While in Peru on a volunteer mission to improve an animal rescue reserve deep in the jungle, Trevor King found some unlikely friends in the mischievous monkey residents occupying the little piece of heaven.

King and his cohorts hiked many miles through the dense hills of Ayahuasca— crossing the same river 14 times— to help with construction at the monkey shelter known as Cerelias. The reserve has been eager to install sustainable items like a two-story dry toilet, shower, and rain catchers to make it completely self-sufficient. Construction was scheduled to start shortly after the volunteers' arrival, but the travelers had no idea what monkey business awaited them.

The reserve is home to several different species of monkeys rescued from all over the Peruvian Amazon. Some had been housed as pets by owners who found them too much trouble, some were circus animals, while others sustained injuries in the wild and are being nursed back to health. While awaiting their integration back into the forests, the primates are given free run of the Cerelias compound. The volunteers were taken aback by the energetic, inquisitive animals that were eager to socialize with their new friends — especially while the humans were trying to work!

"Not one person was exempt from having monkeys randomly jump on their backs while working," exclaimed King on his blog. "It wasn't uncommon to shovel once, have a monkey jump on your head, move the monkey out of the pit, shovel twice, have a monkey jump on your back, and so on."

"Tools that were put down were quickly scooped up by curious monkeys and then bartered back with bits of banana."

As Trevor continued work at the site, with volunteers from HUGS (Humans Unifying Global Solutions), he learned to ignore the frustrations of trying to work around the monkeys, and instead focus on how fun loving his new friends were.

"I had an insight that these monkeys were the physical manifestation of the ‘monkeys' I carry around my own back from time to time," he wrote. "I realized that instead of being annoyed by them (as I often am), I could choose to see them as playful and good-natured."

He also told Good News Network that since leaving the animal rescue property, the monkeys have played havoc with the new shower and sink. "I will be back there again in two weeks to install netting around the structure to protect it from curious monkeys."

Watch the video below, made by Trevor's housemates, showing their monkey encounters.

Trevor King, of Burlington, Ontario, has been helping clients in the health and wellness field for over 10 years as the owner of Act Now Fitness, and as a practitioner of Neuro Linguistic Programming and Faster Emotionally Focused Transformations. He is currently in Peru for 3 months to gain further insight as to how to live harmoniously with his environment.

(Learn how you can help Cerelias on their blog, or website / Trevor's Photos used with permission )

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