Featured Organizations
The following organizations rescue and rehabilitate endangered primate species as well as support and educate
local people on the importance of living sustainably with wildlife.
The Orphans
Located in the forests of the Democratic Republic of the Congo is the Lwiro Primates Rehabilitation Center, also called CRPL - Centre de Rehabilitation des Primates de Lwiro. During the Second Congolese War (1998 - 2004) poaching increased drastically and it was decided in 2002 that a safe place desperately needed to be created for orphaned primates to recover from their tragic ordeals. Although it is illegal in the Congo to keep a primate as a pet, adults are illegally killed for bushmeat and infants often sold illegally as pets. Infants confiscated by the Congolese Government fortunately are sent to CRPL. Lwiro currently takes care of 83 chimpanzees, 106 monkeys, as well as rescued birds, reptiles, and other animals. All animals are victims of poaching and the pet trade.
The Heroes
Arrivals at CRPL are often in desperate need of physical and emotional care and Lwiro has an amazing team of 46 workers who are dedicated to taking care of the residents. The mother - infant dependency period of chimpanzees is approximately 5 years so infants need special care around the clock. The life span of a chimpanzee is approximately 50 years in the wild and even longer for those in captivity. The mission of CRPL is to provide the best possible care to orphaned primates in DRC, while working to ensure their protection in the wild.
Wildlife in the Congo has suffered decades of war, disease, and habitat loss. The DRC has an estimated $24 trillion in natural wealth and gold, tin, tungsten, and tantalum are especially valued for use in products such as cell phones. Natural wealth in the Congo fuels war and armed conflict. The cost of living in the Congo is shockingly high with a gallon of milk costing $8.71, a pound of rice $1.72, and a dozen eggs costing $3.62. Families finding ways to feed their family, at times, find illegal activities as their only way to survive. Fortunately CRPL as well as other organizations are working to protect the wild spaces and wild species of the Congo. The CRPL’s education program reaches more than 3500 people every year. Not only do they work with rescuing, rehabilitating, and reintroduction of confiscated wildlife, but they also work with community education, development health and sanitation projects. They also are working to promote local and international tourism which is important to help fund conservation efforts.
GRACE & The Grauer’s Gorillas
In the wild forests of the Congo live the largest living primates on Earth- The Grauer’s Gorilla. These highly sociable and peaceful apes, also called Eastern Lowland Gorillas, have survived decades of war, disease, and habitat loss and are now critically endangered. Today there are only approximately 3,800 Grauer’s Gorillas left in the wild. Their survival is due, in part, to the remarkable people involved with GRACE - The Gorilla Rehabilitation & Conservation Education Center - the world’s only sanctuary for rescued Grauer’s gorillas.
Named after Rudolf Grauer, an Austrian scientist who first identified the subspecies, little is known about these great apes because they are only found in the remote forests of the Democratic Republic of the Congo in Central Africa. The Congo has an estimated $24 trillion in natural wealth and gold, tin, tungsten, and tantalum are especially valued for use in products such as cell phones. These minerals have fueled armed conflict and unfortunately many wild animals, including gorillas, are killed and eaten by miners and other humans. When adult gorillas are killed, infants that survive are sold illegally as pets. Some orphans that do survive and are confiscated fortunately make their way to the GRACE sanctuary.
In the wild, infant gorillas are inseparable from their mums until age 3 - 4 years. Therefore, new orphans are immediately paired with a human caregiver upon arrival who tends to them around the clock. Once the orphans are doing well, they are released to older female gorillas who become surrogate mothers to the infants. GRACE is currently home to 14 Grauer’s Gorillas who were all once orphans. They have formed a tight knit family group and the ultimate goal is to release them back into the wild.
GRACE works with local communities on conservation and forest protection. Education programs to instill empathy, compassion, and respect for wildlife are integral to the survival of the Grauer’s Gorillas. GRACE strives to promote understanding, appreciation, and conservation action through education programs for youth and adults.
Wild Spaces - Wild Species is not affiliated with GRACE but does support their hard work and dedication to the survival of the Grauer’s Gorillas. They are simply an amazing organization! If interested, you can find more information online at gracegorillas.org as well as several videos of the GRACE center and the gorillas on YouTube (check out the video “GoPro: Saving Lulingu”). :)