Sansón wouldn’t let go of the parrot even when someone tried to get close.
The howler monkey, who is female despite her masculine name, hugs him, strokes his feathers, and protects him so zealously that Tarso Lopes, the owner of the place, couldn’t resist joking in front of the camera: “She adopted the parrot. The parrot is hers; no one touches it”. When he reached out to hold the bird, she pressed it even more tightly against her chest.
The scene took place at Pousada Pantanal Norte, in Barão de Melgaço, in the Pantanal of Mato Grosso, Brazil. The site is authorized as a controlled-release area: rescued, confiscated, or mistreated wild animals arrive there and acclimate before returning to their habitat. Sansón has lived on the property for four years and, according to Tarso, looks after everyone who passes through. She has been seen petting peccaries before. This time, the chosen one was a parrot, who sits so calmly in her arms that even the other parrots in the area seem jealous.