Liberia Chimpanzee Rescue And Protection received an anonymous tip and raided a supply shop in Kakata, Liberia, to find a tiny baby chimp inside of a cardboard box. She was rocking back and forth due to stress and trauma and clinging to an old piece of cloth for comfort.
It was a heartbreaking sight, and they learned the baby had been kept in this box for months. Jenny Desmond, founder of LCRP, figures the chimp’s mother was killed off to be sold on the black market for bushmeat leaving the baby to be kept as a pet. Chance was only one-year-old and had no one to properly care for her. Her owners didn’t seem to care much and put her in a box and left her in the corner.
This lifestyle had token obvious tolls on the baby chimp. The rocking and clinging being clear indicators of stress and a lack of nurturing and attention. Rescuers also noted a vacant look in her eyes as she stared off at nothing in particular.
After a lengthy search we (LCRP, FDA, LNP) were able to find this little girl hidden in a small shop in the box she's called home for months. Thank you to all for another succesful confiscation. Chance is now back at LCRP sleeping. As you can see, she has some fluid in her head and stereotypical rocking behaviors but overall she is safe – more details to come.UPDATED PICTURE OF CHANCE – HAPPY AND STRONG! VIEW IN COMMENTS. <3
Posted by Liberia Chimpanzee Rescue on Friday, March 30, 2018
Chance was only being fed rice and cornmeal and was severely malnourished and emaciated. She was underdeveloped for her age and appeared to have some sort of fluid build-up in her head that most likely resulted from trauma. Rescuers quickly took Chance from the shop and swapped out her cloth for a nice warm blanket instead.
The baby girl was transported to the LCRP rehabilitation center where the rescue team witnessed an amazing change in behavior and attitude. She became less dependant on the blanket as her need for an outside source of comfort diminished. Chance soon stopped rocking back and forth and started to stand up. She even held out her arms to be held. 🙂
Chance could be seen smiling and laughing as she continued to progress and recover rapidly. It was an incredible thing for the staff to watch her blossom under their care.
Chance will receive around-the-clock care over the next few years with LCRP to help her grow strong and healthy. She’ll slowly be introduced to other chimps for interaction and be integrated into their youngest nursery group. She’ll never again be without chimpanzee family members.
Thank you SO MUCH for the amazing outpouring of love and support for LCRP's newest orphan Chance. While we are now fairly certain she will need special care (beyond the usual special 24/7 TLC all the babies get) as she seems to have some developmental and physical situations we will address. We have a pediatric specialist coming to meet her today. For now, she is settling in, getting MUCH more relaxed and even playing a bit. She is learning to ask to be picked up and to grasp with her feet as well as her hands – she spent the past months on the ground so doesn't understand normal clinging behavior when held. We will keep posting updates and count on you wonderful followers to keep spreading the word! We are grateful beyond words for the compassion around the world for Chance and all of LCRP's family members and our work! <3 <3 <3
Posted by Liberia Chimpanzee Rescue on Saturday, March 31, 2018
It’s possible Chance could return to the wild someday, but that’s a long and complex process that will need to be looked at and accessed later on. Desmond’s best guess is that the chimp will likely live in a “seminatural spacious forest environment with other chimpanzees for her lifetime.” Either way, Chance looks to have a bright future after such a sad start to life.
If you’d like to help with Chance’s care, you can donate here.
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