The EPA and the Navy Return the Wild to Its Rightful Owners

They arrived that day as a group at the heart of the reserve: officials from the EPA Cartagena in green vests and field caps, uniformed officers from the Armada Nacional in their camouflage and rifles slung over their shoulders, and the Foundation's own staff, their hands long accustomed to this kind of work. They carried cardboard boxes, metal cages, white bags — the quiet cargo of those returning what illegal trafficking had stolen from the wild. Among the animals released that day were armadillos that emerged slowly through the leaf litter, measuring each step as though they still couldn't quite believe the ground was theirs again; a serpent — what appeared to be a boa constrictor — that slipped unhurried through the dry grass; and at least one bird waiting its turn in a small cage. The route took them along the wooded trails of the Foundation and down to the edge of a body of water, where an inspection of the site was also carried out among the dense vegetation and the Caribbean hills. No one celebrated with fanfare. The animals made their way deeper into the forest and the group walked on, as if the day's work were simply that: giving back to each creature what had always been theirs.