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發表於 2011-11-25 10:20 AM
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[新聞] Baby Gorilla Rescued in Armed Sting Operation
Path to Recovery
Ranger Christian Shamavu carries a baby eastern lowland gorilla, which he and his team from Virunga National Park in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) rescued from poachers in a dramatic undercover operation last week.
Posing as black market gorilla buyers, the rangers recovered the infant male unharmed inside a backpack and arrested three poachers, who were seeking to sell the gorilla—now named Shamavu after his rescuer-for as much as U.S. $40,000, according to park authorities.
Shamavu is the fourth baby gorilla Virunga rangers have recovered from poachers in 2011—the highest number on record in a single year, suggesting that baby-gorilla trafficking may be on the rise in the region.
"We are very concerned about a growing market for baby gorillas that is feeding a dangerous trafficking activity in rebel-controlled areas of eastern DRC," Virunga National Park Warden Emmanuel de Merode said in a statement.
"We are powerless to control the international trade in baby gorillas, but our rangers are doing everything they can to stamp it out on the ground."
Calm After Storm
Acting on a tip, Christian Shamavu (pictured holding his namesake) and three rangers executed the sting operation in the town of Kirumba (map), near the western border of Virunga National Park, last week.
Two weeks earlier, they had been thwarted in their pursuit of the same gorilla traffickers after the suspects failed to show up for a meeting in another remote town.
This time, Christian and another ranger, dressed in civilian clothes, made contact with the three poachers, who were hiding the baby gorilla in a backpack.
After negotiating a selling price of U.S. $15,000, the disguised rangers lured the poachers into a waiting vehicle to make the exchange.
"I knew we were on dangerous ground and a single mistake could be fatal," Christian, who didn't know whether the poachers were armed, said via email.
Once inside the car, the poachers were surprised to find the other two rangers pointing their guns at them. The driver locked the doors and sped off down a dirt road at high speed with the poachers and baby gorilla in the car.
Reaching Out
When the rangers first let the baby gorilla (pictured with veterinarian Jan Ramer) out of the backpack, he was extremely stressed and tense, holding his arms tightly against his body. The following day, after Christian had given the gorilla bananas and other food, he calmed down.
"We've had infants come to us after confiscation with gunshot wounds, severe pneumonia, deep cuts in their sides from rope leashes," Ramer, regional vet manager for the Mountain Gorilla Veterinary Project, said via email.
"They really go through a lot of horrible stress before the lucky ones are confiscated."
Christian believes the baby's mother, and possibly other gorillas, were killed by the poachers who snatched him.
Because gorillas will defend their infants to the death, "it's almost impossible to take a baby gorilla from its family," he said.
Say "Ah"
After an examination, Jan Ramer and other doctors estimated Shamavu to be about a year and a half old.
His condition has improved dramatically since the rescue last week. "He is eating well and has come out of his shell," said Ramer.
Still, the vets are taking no chances. For the first month, the baby gorilla will be quarantined at Virunga National Park headquarters in Rumangabo (map). It may be several months before Shamavu is able to be moved to the GRACE Center, an orphan-gorilla sanctuary run by the gorilla doctors.
Gorillas are extremely susceptible to human diseases, especially respiratory diseases. Two young gorillas died recently at the GRACE facility from an unknown illness.
"He will also need to join a large group of other orphan gorillas of various ages and adjust to that new living situation," LuAnne Cadd, Virunga's communications officer, said via email.
"It's very unlikely that he will go back to the forest anytime soon, as past experience shows that they can't survive when they are young and reintroduced."
Helping Hands
Christian holds Shamavu for Jan Ramer to examine. (Watch video of Shamavu being examined.)
Though heartening, the rescue raises troubling questions about gorilla smuggling for Virunga's LuAnne Cadd. "If four have been caught since April, the question is, how many have been missed?" Cadd said.
Gorillas are among the most protected species in the DRC, and it's illegal to kill or take an individual. The punishment ranges from 1 to 10 years in prison, with tougher punishments imposed if it can be established, for example, that poachers have killed the gorilla mother. Rarely can such killings be proven, however.
End buyers are thought to include disreputable zoos or wealthy people who have personal menageries of exotic animals. But rangers have yet to arrest a single buyer.
Looking Up
Eddy Kamable, a vet with the Mountain Gorilla Veterinary Project, holds Shamavu, the rescued baby gorilla.
For now, Shamavu requires 24-hour care, because he's too young and vulnerable to be left alone. Two caretakers will take turns caring for the young gorilla, even sleeping in the same bed with him.
Virunga's Cadd said, "If you can imagine a human one and a half year old, this baby is in a similar stage of life, and he needs some consistency in care in order to bond and feel safe.
"He's lost his entire gorilla family and the world that he knew in the forest. It will take some time to adjust." |
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When the Buying STOPS,
The Killing STOPS!! |
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