Latest rescues

This baby White-bellied pangolin (weighing only 455g!) just arrived today. It was being sold on the streets and was taken by the local authorities who brought it here. It was so thirsty, it drank for 6 min straight!  Apart from a minor injury on one of its legs, it seems to be doing just fine. 

 On this picture, you can see our latest rescue: a newborn bushbuck! (Her umbilical cord just came off!) She was being sold on the streets but is now safe at the sanctuary, where all of our patients get a weekly weighing to see if the little ones are growing and if the sick are getting better!  

Today this turtle was being brought in. It seems to be healthy and having no apparent injuries, it will not have to stay with us for a long time. 

The illegal trade in Liberia continues... Today, this monitor lizard was taken to the sanctuary. It is in fine health and is soon to be released!

Last week, this Yellow billed kite came in, both wings and tail completely clipped. The kite was being sold on the streets and was confiscated by the #ForestryDevelopmentAuthority. 

 He is recovering in our aviary, along woth another kite. Luckily, birds mould their feathers so all of them should grow back. Unfortunately, this will take a long time.

Lots of animals are coming in lately,  we've had 6 in just 2 days! One of them was this stunning Fraser's Eagle Owl. He was handed over to the sanctuary by someone who saw him being sold on the streets.

 Luckily, he's perfectly healthy (apart from a small cut on the beak) and will only have to stay for a few days. Then he will be released! 

Imagine being ripped away from your family, and having to spend the rest of your life in solitude on a short rope... Unfortunately, this is the destiny for many Sooty Mangabeys in Liberia.

Luckily, this one was rescued (along with another one) by our partner @humanesocietyinternational and was brought to the sanctuary. But many Sooties still live a life of misery. 

 This Lizard Buzzard was rescued from the illegal trade a few days ago. His wings are completely clipped so he is unable to fly... 

Luckily, birds shed their feathers and he will eventually grow new flight feathers. However, this will take time and he will have to stay at the sanctuary for many months!

 This baby Genet kitten was rescued a few days ago. Luckily, he is taking the bottle well!  

 Meet baby Green Monkey Pablo, who came in a few days ago. Yet another monkey taken from the forest to be kept as a pet...

 In the meantime, monkeys are still coming in... This baby Sooty Mangabey girl came in a few weeks ago. She is so scared, she's often suckling her thumb for comfort. She is integrated and accepted in the group, and now has a family again!  

This juvenile African Rock Python was found near the sanctuary beach and has a cut on his body.

The wound in being treated and we will wait for the snake to shed it's skin before releasing him back into the wild! 

A few days ago, we received a call for a baby Spot-nosed Monkey being held on a rope as a pet. 

Today she is with us! 

A little overwhelmed by the  experience and a bit dehydrated, but she is already taking her bottle well and even ate a little this morning!

A few days ago, this young Black-backed duiker was brought to the sanctuary. We immediately felt lots of scabs all over his body. Turned out underneath these scabs are pellets from a pellet gun. We removed some, the rest will be expelled by the body.

He is in our nursery recovering from his horrible ordeal and will join the rest soon!

A few days ago we were involved in the rescue of a highly protected forest buffalo calf. Her mother was killed and she was left starved for a week. Arriving to the sanctuary she was already on deaths door, couldn't stand nor keep her head up. She also has blood coming from her nose.
We slept by her side through the night, giving meds and fluids. In the middle of the night, her heart stopped, but we were able to bring her back with heartmassages. Sadly the next day she gave up, severe infection of the lungs took its toll.

Another precious life lost..

Yesterday, 20 (!) baby Rock Pythons were brought into the sanctuary in an attempt to sell.
Pythons are a protected species in Liberia and selling them is against the law.

They shouldn't stay long and will soon be released!

And at the moment, we are trying our best to save the life of this male White-bellied pangolin, who was rescued 2 days ago. He was found being carried upside down by the tail by a guy on a motorcycle. He is still very afraid and at the moment, his future is uncertain. He is taking water and we are trying to get him to eat.

He is a big male, weighing 1950g. That's why we named him Bwai, meaning "Big" in the local Bassa language.

At a wildlife rescue center, you never know what will be coming in! Today, these 2 Graceful Chameleons (Chamaeleo gracilis) were confiscated by the Confiscation Unit. Both were up for sale but were rescued in time.

One of the chameleons is going through a bad shed. But in a moisty environment, he should recover quickly. (We were spraying him with water and he had a well deserved drink!) Chameleons eat insects which they catch with their long and sticky tongues.

