Chimpanzees rescued from research laboratories are receiving comprehensive medical care at a sanctuary in Liberia as specialists monitor their health and wellbeing in old age.
The animals underwent a series of medical examinations at the Second Chance Chimpanzee Refuge, including blood and faecal tests, ultrasounds, as well as assessments of their bones, muscles and joint mobility.
Liliana Pacheco Ricote, director of the Second Chance Chimpanzee Refuge Liberia, said the examinations were aimed at assessing the animals’ overall health and detecting potential problems early.
“We do a health check to see our overall health. That’s what we did with the chimps,” she said.
“It goes from blood testing and then faecal testing, and then we did some echographies and then we did some mobility of the joints and everything to find out if everything was okay.”
The chimpanzees are among dozens of rescued animals living across mangrove-covered islands at the sanctuary, where they are able to roam freely and interact in social groups.
Many of the chimpanzees were captured from the wild as infants before spending years in research laboratories.
The sanctuary is home to the West African chimpanzee, scientifically known as Pan troglodytes verus, a subspecies classified as critically endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).
Pacheco Ricote said the declining population of the subspecies makes the protection and long-term care of rescued animals particularly important.
“The subspecies of chimpanzees that we are talking about is the Pan troglodytes verus, which is the West African subspecies of chimpanzee and based on the Red List of the IUCN, it’s considered critically endangered because the numbers are rapidly declining,” she said.
The sanctuary said regular health checks are crucial for identifying diseases at an early stage and ensuring that the rescued chimpanzees receive appropriate treatment and lifelong care.
For the animals, the refuge represents a second chance after years in captivity, providing a more natural environment where they can live with other chimpanzees while receiving the specialised care they need.
