An ESPA training team medic stationed in the Okapi Wildlife Reserve has turned his skills from training rangers to saving wildlife.
Luis Welton, ESPA’s team medic in OWR, heard the reserve had received a call from two rangers from another park that had an injured baby chimpanzee and were on their way to OWR to find help for it. The rangers, from Maiko National Park, had rescued the chimp from two poachers they had apprehended, who had killed the chimp’s parents in front of it and had caused the baby’s injuries as it had fallen from its mother when she was shot.
The chimp had an open fracture to its left tibia, and was malnourished and dehydrated from the 265km journey the rangers had had to make to bring it to OWR.
Luis gave the chimp water and fruit and let it rest for an hour, before commencing treatment. The local dispensary brought a small amount of ketamine, which Luis injected into the chimp’s left buttock, and waited until it was drowsy before beginning to treat its wound. He cleaned the chimp’s wound, and checked there was no serious damage to the major blood vessels or nerves before he splinted the leg – in the absence of any further medical equipment available, Luis had to use a makeshift bandage to secure the splint, and he reports he could tell by the smell of it that the wound was already infected.
However, the chimp made it through the crucial period overnight, and, 48 hours later, the chimp was on its way to a sanctuary in Virunga National Park.
Luis states, “I believe that those who protect and save living creatures lead the way in keeping humanity on earth, this is why it was necessary do all things possible to give this chimp a glance at a better life.”
