DHL Express has successfully relocated Chocolat, a female chimpanzee and orphan of the illegal bushmeat trade in the Republic of Congo.
The special cargo has arrived in her new long-term home in Monkey World – Ape Rescue Centre, Dorset, UK.
Throughout the journey DHL Express provided Chocolat with VIP service, transporting her in a custom-built crate supported by a team of specialist keepers, aircraft engineers, cargo handlers, security personnel and pilots. Throughout the trip Chocolat snacked on fresh fruit, nuts and sweet potato.
Her journey, which was carefully planned to reduce the amount of time she spent in transit, began at Nairobi Airport, included a brief stop in Bahrain, and concluded with a seven-hour flight to East Midlands Airport. From there, she was transported by road to her new home at Monkey World.
“It has been an honour to help Chocolat relocate to her new home at Monkey World,” said EVP Network Operations for DHL Express in Europe, Cain Moodie. “The logistics of transporting her were quite challenging, but our team of experts, in collaboration with Monkey World and her carers in Kenya, took every possible measure to ensure her journey was safe and comfortable.”
Chocolat was an infant when her family were hunted and killed. When she was rescued, she was found with injuries from shotgun pellets that left her with a paralysed hand and foot on her right side. After spending the past twenty years in Kenya being looked after by her original rescuer, Chocolat has now found a long-term home at Monkey World, which provides specialist care for chimpanzees that have been smuggled from the wild and/or suffered abuse or neglect.
“We’re so happy to welcome Chocolat,” said Director at Monkey World, Dr Alison Cronin MBE. “The reason we exist is to offer a nurturing environment for chimpanzees and other primates and to give them back a fraction of what has been taken from them by humans, providing them with a family again. Her integration will be gradual, but her journey has been very smooth, thanks to the support of DHL and so far, she is settling in well.”
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