A group of four western lowland gorillas (Gorilla gorilla gorilla) which made international headlines in 2002 when they were smuggled into the Taiping Zoo in Malaysia will return home to Cameroon tomorrow.
On discovery of the illegal shipment, the Malaysian government, through its Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (Cites) management authority, confiscated the animals and transferred them to the Pretoria Zoo, South Africa, where they have been housed for safekeeping since 2004.
“Although it is not known how and where the infant gorillas where first captured, DNA testing has revealed that Cameroon was their most likely origin,” Pretoria Zoo marketing manager Craig Allenby told Earth-Touch.
The International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW) is sponsoring the return of the gorillas. Air transportation is being provided and funded by Kenya Airways.
According to a joint press release issued by the South African Department of Science and Technology, IFAW and the National Zoological Gardens of SA, the primates – a male and three females – were more than likely victims of the bushmeat trade. Typically, adult gorillas are killed for meat and their young are snatched for sale. At least four out of five infants die before they reach adequate care, says the department.
“We’re delighted that a final decision has been reached and we will be working closely with the National Zoological Gardens of South Africa to ensure the safe return of the Taiping Four to Cameroon,” says Christina Pretorius of IFAW, in the press statement.
The gorillas will be relocated to the Limbe Wildlife Sanctuary in Cameroon at the start of the dry season there, allowing the primates to acclimatise to their new home. “It’s important that the animals are moved from one dry area (Pretoria) to another to prevent infection or illness,” says Allenby.
“Limbe Wildlife Centre has been identified as an appropriate centre of excellence to care for the animals,” says IFAW. “Run in conjunction with the Cameroonian government, Limbe has an impeccable record in gorilla husbandry, and is currently caring for 11 gorillas.”
“A former zoo, the centre is now geared towards the rehabilitation of primates, with the long-term aim of returning the animals to a secure wild environment. All animals at the sanctuary are on contraception, so it is not a breeding facility,” says Pretorius.
“The Taiping Four will be integrated into the resident gorilla population at Limbe once the animals have completed a quarantine period of a few months,” she adds.
The shy, vegetarian western lowland gorillas are native to the tropical forests of Cameroon, the Central African Republic, the Republic of Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, and Nigeria.
Until several decades ago, primates enjoyed the seclusion of vast tracts of forest but today Africa’s growing population is putting pressure on various species. Deforestation and the bushmeat trade are particular threats.
Though protection laws exist in most countries still inhabited by gorillas, enforcement is often lacking. Civil wars in Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo have had an impact on conservation efforts and opened parks to poachers.
Outbreaks of ebola, a hemorrhagic virus which affects humans as well as gorillas, and increased hunting led the World Conservation Union (IUCN) to move the western lowland gorilla, the world’s largest primate, from endangered to critically endangered status this year. IFAW estimates that there are 94 000 western lowland gorillas left in the wild.
Photograph: One of the western lowland gorillas, part of the Taiping Four group, which will be returned to Cameroon tomorrow. Image courtesy IFAW/Trevor Samson © Earth-Touch 2007
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