They shouldn't stay for long, though! Hope we can release them soon! 

This exhausted Black Shouldered Kite was rescued from inside the EU Embassy after a collision. Thankfully nothing was broken, he is now in our soft release pen ready for the big day! 

Yesterday, we arrested two people for the illegal selling of 2 critically endangered, Western Chimpanzee babies. Sadly one infant died just hours after its rescue due to a chronic respiratory infection. The other has lost an eye and has severe conjunctivitis. Poor victims of such a cruel trade!

Today we rescued this White Faced Scops Owl that had 3 fractures in the right wing and 2 in the left. Some were too severe to be mended, especially with limited medical advancement here in Liberia. So it was then decided the best outcome was to humanely euthanize the owl.
 

 This adult female Pangolin came in today. She looks pregnant and is in critical condition but is closely monitored by our vet.
 

The animals keep on coming in: this time we will take care of this Dwarf Crocodile!

Not just a baby genet came in today, we took in this tortoise as well. 

Latest arrival: another baby genet.

So this crew came in today: 6 young barn owls. They were found in an attic and the owner of the house gave them to an expat because he wanted to get rid of them. According to him, they made too much noise. The expatriate contacted us and the owls arrived today.
 

 This baby Campbell's monkey was found tied under a table. Orphaned, scared and alone. She is only a few months old and she is the smallest monkey to enter the sanctuary.
 

Another young Dwarf Crocodile rescued from the trade!

This is the first animal that came in in 2020: a juvenile Harrier Hawk. He came in last night, basically already on death's door. He was completely emaciated, couldn't walk and was already having seizures. We administered some fluids and first aid but he unfortunately died overnight.

This young Black-bellied pangolin was brought in by HSI International. She is slowly gaining weight and is on the (long) road to recovery!

This Black-bellied pangolin was handed to the sanctuary. He was about to be sold and eaten, but was luckily rescued in time. 

This young pangolin was confiscated on our way to a meeting. She is very young, scared, dehydrated and starved and has a nasty nail infection. But once at the sanctuary, she drank a lot of water, took a nap and ate some termites in the evening. Fingers crossed!

Our newest arrival is this African Clawless Otter! She was rescued by expats living in Voinjama, who looked after her until she was strong enough to make the trip to the sanctuary. She is slowly settling down.

How some people treat animals in this country is mind blowing... This juvenile Dwarf Crocodile was all tied up in an attempt to sell. The ropes have made some cuts in the skin. He is now at the sanctuary, the ropes and wires are off and he will go back to freedom pretty soon!

This baby Green Monkey was kept as a pet for many years. Today he entered the sanctuary and finally got rid of his chain for once and for all! Time for his new life to begin!

Today, 2 Sooty Mangabeys, a Green Monkey, a Timneh Parrot and a Black Backed Duiker came in. We don't know what happened to the nose of the duiker, but it probably damaged its nose by slamming against a fence in an attempt to escape.
 

 Someone was trying to sell this African Rock Python, but was brought to the sanctuary in time!

This juvenile is about 1 year old, is healthy and won't stay at the sanctuary for long!  

 Last night, around midnight, Libassa Wildlife Sanctuary got a call from concerned citizens in town. They saw someone carrying an Olive Ridley Sea Turtle in a wheelbarrow who were about to kill and eat her.

They were able to convince the guy to hand it over and explained that these animals are protected. The sanctuary and FDA were informed.

Upon arrival, we removed the ropes that were tied around her flippers and after a quick medical check, she was taken back to the ocean where she took off immediately!

Another day, another pangolin rescued!

Humphrey was rescued from the bushmeat trade as a baby by an expatriate living in Liberia. She handreared him and he is now fully grown.

She knew that her house was not the best place for a Tree Hyrax, so when she found out about the sanctuary, she handed him over.

The Western Tree Hyrax is a nocturnal mammal, and they are on a vegetarian diet. ️Fun fact: Did you know that they are distantly related to elephants and sea cows? 

Off the rope! This young Sooty Mangabey male was kept as a pet on a short rope, just like many others here in Liberia. He is now slowly settling in at the sanctuary.

All monkeys are intelligent and very social, and need their family group growing up for their mental and physical wellbeing. They get cared for by their mothers, play around with family members and learn everything they need to learn about life in the forest.

Yet, he was ripped away from his family, his mother most likely killed for bushmeat and he was taken out of the forest to be kept on a rope in some village. He must have been terrified all this time!

