Two weeks ago, co-founder Roxane Chantereau said, Jack Primate Rehabilitation Center In Lubumbashi, Democratic Republic of the Congo, I was awakened by a WhatsApp message ringing before sunrise.someone sent her disturbing video Two chimpanzee babies splatter across a dirty dirt floor littered with fallen furniture. The video panned across the room to show a third chimpanzee standing on a dresser with his arms chained over his head.
In three voice messages, the sender threatened to kill the chimpanzee unless Mr. Chantreau paid the chimpanzee a six-figure sum. They also threatened to kill her and kidnap her two children.
Chantereau recognized the young chimpanzees in the video as Monga, César, and Hussein. The animals had just been kidnapped from a wildlife sanctuary called Jack. Ms Chantreau, a Belgian citizen, lives with her French husband Franck. The center provides a haven for her 40 chimpanzees and her 64 monkeys of 14 species rescued from illegal wildlife trade in the Congo.
Illegal wildlife trade is all too common in Congo. But the chimpanzee nap is the first known case of a primate being stolen from a reserve somewhere in Africa and held for ransom.The endangered pangolin was held for ransom earlier this year In another part of the country, rather than being kidnapped from a high-security facility, they were captured from the forest. kidnapping will become a tactic used by more criminals in the Congo.
“I think this shows how fragile the situation in our country is. save the congoa non-profit organization fighting wildlife trafficking in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
As designated conservation centers for confiscated wildlife, reserves like JACK are “essential partners in enforcing wildlife laws.” Pan African Conservation Alliance“Conserving animals in reserves is just as important as conserving animals in the wild.”
In Congo, protected areas are given the same legal protection as national parks. But for Mr. and Mrs. Chantreau, it becomes more difficult to help rescue animals from traffickers because Jack no longer feels safe. “Now I’m bringing the rest of the babies home to sleep with me because I’m so worried,” Chantrow said.
A few days after the abduction, Chantrow said he received more messages threatening to decapitate one baby chimpanzee and sell the other two to Chinese traffickers. However, the kidnapper has remained silent since then. “We don’t have any news. It worries us a lot,” Mr. Chantrow said.
The National Intelligence Service (the Congolese FBI equivalent) declined an interview request, citing the ongoing nature of the investigation.
However, Shantlow said authorities are taking the incident “very seriously” and “considering the kidnapping of these babies a threat to national security.”
Congo plays an irreplaceable role in nature conservation. In the world he has the second largest rainforest and he has the third highest primate diversity after Brazil and Madagascar. It is also the only country in Africa that has all four species of his great apes: chimpanzees, bonobos, western gorillas and eastern gorillas. It also has more chimpanzees than any other country.
But Kasinga said the country has suffered decades of injustice, civil unrest, civil war and corruption, and its high levels of poverty combined with its geopolitical location has made it “the very heart of Africa.” I’m here. hub of wildlife traffickingCassinga said there are few international conservation groups active in Congo, and the country, the largest in sub-Saharan Africa, lacks resources and services when it comes to combating illegal trade. added.
In addition to being a hub for the trafficking of ivory, rhinoceros horn and pangolin scales, poaching of live chimpanzee babies, gorillas and bonobos is also burgeoning in Congo. This includes China, Pakistan, Egypt, and the United Arab Emirates, said Chantreau. Poachers typically shoot up to 10 adults to capture one baby.
“There’s a much wider range of collateral damage than just that one animal,” Ho said. ‘The whole family was killed’
Like other primate sanctuaries in Congo, JACK accepts animals salvaged from the illegal trade. These animals are considered national property under Congolese law. Many monkeys and apes come to the sanctuary addicted to alcohol and drugs, Chantreau said, and they’re all traumatized. “I managed to get them out of this hell,” Chantreau said of the three kidnapped chimpanzees. “Now the nightmare has begun again.”
Jack’s overnight armed guards said they saw or heard nothing the night of the abduction, and investigators found no evidence of a forced entry. Mr. Chantlow said he was “very confident” that there must be a connection with at least one employee.
He tries to be optimistic that the high profile of the case will encourage the kidnappers to return the three chimpanzees. “I hope to find them in front of my door one morning,” he said. “I hope they are still alive.”
But Cassinga warned that it is important to bring criminals to justice. “If they get it right, these incidents will happen again and again,” he said. I have.”