Lwiro Primates Rehabilitation Center

Giving day for Apes 2023

Faced with an ever-increasing number of rescues, we are always there, but we need your help more than ever.

What we do? 

Rescue

Chimpanzees are victims of poaching and illegal trafficking. Poachers will try to capture live babies to enslave them as pets and will kill the mother and other chimps that will protect their family and sell the carcasses as bushmeat.

We rescue the survivors, from babies just captured to adults who have spent their life in chains, and offer them a new start in life, despite the physical and psychological wounds.

Rehabilitate 

Once at LRPC, chimpanzees will need constant care to heal both physically and psychologically.

With our dedicated professional and compassionate team of caregivers and vets, we provide everything from food to forested enclosures and medical attention to our rescues, so that they grow to become the great apes they are supposed to be.

Release 

Our ultimate goal and cherished dream is to release the most chimpanzees as possible back into the wild they should never have left. In the meantime, we make sure that they develop the skills they will one day need to thrive in the forest.

Refuge 

Unfortunately, not all chimps will be able for release. Some of them suffered from injuries that would compromise their survival in the wild. For these, we offer them a refuge and a life as close as possible to what they would have in the wild.

Research

We do non-invasive biological & ecological research. It is not only fundamental to understand and prevent human and animal epidemics, locally and globally, but it is also a unique opportunity to grow skills for the next generation of veterinarians and researchers.

Why we do what we do? 

Because turning away orphans in need is just not an option. Witnessing the astonishing transformation of a scared and traumatized individual into a happy, healthy chimpanzee, building strong bonds with fellow is what keeps our team fighting every day.

We will never give up on our goal to release chimps back into the wild, or on fighting against poaching and illegal trade of animals. As long as they need us we will be there for each of them, through all the steps of their rehabilitation.

"If you care about the individual, you end up saving the species."

Where we are?  

We are situated in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), in a small village called Lwiro. 

DRC is home to about 90% of the world’s eastern chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes schweinfurthii), but since the mid-1990s, these chimpanzees have experienced alarming population decline of up to 40% due to illegal hunting and habitat loss – the impact compounded by years of civil war, insecurity, and humanitarian crises. 

Who we are? 

For the last 20 years, Lwiro Primates Rehabilitation Center (LPRC), has been providing a safe home for orphaned chimpanzees in the Democratic Republic of Congo.  We are the biggest chimpanzee sanctuary in DRC by the number of rescues currently there.

The center was founded in 2002, to provide a shelter for the animal victims of a brutal civil war that resulted in both wildlife and humanitarian atrocities.

Today, LPRC takes care of 120 chimpanzees. Most of them are orphaned; seized and rescued as babies from poachers as a byproduct of the bush-meat trade. Some of the rescued chimpanzees were also victims of the cruel pet trade. And this number increases at an alarming rate.

Lwiro Primates plays a vital role in caring for a variety of confiscated wildlife and is working towards ending the illegal animal trade in the DRC. We follow a holistic conservation program in which the sanctuary is the keystone for community-based initiatives. LPRC empowers the community towards alternative sustainable livelihoods.

Lwiro Primates has an amazing team of 58 workers who take care of our primates with love and respect.

❤ Our goal this year is to reach 1.000 people that will help us to provide the best life for the chimps in our care. ❤ 

You could help us by becoming an ambassador and being a voice for the chimps -> Ask 2 of your friends to help us on this important day by making a donation, no matter the amount. 

Thank you in advance for your support!

❤ All donations go towards nutritious food, clean water, and secure shelters for the rescued chimpanzees ❤