(MY) Fw: primfocus: Conservationists Call For Return of Nigerian Gorillas

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Science & Tech

Conservationists Call For Return of Nigerian Gorillas

VOA News

1 Jun 2002 00:38 UTC

 

Nigerian wildlife officials say four young gorillas housed in a Malaysian

zoo have been captured illegally and should be returned to Africa.

Malaysian zoo officials have denied any impropriety and maintained that the

gorillas were bred in captivity in Nigeria. But conservationists say there

are no known captive breeding programs for gorillas anywhere in Africa.

International law bans the selling or trading of apes caught in the wild.

The director of the Nigerian Conservation Foundation, Muhtari Aminu-Kano,

said the animals were most likely captured and smuggled out of central

Africa by poachers.

On Friday, conservationists called for Malaysian authorities to export the

four gorillas, ranging in age from 18 months to about three years, back to

Africa.

The case has caused international wildlife groups to press for an

investigation into violations of wildlife protection accords and animal

trade regulations.

Conservationists say gorillas in the wild of Nigeria and surrounding border

areas with Cameroon are greatly endangered and exist only in small, isolated

pockets.

Last year, illegal trade set-off a scandal when a baby chimpanzee and a baby

gorilla were seized from a Nigerian woman by Egyptian officials at Cairo

airport. The officials reportedly drowned the animals in a vat of chemicals.

Some information for this report provided by AP and AFP.