On Sept. 29, the Jane Goodall Institute USA announced the safe transfer of Bili, a young gorilla, from Pandrillus Foundation’s Drill Ranch in Calabar, Nigeria, to JGI’s Tchimpounga Rehabilitation Center near Pointe-Noire in the Republic of the Congo. The move followed more than three years of care in Nigeria and a cross-border journey involving her caregiver, a veterinarian, public agencies, conservation groups and a cargo airline. For Bili, the transfer was not a release into the wild. JGI described it as the next stage of specialist rehabilitation.
Bili was rescued in August 2023 during an enforcement operation against wildlife trafficking, according to the Nigerian Customs Service account reported by Vanguard. She was placed at Pandrillus Foundation’s Drill Ranch in Calabar and rehabilitated there for three years, Vanguard reported. JGI’s accessible press-room notice identifies Tchimpounga as the destination for specialist care. Those accounts describe a long transition between care facilities, with Bili’s next stage beginning at a rehabilitation center equipped for wildlife rescued from illegal trade.
Vanguard reported that Nigeria Customs Service said DNA testing confirmed Bili’s Congolese origin. Logistics Update Africa reported that the cross-border transfer required export and import permits, CITES documentation, veterinary certification, IATA requirements and customs procedures. The reported DNA result helped establish where she came from; the paperwork and certifications addressed what was needed to move her across borders. Together, those steps show the coordination behind a transfer that connected the rescue team in Nigeria with a receiving center in the Republic of the Congo.
Logistics Update Africa reported that the journey began Sept. 21 with a roughly 22-hour road transfer from Drill Ranch in Calabar to Lagos. On Sept. 22, Bili traveled on a DHL cargo flight from Lagos to Pointe-Noire, with a stop in Libreville, Gabon. She arrived in Pointe-Noire on Sept. 23 and was received by the Jane Goodall Institute Republic of the Congo team for the final road trip to Tchimpounga. Vanguard separately reported the repatriation occurred between Sept. 22 and 28 and that Bili was flown from Lagos to Pointe-Noire.
Bili traveled in a purpose-built crate provided by Pandrillus, which Logistics Update Africa said met live-animal transport requirements. The report said export and import permits, CITES documents, veterinary certification, IATA requirements and customs procedures were completed before departure. These are practical pieces of the transfer: a crate built for the journey, medical certification and permission to cross borders. The reporting describes how the route was planned around those requirements as well as the people and organizations accompanying her.
Two people accompanied Bili on the trip, according to Logistics Update Africa: Dr. Rebeca Atencia, the Jane Goodall Institute Republic of the Congo’s executive director and head veterinarian, and Imelda Effiong, Bili’s Pandrillus caregiver of three years. Vanguard also reported that a caregiver and veterinary doctor accompanied her. The reports place people who knew her care and the veterinarian responsible at the receiving center alongside her during a multi-day trip between countries.
The transfer connected organizations with different roles. JGI’s press-room announcement described it as a cross-sector collaboration. Logistics Update Africa named the Nigeria Customs Service, Nigeria’s environment and forestry authorities, the Republic of the Congo’s Ministry of Forest Economy, Pandrillus, Focused Conservation, and JGI Republic of the Congo among the organizations involved. It reported that DHL supported aviation planning and cargo logistics. Vanguard quoted the Nigerian Customs Service describing the operation as its first full-cycle international wildlife operation. The accounts show a rescue and rehabilitation effort crossing government, conservation and transport work.
Bili’s immediate next step is care at Tchimpounga. JGI’s sanctuary profile describes the center as a place that cares for and rehabilitates wildlife injured or orphaned by illegal trade, and reports more than 150 chimpanzees in its care. JGI’s accessible announcement identifies Tchimpounga as the place where Bili will receive specialist care. Logistics Update Africa described integration into the Lesio-Louna Gorilla Reserve reintroduction program as a long-term objective. That is a future aim; the reports describe Bili’s arrival at a rehabilitation center, not a release into the wild.
Bili’s move from a rescue in Nigeria to a specialist center in the Republic of the Congo depended on connecting people and systems that rarely appear together in a single story. A local sanctuary cared for her, a caregiver accompanied her, a veterinarian oversaw the trip, and agencies, conservation groups and an airline helped make the transfer possible. Her arrival starts a new chapter of rehabilitation at Tchimpounga.
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