Thousands of primates are hunted every year because of the bush meat trade in Africa. This hurts their family structure as well as destabilizing the whole ecosystem. And because of poaching, many baby primates are left orphaned.
Fortunately for this baby baboon named Missa, she was able to escape a life meant for bushmeat trade. After her mother was poached for her meat, she was left all alone. And most likely she would have shared the same destiny, but luckily she was rescued.
Missa was discovered by park rangers in Garamba National Park in the Democratic Republic of the Congo in the hands of a poacher. The man has since been arrested and charged for.
Park rangers were very determined to save Missa after her terrifying experience. They were able to arrange for her to have a helicopter ride to the Centre de Rehabilitation des Primates de Lwiro. A place for her to regain her strength.
At the rehab center, Missa wasn’t the only one with such a hard past. Here was an older baboon named Grace. She had been rescued from a hotel where she was kept alone in a small cage.
Rescuers felt that introducing Missa and Grace would be a productive way for the two to heal. They were right, and the results were so touching. Missa was clearly comforted by Grace and she was warmly accepted into her life. They were a perfect match.
“Two dramatic and sad lives are now united,” said Itsaso Vélez del Burgo Guinea, technical director of the CRPL.
I am so happy to see that such a story has a happy ending, as well as Missa and Grace found each other!
