Actress, humanitarian and wildlife activist Ashley Judd broke her leg in four places while on a research trip to the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Judd was working on a project in search of bonobo apes, an endangered primate species, in the Congolese rainforest when she took a nasty fall and sustained severe injuries on February 13.
She took to social media to express her gratitude towards the men and women who treated her wounds and helped her get to a hospital, possibly saving her life.
‘Without my Congolese brothers and sisters, my internal bleeding would have likely killed me, and I would have lost my leg. I wake up weeping in gratitude, deeply moved by each person who contributed something life giving and spirit salving during my grueling 55 hour odyssey,’ she posted on Instagram.
The actress went on to detail the ordeal, writing about the men on her team that carried her in a makeshift hammock for hours on end, and the women who looked after her until she was transferred to a medical facility in South Africa.
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Bonobos are a different species than chimpanzees and were the last great ape to be scientifically described, according to the WWF. These primates are only to be found in the Congo and their population is threatened by deforestation and poaching, likely as a result of the country’s extreme poverty and civil unrest.
Picture: Instagram/Ashley Judd
