Animal abuse cases are some of the most heartbreaking things to come across, but thankfully, this one has a happy ending!

Rescue workers with the Liberia Chimpanzee Rescue and Protection were recently called to a supply shop in Kakata, Liberia on an anonymous tip. When they arrived at the store, they found a terrified baby chimpanzee inside a cardboard box clinging on to a tattered piece of clothing.

The 1 year-old chimp, whose name is Chance, had been kept as a pet for the past few months, but her life had been anything but easy.

“We know her mother was killed,” said Jenny Desmond, founder of LCRP. “One cannot acquire a baby chimpanzee without first killing his or her mother and other nearby adult family members. The adults are butchered and sold on the black market for bushmeat and the infants are kidnapped and sold into the live pet trade, both locally and internationally.”

Since Chance was an infant when her mother was killed, nobody had been around to give her the proper nutrition and love that she needed. Her previous owners didn’t care about her at all, and simply left her in the cardboard box in the corner.

“It seems she spent most of her time in the box, and when outside the box, on the concrete and dirt ground at the shop,” Desmond said. “It does not seem she was picked up or held very often as she has had to learn how to be picked up and cling to me since we rescued her.”

It was clear to her rescuers that life alone in the box had taken a toll on Chance.

“Her rocking and clinging to the cloth are clear indicators of stress, trauma and a severe lack of attention and nurturing,” Desmond said. “Chimpanzees who have 24/7 surrogate mothers do not have a need for these types of comforts as they are clinging to their ‘mothers’ and receiving the comfort from them instead.”

In addition, Chance was severely malnourished, as her owners had barely been feeding her. The rescue workers quickly removed Chance from the shop and gave her a nice fresh blanket to cling to, beginning her road to recovery.

“We give all the little ones blankets at night and they are certainly welcome to carry them anytime,” Desmond said. “It is generally our experience, however, that their need for the blankets as unhealthy sources of comfort disappear rapidly with increased care and proper nurturing.”

As Chance spent more time at the LCRP rehabilitation center, she began to depend on the blanket less and less! Soon enough, she was standing up on her own and even reaching her arms out as she tried to get humans to hold her!

“She is progressing and recovering rapidly,” Desmond said. “We have found chimpanzees to be unbelievably resilient.”

These days, Chance is a happy chimp who loves smiling and laughing!

The next step in Chance’s recovery will see her be gradually introduced to other chimps who have been orphaned.

“She will be introduced to other chimpanzees in a safe and slow process, allowing her to choose [the] level of interaction and time with other chimps,” Desmond explained. “Slowly but surely, she will be integrated into our youngest nursery group and will never again be without chimpanzee family members.”

It’s unclear at this time if she will ever be reintroduced into the wild, however.

“Returning to the wild, known as reintroduction, is a long and complex process and while we dream of this it is not simple or assured,” Desmond said. “There is hope for chimpanzee reintroduction in Liberia as chimpanzees naturally occur here, and there are still large tracts of forest remaining. Reintroduction involves many factors and multiple groups and experts to assess and determine feasibility.”

Chance had a very rough start in life, but that hasn’t stopped her from having a positive attitude and a bright future! SHARE this story so your friends and family can meet this brave little chimp as well!