Rehabilitating Chimpanzees - A Labour Of Love

SOMORIA, GUINEA - DECEMBER 02: Ten month old Soumba, is left alone momentarily for the first time since her recent arrival at the Chimpanzee Conservation Centre, (CCC) on December 03, 2015 in Somoria, Guinea. Soumba was recently rescued from traffickers by authorities and is the 50th baby Chimpanzee to arrive at the CCC. For the first three months she is cared for 24 hours a day by a volunteer quarantined away from other chimpanzees and staff. The CCC is a sanctuary and a rehabilitation centre for rescued orphaned chimpanzees and is supported in part by Project Primate, Inc., a US NGO. The centre is located on the Banks of the River Niger in the Haut Niger National Park in Guinea, West Africa and consists of around 6000 square km of Savannah and tropical dry forests. The CCC currently looks after 50 Western Chimpanzees, one of the most endangered sub species of chimpanzee. Most of the animals were orphaned and subsequently rescued after being taken as babies in the wild from their family groups. According to the Great Apes Survival Partnership, (GRASP), for every young Chimpanzee rescued, around 10 of its family members will have likely been killed in the process. The centre rehabilitates and cares for the animals, and ultimately aims to release them back into the wild, a process that take over 10 years. The animals often suffer from physical and psychological damage, but with care, attention and compassion from the keepers and volunteers, the animals begin the long process of gaining independence and learning how to survive in the wild. As they develop they are slowly integrated back into larger family groups until they are ready for their eventual release when possible. (Photo by Dan Kitwood/Getty Images)