Rainforest Awareness Rescue and Education Center (RAREC) is a wildlife rescue located near Iquitos, Peru.

Operating thirty miles from the city of Iquitos, in the Peruvian Amazon, we are authorized by the Peruvian government to operate as a wildlife center, and we work in close cooperation with the Peruvian Environmental police, to rescue and rehabilitate animals in need, and prepare them, if possible, for their return to the wild.

We operate as a fully licensed rescue center, and we are registered as a non-profit institution.

Since 2011, RAREC has rescued Amazonian manatees, ocelots, tapirs, different species of anteaters and sloths, a giant river otter, and a number of primates such as spider and woolly monkeys. After an animal completes their rehabilitation process, if they are able to return to the wild, they are released.

Our programs are funded with the financial support from our partners in conservation, as well as donations from people with a keen interest in the preservation of Amazonia, all over the world. 

Our work has received recognition and support from a number of conservation institutions from around the world, including the Nashville Zoo, Georgia Aquarium, Merlin Entertainment, Columbus Zoo, SeaWorld and Busch Gardens Conservation Fund, Pittsburgh Zoo and PPG Aquarium, Chattanooga Zoo and the National University of the Peruvian Amazon.

Our rescue programs have been featured in Peruvian newspapers and network television, and our conservation efforts have received recognition from the Peruvian Government.

A rescue operation can be a quick expedition downtown to pick up an animal being kept in a cage, or a carefully planned expedition to a village deep in the Amazon rainforest. Every single animal we rescue is an important part of the ecosystem, which is why we provide the best possible care to each of our rescued residents.