South Africa sends gorillas home
Craig Bishop
14 July 2005
Four gorillas are set to leave the Pretoria Zoo this week and return home to Cameroon, after local scientists finally established their country of origin.
According to the international zoo community's 2005 International Gorilla Studbook, the animals - known popularly as the "Taiping Four" - come from Cameroon.
In 2002 the four western lowland gorillas were captured in that country and smuggled to Nigeria. From there they were flown on forged documents to South Africa and then on to Taiping Zoo in Malaysia.
Once there they were confiscated by the Malaysian authorities. After two years of negotiation, Malaysia - despite objections from Cameroon - decided to give the animals to the Pretoria Zoo in Gauteng. They arrived in April 2004.
Following a recent broadcast of documentary television programme Carte Blanche, which aired an insert on the gorillas, 65% of voters in an online poll said they believed the gorillas should be sent to
the Limbe Wildlife Centre in Cameroon.
"This marks the first time the gorillas' heritage has been beyond dispute," said Jason Bell-Leask, director of the International Fund for Animal Welfare.
"Until now the South African government and Pretoria Zoo have persistently identified the need for DNA testing to prove the origins of the gorillas," he said.
"The release of the 2005 International Gorilla Studbook clearly identifies the four infant gorillas being held at the Pretoria Zoo as originating from Cameroon, thereby removing a major obstacle to the return of the gorillas to their home range."
According to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Flora and Fauna (Cites), illegally captured animals should be returned to their country of origin.
Powerful message
Gorillas are listed as an endangered species on Cites' Appendix I list.
The gorillas will be integrated into the resident population
at the Limbe Wildlife Centre in Cameroon, after they have been through a quarantine period.
"We believe that sending the gorillas back to Cameroon will send a powerful message that the illegal hunting, trapping and trade in endangered species will not be allowed to continue," said Doug Cress of the Pan African Sanctuary Alliance.
"The gorillas at the Pretoria Zoo are an important part of Cameroon's natural heritage."
Limbe Wildlife Centre has been identified as an appropriate centre of excellence to care for the animals in the long term. Run in conjunction with the Cameroon government, Limbe has an impeccable record in the care and husbandry of gorillas. It is currently home to 12 gorillas.
Poaching and disease
World Wildlife Fund statistics put the population of western lowland gorillas at 94 000. They are found in Cameroon, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Central African Republic, Gabon, Equatorial Guinea and Angola. But
recent surveys indicate a decline of up to 56% across their range, a result of poaching and disease.
In areas hit by the Ebola virus, over 90% of great apes - which include gorillas, chimpanzees and bonobos - have been killed.
Source: BuaNews
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