Poachers killed her mother and tried to kidnap her but now Mary the baby chimpanzee has been given another chance at life.
A ranger rushed to her rescue after hearing shots in Sapo National Park, in the Liberian rainforest.
Mary, injured in a fall as her mother was killed, was brought to live with 63 other chimps at Liberia Chimpanzee Rescue and Protection near the West African country’s capital Monrovia.
It is run by wildlife vet Jimmy Desmond and his wife Jenny.
Jenny said: “Mary was just one week old when I got to her so she will not have had much of her mum’s milk.
“She also had lots of cuts and scrapes but is recovering well.
“But she is not out of the woods yet. It is always scary when chimps come to us as they are so traumatised but Mary is the youngest.”
She added of the three-week-old, full name Mary Beauty: “She is definitely aware of what she has been through as she is having nightmares.
“Also any time Mary feels I am leaving her, she becomes panicked.”
Mary’s mum is thought to have been killed for bushmeat, part of a trade that has left West African chimpanzees critically endangered.
Jenny added: “If we allow this trade to continue, in the near future this majestic species could be wiped out.”
Liberian authorities are investigating suspects in the killing.
It is understood the killers planned to sell little Mary as a pet.
Jimmy and Jenny, from Colorado, US, plan to open a 100-acre forest habitat for rescued chimps next year.
Click here to donate to the cause.