Luckily, most of our monkeys are part of a release program. This will take many years, but the future still looks brighter than it was!

 This male Black-bellied pangolin came in tonight. Sold in a market in the capital Monrovia. He is too frightened to drink, and fell asleep in his box. 

 This young male pangolin just came in, more dead than alive. We've put him on a hot water bottle, gave him some medication and put him on a drip. His tongue is out, which is always a bad sign. But is was blue at first and now turned pink. Breathing stabilised. 

 So this adult male pangolin just came in. He has a snare wound around the head and some cuts and bruises on the body and feet. He is just one of so many victims of the illegal bushmeat trade in Liberia. 

 This little dove is the latest addition to the nursery. It fell out of the nest and was about to become a children's toy, until someone stepped in and brought the little bird to us.  

 This Pied Crow came in with both legs paralysed. This was most likely caused by a rope that was tied around the legs in an attempt to sell the bird.

He is receiving treatment but prognosis is poor... 

 Meet our latest rescue from the illegal wildlife trade: a pangolin pup weighing only 400g and her left eye is completely infected. She is receiving treatment, has a great appetite and is gaining strength. 

 Latest arrival: yet another Bushbuck calf...

 This week was a great week for reptile rescue!

No less than 14 reptiles were rescued from the illegal trade: 10 dwarf crocodiles, 1 softshell turtle and yesterday, 3 young West-African crocodiles came in!

The good news is, they won't stay at the sanctuary for long. We are planning a release very soon!  

 This is an African Softshell Turtle. He was confiscated today and was kept in someone's house in a nearby community.

They are called "softshell" because their carapaces lack horny scales. The carapace feels leathery and is pliable on the sides.
They are strict carnivores, with diets consisting mainly of fish, aquatic crustaceans, snails, amphibians,and sometimes birds and small mammals. 

 Today, no less than 8 Dwarf Crocodile hatchlings came in. They have just hatched and are very tiny.

Yesterday, another 2 hatchlings came in.

All taken from the wild in an attempt to sell... Dwarf crocodiles are endangered and are protected by law. The good news is that soon, they will all go back to the wild!  

These 2 Lizard Buzzards were being sold in the streets of Monrovia. They are now settling in at the sanctuary.

Although they are healthy, they are not able to fly (yet). Because the cage they were in was too small, they never had the chance to train their flight muscles.

But like any training, they need to practice every day. Soon, they will become strong again and if all goes well, they can be released soon! 

This is the sad reality we deal with every day... This owl had a small rock thrown at him by a man using a slingshot because the owl "made too much noise". As a result, his eye completely popped and the skull and eyesocket are broken.

As if that was not enough, the man decided to sell the injured bird and was dragging him on a rope across the road!!

Luckily, one of the staff saw this and convinced the man to hand it over.

Shortly after arriving at the sanctuary, the owl unfortunately passed away...

Another victim of the illegal busmeat trade in Liberia... This is a Black Duiker calf. She is now settling in at the sanctuary.

A young man witnessed a Lizard Buzzard being sold on the streets. He was able to convince them to hand the bird over to him. After some research on Facebook, he found our sanctuary. Although it was already late in the evening, he didn't hesitate to contact us and organise his transportation all the way to the sanctuary so the bird would be safe.

On this picture, you can see the bird up for sale and tied by a rope around the legs. Due to the time of arrival in the evening, the buzzard was kept in the quarantine overnight, but moved to a large outside enclosure today.

Thanks to the amazing efforts of this young man, this bird is safe!

 This baby Sooty Mangabey and baby chimpanzee were rescued today.

Both their families have been killed by poachers so they could take the babies and sell them.

Both babies are traumatized by the experience but are settling down: the orphaned chimp was taken to LCRP , the orphaned Sooty joined our already large group op 21 monkeys and is doing fine. 

This young Sooty Mangabey came in today. He was confiscated in Sapo National Park by FDA.
He had a rope around his tiny waist when he came in.

He is now getting to know the other Sooty's at the sanctuary and should settle down soon. 

 Yesterday, 2 Bourlon's Genet kittens came in. Their mother was killed and they were up for sale.

They were absolutely exhausted and after offering some milk, they fell right asleep. Today, both of them are more relaxed and are feeding well. Fingers crossed!

 
This is a young Kusimanse, a species of Mongoose. She was found being sold in Bong County. She is still very young, but is weaned already. Now she just has to become a little bigger so she will be released in a few weeks!

Thank you to Fauna and Flora International for bringing us this juvenile Dwarf Crocodile!