Empower 23 African Communities to Protect Primates

We have especially exciting news from PASA, as we have succeeded in completing a rescue operation that has been years in the making!

In 2018, PASA was made aware of a small chimpanzee, Simão, who was being kept alone in a cage in Guinea-Bissau, a country in Africa. A victim of the wildlife trade, Simão’s cage was filthy, had no floor, and little protection from the rain. After investigating, PASA found three other chimpanzees held in similarly terrible circumstances across Guinea-Bissau. Guinea-Bissau has no sanctuary to care for these chimpanzees, orphaned wildlife, or victims of the illegal wildlife trade, and so PASA began a huge operation to try and transfer these chimpanzees to a sanctuary in neighboring Liberia where they could receive the expert care they so desperately needed.

After a frustrating period of delays caused by the pandemic and the complicated process to acquire the necessary permits to move the chimpanzees across international borders, we were thrilled when the rescue finally happened in July. Simão, Fifi, Tita and Tzé were flown to the Liberia Chimpanzee Rescue and Protection (LCRP) sanctuary via charter plane to begin their new lives.

The four chimpanzees spent a short period of time in quarantine after arrival at the sanctuary and are now being slowly introduced to other chimps for the first time since being stolen from the wild. Simão’s introduction to his first new chimp friend was particularly heartwarming, as shown in this video, and Fifi, the oldest chimp to be rescued, is enjoying playing with the youngsters before being introduced to a group of older chimpanzees.

We’re all so happy to see these chimps beginning to thrive as they receive expert care in their new home. Thank you for making it possible to save these chimpanzee and countless others. Your support of our mission is so appreciated. We couldn’t do this without you.