STAR: A RESILIENT GIRL
Star was reported to LCRP by Liberia’s Transnational Crime Unit, one of our key partners in fighting wildlife crime throughout the country. We set out with their team and local police officers to find her in a remote part of Monrovia. We didn’t know if or how we would find her. When we did we were sick to find her chained to a rock which, as we spent more time there waiting for the ‘owner’ was clearly someplace she’d been for a long time.
We realized Star was a bit older, perhaps 3-4 years, than other chimps coming into our care. She immediately jumped into founder Jenny Desmond’s arms - that innate chimp understanding that help has arrived kicking right in – and wouldn’t let go. She showed no hesitation as we asked her to walk away from the home she’d known for three years and get into our vehicle. Her captors were arrested but unfortunately were not convicted so were ultimately allowed to go free with a warning. But Star remained with us!
Star was quick to accept her new home. She has a dear face and her confidence grew rapidly once she felt safe and secure. She is one of the fastest progressions we’ve seen from quarantine to nursery group to our toddlers and into the oldest group at LCRP. She Is fully integrated into the largest group and gets along well with almost everyone. She is still with surrogate caregivers as well and receives lots of enrichment from chimps and humans day and day out.
While every chimp has an incredible story to tell and is wonderful in his or her own special ways, Star reminds us daily of the remarkable resilience of our chimp family members. She somehow trusts us even though her family was killed and she was chained to a rock for years by other humans. What a beautiful person she is – we are honored to have her in the LCRP family.
We realized Star was a bit older, perhaps 3-4 years, than other chimps coming into our care. She immediately jumped into founder Jenny Desmond’s arms - that innate chimp understanding that help has arrived kicking right in – and wouldn’t let go. She showed no hesitation as we asked her to walk away from the home she’d known for three years and get into our vehicle. Her captors were arrested but unfortunately were not convicted so were ultimately allowed to go free with a warning. But Star remained with us!
Star was quick to accept her new home. She has a dear face and her confidence grew rapidly once she felt safe and secure. She is one of the fastest progressions we’ve seen from quarantine to nursery group to our toddlers and into the oldest group at LCRP. She Is fully integrated into the largest group and gets along well with almost everyone. She is still with surrogate caregivers as well and receives lots of enrichment from chimps and humans day and day out.
While every chimp has an incredible story to tell and is wonderful in his or her own special ways, Star reminds us daily of the remarkable resilience of our chimp family members. She somehow trusts us even though her family was killed and she was chained to a rock for years by other humans. What a beautiful person she is – we are honored to have her in the LCRP family.
ADOPTION FEE: $50Your adoption fee helps cover Star's food, shelter and veterinary care.
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When new chimpanzees arrive they are physically and emotionally traumatized. Our veterinary director does a full health check and treats them as needed. Some little ones arrive with broken limbs and shrapnel, and often have deep cuts due to ropes and chains that were used to restrict them while they were held captive. They are also given around the clock TLC, as nurturing and unconditional love is the most important part of their recovery. Feeding the chimps is a challenge. In the wild, chimpanzees eat over 200 different types of food! At LCRP, while we can’t replicate their diet exactly, we work hard to provide the chimps with a wide variety of fruits, vegetables, seeds, and nuts. Little ones receive baby cereal multiple times a day and all the chimps get morning and evening cereal to ensure the get daily boosts of all the right vitamins and minerals.
