Freedom Returns to the Wild!

           Ape Action Africa has made conservation history by becoming the first sanctuary in Cameroon to successfully return a western lowland gorilla to the wild!
 
         As soon as the adult male gorilla arrived at Ape Action Africa, Director Rachel Hogan OBE was determined that he would return to his natural habitat, so she named him Freedom. Months of hard work and collaboration went into finding a suitable area for Freedom to be returned to the forest and into planning the logistics of safely and securely transporting the 135kg - 300 lbs! - gorilla from the sanctuary to the return site. ​

Did you know?
Cameroon is one of the last places on Earth where gorillas and chimpanzees still exist in the wild. Help Ape Action Africa keep them there. Give today to help all the Freedoms.

        Freedom's journey back to the forest began with an 11-hour overnight drive, followed by a river crossing and a final journey on foot that required 12 men to carry Freedom's transport cage to the return site. 

         Once everything was in place and final veterinary checks had been completed, Rachel and Mr Appolinaire Ndhoudou, Ape Action Africa's Controller, removed the locks on Freedom's cage, leaving one final safety padlock in place. Moving several metres back, Rachel gave the go-ahead for the safety ropes to be pulled and the door was opened.

         Freedom bolted directly towards the trees, and though he was quickly out of sight, the sound of his feet pounding on the forest floor could be clearly heard as he went deeper into the forest, back to his natural habitat and back to the wild.

         We are incredibly proud of our team and hugely grateful to everyone who worked with us to achieve this amazing conservation success. We wouldn't be able to carry out our frontline conservation work without our fantastic community of supporters, and we would like to sincerely thank all of you for your support.

​         If you would like to celebrate Freedom's return to the wild and help us to continue our vital great ape conservation efforts, please donate here.

        To find out more about Freedom and his journey back to the wild, please visit the UK website over the coming week to read our three-part news story.
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Majestic silverback Freedom. He simply arrived on his own one day. We kept him safe while return plans were being made.  
​Photo: Passion Planet

Many potential release sites were evaluated. For the safety of Freedom and others, the actual site remains confidential. Photo: Alex Benitez.

Sedating Freedom for the 11-hour overnight truck ride.
​Photo: Passion Planet

A special boat was needed to carry the Freedom and his transport cage  across the river. Photo: AAA

More than a dozen men carry Freedom overland to the release site. Photo: AAA

Free again! Freedom dashes off into the wild.