Baby chimpanzee was kept in a box for months clinging on an old cloth for comfort
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, valuablestories
It was a heartbreaking view, and they notice that the baby had been kept in this box for months. Jenny Desmond, a 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 an empty look in her eyes as she stared off at nothing in particular.
She was only being fed rice and cornmeal and was severely malnourished.
She was underdeveloped for age and seemed to have some kind of fluid buildup on her head that probably resulted from trauma. First responders quickly picked up Chance from the shop and swapped their sheets for a nice warm blanket.
The baby girl was transported to the LCRP rehabilitation center where the rescue team witnessed an amazing change in her 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.
She could already be seen smiling and laughing as she continued to progress and recover quickly. It was an incredible thing for the team to see it blossom under their care.
She will receive 24-hour assistance in the coming years with the LCRP to help her grow strong and healthy. It will be slowly presented to other chimpanzees for interaction and integrated into the younger children’s group. She will never be without members of the chimpanzee family.
Its possible that 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.
Source: valuablestories.com
