IDA-Africa~E-News
Jul 27, 2009
The article below is written in a Pan African Sanctuary Alliance newsletter July 20, 2009. Although it tells the story of two chimpanzees in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, with a change in names and organizations, a similar story could be told from Cameroon. Chimpanzees throughout the continent of Africa are facing perilous circumstances, but so many people are joining forces and working hard on their behalf.
Chimpanzee Rescue Signals Black Market Trouble
Two infant chimpanzees that were confiscated from illegal traders in east Africa have been successfully transferred to the Lwiro sanctuary in the Democratic Republic Congo, where they will be allowed to recover from their ordeal alongside other orphaned primates.
But this latest transfer – which was coordinated by the Pan African Sanctuary Alliance (PASA), in partnership with the Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund International (DFGFI), Disney’s Animal Kingdom, Lwiro personnel, and the Congolese wildlife authority (ICCN) – is troubling evidence that the black-market trade in great apes is flourishing.
Twenty-eight chimpanzees have been confiscated by law enforcement officials in Africa so far in 2009, a fraction of the number experts believe is being smuggled across Africa each year. Yet sanctuaries are rapidly running out of space and funds in order to accommodate new arrivals.
“PASA is pleased that so many conservation organizations were able to work together to help these two chimpanzees find a permanent home,” said Doug Cress, executive director of PASA. “But the marked increase in confiscations this year is alarming, and the strain on the sanctuaries is severe. Clearly, we need to re-double efforts to close down the market for illegally hunted and captured great apes, and focus more resources on protecting the forests.”
The two most recent chimpanzees – a pair of males nicknamed “Butembo” and “Loia” (pictured above) – had been held for more than a month at the DFGFI office in Butembo, DR Congo, while the details of the transfer were arranged. The chimpanzees are each estimated to be approximately one-and-a-half years old.
Both chimpanzees arrived at Lwiro suffering from parasites and malnutrition, but began playing and eating soon after they were taken out of their transport box.
IDA-Africa is a charter member of PASA, founded in 2000 to coordinate activities between primate rescue and rehabilitation centers across Africa. PASA member sanctuaries currently care for over 850 chimpanzees, in addition to almost 3,000 other endangered primates, at 18 facilities in 12 countries.
Lwiro is an independent primate rescue center in DR Congo that lies in South Kivu, near the Kahuzi-Biega National Park. Lwiro is expected to apply for PASA membership later this year.
Your contributions make all the difference for the chimpanzees. We simply could not continue to fight for their survival without partnerships with people like you all around the world.
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