The north of Congo Democratic Republic (CDR) has half of the wild chimpanzees of Africa. But this can change completely in a few years more, because the region is being invaded by million of gold and diamond miners, who are also hunters and exterminate adult populations. They keep the baby chimpanzees and when they do not die of hunger or diseases, are sold for a few dollars as “pets”.

A work that lasted more than 18 months, elaborated by a group of scientists of Amsterdam University, Columbia University, Canada Primates Alliance and TL2 Project, which crossed thousand of kilometers in the forests on North and South of Uele River, confirmed the massacre that happened in the last months with the free population of chimpanzees, mailing in the south area of the river, where thousand of miners are settled.

In a detailed work reported from September 2007 to March 2009, the scientists counted 42 orphan baby chimpanzees and 36 skeletons of adults, murdered by hunters who sell flash for consumption. The hunting is done with fire arms, or more efficiently with poisoned arrows, which hurt whole groups of chimpanzees calling no attention of others. The babies, with little meat, are taken to cities and sol as “pets”.

This same scientists team, led by Thurston C. Hicks, from Amsterdam University, started to work in this area in 2004 and managed to see a difference. The north area of Uele river, a mixture of forests and savannahs, is more protected, as long as the miners do not get there; but the south zone, all forest, was invaded by more than 3 thousand miners, who come from other regions, have no restriction to kill, to eat or to sell wild animals.

Local population still respects chimpanzees, because they consider that kill and eat them is something evil. They were also informed of the Congolese law that forbids the killing and selling of great primates flash.

In the long work of the researchers group, published at African Primates a few days ago, they present urgent recommendations of what need to be done to put an end in the massacre of great primates in the north of Congo. They recommend:

1) Put an end in the killing of great primates:

2) Establish a formal protection program for the chimpanzees’ population identified in the woods;
3) Start a educational campaign through movies and radio;

4) Rescue baby chimpanzees who are under the possession of population and sellers in this area of Congo.

From the 42 orphan chimpanzees identified, five of them were rescued by the scientists and were voluntarily donated by their “owners”, and were led to Lwiro Primates Reabilitation Center. There was help of several other organizations, which supported the operation. 37 are still in hands of persons who offer them to sell and keep them – a lot of them – in chains and with no food. IT’S NECESSARY AN URGENT ACTION TO RESCUE AND SEND THEM TO A SANCTUARY, otherwise they will not resist.

Dr. Pedro A. Ynterian
President, GAP Project International