Release Projects

Sadly, Sooty Mangabeys (Cercocebus atys) are a very popular pet here in Liberia, although they are fully protected by law. All over Liberia, adult Sooty Mangabeys are killed for their meat. When baby Sooties are found, clinging on to their (dead) mother, these babies are sold to become someone's pet. They end up living miserable lives on a short rope or a chain. They are not getting the right nutrition (many are still in need of milk), but most importantly, they are deprived of the physical contact they so desperately need. This results in psychological damage and they end up being traumatized for life...

At the moment, the sanctuary is home to 39 orphaned Sooty Mangabeys. The main goal is to give these monkeys a second chance in life and return them to the forest! This would be the first time monkeys are being released in Liberia! We have a group of 18 Sooties that make a good candidate for release! Although this is not an easy task to do...

These monkeys have no survival skills: they don't know what to eat and what not to eat, they don't know forest life, they don't know which trees bear which fruits, they don't know the dangers of the forest and so on. These are skills they would learn from their families, who are no longer around.

This is why you can not just "drop them off" and wish them luck.

Our plan is to relocate them into a protected area, where they will spend 4-6 months in a large enclosure, and where they will still get fed 3 times a day. This will give them sufficient time to adjust to their new surroundings.

All the monkeys will undergo medical checks to make sure they are healthy. We will also put radio-collars on the dominant male and 5-7 random individuals.

After this period of adjustment, the doors will be opened and the monkeys will have the opportunity to explore the forest. We will still feed them, and Eco-guards will monitor the monkeys on a daily basis to follow up on their progress throughout the entire project.

After 6 months, the frequency of us feeding them will go down, to encourage them to find their own food, to the point where they will no longer need additional feeding from us.

After about 2 years, they should have found a territory of their own, and they should be completely independent.

But to achieve this, we need your help!

We have teamed up with True Wildlife to raise funds to accomplish this pioneering project. The total cost is around US$ 75 000. This includes costs for building the pre-release enclosure, buying animal food, the trackers, salaries, vehicle...

If you want to help us in this unique Liberian project, please click the donate button! Any contribution will help to get these monkeys back home!

At the sanctuary, we currently have 2 potto's that are ready for their return home! They were tiny babies upon arrival but are ready for release now they are reaching adulthood.

To do so, we need a pre-release enclosure in a protected area and someone to follow up on the soft release.

Soft release means : still providing additional food to animals after release. This way, they will not go hungry when the first few weeks in the wild are a bit difficult.

The total cost of this project is US$ 800.

Want to be involved in their release? Please consider making a donation today!