Eaten to Perdition (Tour Notes)

Some of the species closest to man... are hunted and eaten by their relatives, by man.

Chimpanzees are suffering from a "killing wave" at the hands of poachers, according to wildlife experts backed by a new survey conducted in remote areas across the Democratic Republic of Congo.

The meat of the great apes is sold in the streets of Kisangani and other cities without interference, the "forces of the law" fail to enforce the laws that prohibit hunting and trade in chimpanzees. Anyone passing by cannot miss the sight of the hunters coming out of the forest loaded with game, a short tour of any large settlement "discovers" the stalls loaded with the "fruits of the forest" animals of many and varied species, the most prominent being our slaughtered cousins ​​and offered at a high price as their meat is considered a delicacy.

The hunters kill the adult chimpanzees and the young ones (orphans) are captured and sold as "pets".

When you examine the customs of the local tribes, it turns out that until the infiltration of Christianity, the chimpanzees were protected by the belief in a common origin. The infiltration of Christianity caused the erasure of traditions and beliefs that protected the forest dwellers and opened the "season of the wild hunter"... a hunter who leads to the erasure of the species closest to us in nature.

A large part of the hunting is carried out with loop traps (lasso), in Guyana the members of the Manon tribe are engaged in hunting, it turns out that there is a "battle of minds" between them and the chimpanzees as the chimpanzees recognize the traps and neutralize them when they avoid harm.

Primatologists who follow the chimpanzees in the Bowasov reserve have identified forms of behavior that can only be interpreted as "search and destroy patrols", the chimps patrolling the forest with the clear aim of finding the traps and exterminating them.

Elsewhere in the forest in Dongo, Uganda, the chimpanzees are a source of attraction for tourists, the forest keepers (Budongo Conservation Field Station (BCFS), conceived a project that will help prevent the inhabitants of the forest from continuing to hunt, at the base of the project is the recognition that the hunter is an existential necessity, therefore it was necessary to provide the villagers with an alternative means of livelihood. In combination and funding "The Zoological Society of Scotland" and the Orlando Zoo (California), were distributed to resident goats, the residents They accepted the gift with joy and instead of engaging in hunting, they moved to raising sheep.

The immediate result was a significant decrease in the number of traps collected in the forest, from 240 traps that were found and collected every new one was collected... only five! To date, goats have been distributed in 18 villages around Bodongo Forest and the entrepreneurs hope to replicate the success throughout the country.