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LWIRO's PRIMATES

CRPL takes care of 126 chimpanzees and 117 monkeys of 16 different species, together with parrots, turtles, and a porcupine. All these animals have been victims of poaching and the pet trade. The number of animals is continuously increasing...

CHIMPANZEES

The CRPL currently houses 130 resident chimpanzees. Every chimpanzee resident was brutally taken from their forest home by poachers. Tracked down by dogs, the adult chimpanzees of the group are usually shot and killed and then the meat is either eaten by the hunters (poachers, soldiers, illegal miners) or sold as meat in villages or large city markets. The infant chimpanzees are too small to eat and can bring in more money when sold as a pet. It is illegal in DR Congo to keep a primate as a pet. Sometimes the Congolese Government Wildlife Authority (ICCN) is able to intercept these infant chimpanzees while still being transported and as such prosecute the poachers. The infant chimpanzees are then transported to the CRPL for long-term care. 



Unfortunately, at times the ICCN is unable to intercept the transport of infant chimpanzees in the first instance and the infant is sold into the pet trade or dies in transport. Often, an infant chimpanzee who is kept as a pet will die due to insufficient care. However, if the chimpanzee does survive then, the physical and psychological damage caused to the infant is significant. The longer the chimpanzee is kept in insufficient care, the more damage the animal will suffer.  



The CRPL strives to provide the highest quality of care to all of our residents and will continue to do so while the trade in wildlife is prevalent in the country. We continue to support and work alongside the ICCN and other conservation organisations in the region to stop the illegal trade in wildlife and to make the forests safe!

Monkeys

CRPL is the only sanctuary in Eastern DR Congo that accepts all monkey species. CRPL provides refuge to 117 monkeys, divided in the following species:

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  • Olive baboon (Papio anubis)

  • Yellow Baboon (Papio cynocephaius)

  • ​Owl-face Monkey (Cerchopithecus hamlyni)

  • ​L'hoesti Monkey (Cerchopithecus l'hoesti)

  • ​Blue Monkey (Cerchopithecus mitis)

  • Agilis Mangabey (Cercocebus agilis)

  • Patas Monkey (Erythrocebus patas)

 

It is illegal in the DR Congo to keep any primate as a pet. As with chimpanzees, all of the CRPL resident Monkeys are removed from the forests illegally by poachers and have been confiscated by the ICCN before being transported to the CRPL for long-term care. Most of these animals arrive in very bad physical and psychological conditions due to the trauma they experience during the hunting process and as a result of being kept as a pet. It is the long-term goal of the CRPL to be able to reintroduce our monkeys to the forests of DRC if their forest homes can be made safe enough to do so.

  • ​Red-tail Monkey (Cerchopithecus ascanius)

  • ​Mona Monkey (Cerchopithecus denti)

  • ​Grey-cheeked Mangabey (Lophocebus albigena)

  • ​Malbrouck Monkey (Chlorocebus cynosuros)

  • Tantalus Monkey (Clorocebus tantalus)

  • Eastern black-and-white colobus (Colobus guereza)

  • Brazza monkey (Cercopithecus neglectus)

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