Meet Wildlife Conservationist Gudrun Sperrer
In a previous post I said happiness is a butterfly. Since then I have been chasing butterflies which led meeting Gudrun Sperrer at Pilpintuwasi Wildlife Rescue Center and Butterfly Farm in Padre Cocha, Iquitos Peru.
I actually don’t know much about butterflies. Jocelyn had previous experience from working at a butterfly sanctuary in St. Charles, Missouri. About a week ago, she was looking up articles to help me learn when she came across Pilpintuwasi. I started looking at their webpage and read the “about” section.
Pilpintu-wasi (meaning Butterfly Home) was created by Gudrun Sperrer in 2002
Gudrun was born in Austria. At the age of seven, she wrote a letter to her mom saying she wanted to be in the jungle. When Gudrun was 20 years old, she and a friend went on a trip to visit Peru. While her friend found love with a man on Machu Picchu, Gudrun found love with nature in the Amazon Rainforest.
Gudrun started a butterfly farm with the idea of conserving some of the thousands of species. She went with butterflies initially because she didn’t want to get emotionally attached to the animals. However, locals realized her passion for nature, and started dropping off rescued and abandoned animals. This led to the decision to start a rescue center in 2004.
(Read more at: https://pilpintuwasi.com/)
During the global Covid-19 pandemic, all tourism in Peru was put on hold, which meant zero income for the Rescue Center. Despite the all important work done, the Peruvian government will not give any funding, even though they are the ones placing rescued animals in Gudrun’s care.
In 2021, Gudrun was forced to sell her family home in Austria to financially sustain Pilipintuwasi. I asked her why, and she said “what choice do I have?”
Gudrun is the hardest working person I have ever met. While prepping four different animal’s diets, directing the employees, she managed to teach us about butterflies and did an interview.
“If not me then who.”
Jocelyn and I are surviving in the jungles of the Amazon Rainforest to raise awareness for wildlife conservation. We are donating the proceeds to Pilipintuwasi to support Gudrun and her mission to end animal trafficking.
Please support us in our mission by donating and sharing our Go Fund Me page at:
Until the next post
Cheri