Fourteen Timneh parrots finally got their freedom back on July 8th, 2025. And this time freedom tasted a little like palm fruit. The rehabilitated parrots were released in an area with a healthy population of wild parrots.
Timneh parrots are large, gray parrots with brick-red colored tails. The International Union for Conservation of Nature, an organisation that tracks the risk of extinction of species around the world, lists these birds as endangered. Conservationists believe that there are between 100,000 and 500,000 of these birds left in the wild, and the numbers are decreasing. The main threats they face are losing habitat from activities like logging or being captured for the pet trade.
"Most people find an interest in keeping them for the character and not for the meat," said T. Benjamin Tehn, animal caretaker at Libassa Wildlife Sanctuary.
Since 2016, the hunting and trading of protected animals has been forbidden through Liberia's National Wildlife Conservation and Protected Area Management Law. Under this law, hunters and traders risk being fined and jailed when they are caught with protected wildlife. Any animals they have with them -- dead or alive -- are confiscated by the Forestry Development Authority (FDA).
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For years, the FDA has handed over confiscated Timneh parrots to the team at the Libassa Wildlife Sanctuary, Liberia's only wildlife rescue center for multiple species. The sanctuary has a team of animal carers and a veterinarian who are trained to care for animals until they are ready to return to the wild.
"We receive a lot of injured animals," said Juty Deh, Jr., manager of the Libassa Wildlife Sanctuary. "So you cannot release the animal unless you know that the animal is independent and you know that it can do everything on its own."
In the case of the Timneh parrots, the release process was years in the making. Many of the parrots brought to the sanctuary had their feathers clipped, so new feathers had to grow in before the birds would be able to fly. The team also tested and treated the birds for any diseases they might have.
"We wanted to make sure that we're not introducing diseases into the wild population of parrots," said Manon Dorny, veterinarian at Libassa Wildlife Sanctuary. "Now [the rescued parrots] are all super healthy, they're doing great."
Once the parrots were given a clean bill of health, plans for their release involved careful coordination between teams at the sanctuary, the FDA and World Parrot Trust. Finding a release site where the parrots would have enough food and where there would be little risk of them being killed or captured again was a priority.
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Andrew N. Gweh, a conservationist who studies birds across Liberia, helped identify a release site in a small village in the heart of Liberia. Gweh had observed a large population of wild Timneh parrots in the region, which told him that this would be a good location for the release. For the protection of the parrots, the location is not being disclosed.
Releasing wild animals isn't as easy as opening a cage door. Getting consent from the community is the key for a successful conservation project, Gweh told FrontPage Africa. "It will make sure in our absence, in our presence, the right thing will be done," he said.
With the community's permission, the parrots were released. And the first thing the birds did as they flew out of their cages, was to snack on some wild palm fruit.
