat of Fire’ volcano – a series of reserves has been purchased and protected by a team led by a remarkable man: Lou Jost.

For 20 years Lou has followed a vision to create a biological corridor, roughly 18km as the condor flies, between two of Ecuador’s national parks: Los Llanganates and Sangay.

Crossing the Andes

Lou, a scientist and conservationist, co-founded Fundación EcoMinga in 2005; over the years World Land Trust and its supporters have helped fund the purchase of more than 17,000 acres of forest to protect the habitat between the two parks.

The goal is for animals like the rare mountain tapir, spectacled bear, puma and Andean cock-of-the-rock (main image) to continue to be able to pass safely between the northern and southern ranges of the eastern Andes.

Keeping forests safe

Keepers of the Wild, the unsung heroes of the reserves, work tirelessly; they’re on constant call to tackle emergencies – from illegal poaching to forest fires and landslides.

The qualities needed to be a reserve ranger working in rural Ecuador are many. It takes more than stamina and endurance to succeed in these remote areas, and to work alongside local people whose traditions may not always be sympathetic to wildlife.

‘Don’t hunt the birds’

Jesus Recalde was the senior reserve guard with Fundación EcoMinga for 12 years, and his gentle wisdom helped to guide the organisation’s evolution. But he felt the time had come to step down and asked if his son, Darwin, could take his place.

‘Jesus first came to my attention through signs I’d sometimes see – deep in the forests – while on my botanical explorations’, Lou explains. ‘One read ‘No cazar los aves’ (‘Don’t hunt the birds’) – an unusual sentiment at a time when every kid in rural areas carried a slingshot to kill birds. Years later I learned Jesus was the author of these signs, and realised that this was an unusual man.’