Cameroun - Cameroon: Baby chimp rescued, trafficker arrested.

A 43-year-old man was arrested on August 29, for illegal possession and transportation of a baby chimpanzee at the entrance to Ebolowa by wildlife officials,

The man was travelling with the chimpanzee hidden in a black bag to Ebolowa where he was expected to sell the animal alongside 45kg of pangolin scales that were also found in his possession, according to sources close to the matter that requested for anonymity. The arrest was carried out by the South Regional Delegation of Forestry and Wildlife working in collaboration with the gendarmerie. The operation was technically assisted by LAGA – a wildlife law enforcement support body.

As the car that was transporting the trafficker approached a police check point located at the entrance to Ebolowa. gendarmerie officiers and wildlife officials who had been patiently waiting for him sprung to their feet and stopped the car. The Chimpanzee and the pangolin scales where quickly identified as well as the “owner” who had travelled all the way from Meyo was immediately arrested.

The chimpanzee was malnourished, weak and dehydrated, signs of inappropriate treatment that was very clear and she was immediately rushed to Yaounde and the next day, she was taken to the Mefou National Park where appropriate medical attention and care administered to her.

Prior investigations into the activities of the man had demonstrated with little doubt that he was involved in primates trafficking. According the sources, he bought and sold primates among other wildlife contraband. The baby chimp was bought from a poacher who probably killed the mother for the equally illegal trade in meat derived from protected species.

Baby chimps are generally sold on by poachers after the killing their mothers because the meat value of these babies is low and fetches more money when sold alive. The chimps are then sold on to people who keep illegal zoos and with some even ending up in legal zoos. The chimp trafficker is said to get supplies of chimpanzees from around the Meyo area from several different poachers.

The arrest was the third carried on the same day in four African countries replicating the Cameroonian wildlife law enforcement model that is built around the collaboration between the Ministry of Forestry and Wildllife and The Last Great Organisation (LAGA). The are 8 other countries using this model and these countries are grouped under the EAGLE network.

In Congo, two trafifkcers were arrested with eight ivory tusks, while in Gabon another man was arrested with two large ivory tusks. The two operations were conducted just a few hours before the chimp trafficker was arrested in Ebolowa, while a couple of minutes after, it was Guinea’s turn to do an operation that resulted in the arrest of one trafficker with a leopard skin and two crocodile skins. The operations were all coordinated with assistance from EAGLE headquarters in Nairobi.

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