Gorillas for South Africa

[Guest guest]

The CITES Secretariat has claimed that it has not brokered the solution but

merely said it complies with CITES. WAZA was involved in arranging the

Pretoria Zoo outcome. Of the babies who died at 6 and 17 days,

respectively, according to Ken Wenlock, Dollinger commented,

 

" What is written in the media does not necessarily reflect what was

submitted by the National Zoo of South Africa. The information provided by

Pretoria [to the Malaysian government] was absolutely clear and in no way

misleading. Regarding breeding, they stated that their male sired two

youngsters about 13 years ago which could not be raised. That's it. "

 

To me this was not absolutely clear. Maybe it's clear to others. One could

have hoped that the babies were hand-raised. They died. Why Malaysia felt

this was OK is puzzling. SM

 

-------------------------

 

Source: Mail & Guardian Online Tuesday, July 29,

2003 [http://www.mg.co.za/Content/l3.asp?ao=17893]

 

http://www.mg.co.za/Content/l3.asp?ao=17893

 

GORILLAS IN OUR MIDST

 

Fiona Macleod

28 July 2003 16:09

 

Four highly endangered baby gorillas that were illegally smuggled through

South Africa en route from Nigeria to Malaysia are due to be returned to

the Pretoria zoo to live out the rest of their lives.

 

The move has sparked an international furore about whether it would be more

appropriate for the gorillas, known as the Taiping Four, to go to a zoo or

a sanctuary in their home range.

 

The Mail & Guardian reported in June last year that the four were smuggled

via Johannesburg airport without any questions being raised by local

authorities, despite the permits being forged and the mysterious

disappearance of a fifth gorilla that was supposed to be part of the group.

 

The four are western lowland gorillas, a species that is particularly

endangered there are about 200 to 250 left in the world. They were snatched

from their families, who were probably killed in the process, and smuggled

from the bush in Central Africa to a zoo in Nigeria.

 

The Nigerian zoo then sold the gorillas to the Taiping zoo in Malaysia, on

the pretext that they came from a captive-breeding facility in Nigeria.

 

Alerted to the scam by international primatologists and the ensuing media

reports, Malaysian authorities confiscated the four from Taiping zoo.

Malaysian Environment Minister Law Hieng Ding said he had been tricked into

signing an import permit for the primates.

 

The Nigerian government recently set up a panel of inquiry to investigate

the deal and expressed concern about the bad image of the country created

by illicit trade in endangered species.

 

Willie Labuschagne, director of the National Zoological Gardens in

Pretoria, says he is not sure when the gorillas will arrive, though he has

staff on standby and the gorilla enclosure is ready.

 

He denies signing a bilateral technical cooperation programme with Malaysia,

according to which future offspring of the Taiping Four would be sent back

to Malaysia.

 

Renowned primatologist Jane Goodall has added her voice to calls for the

gorillas to be sent to a gorilla sanctuary in Central Africa, where they

will have a chance to mingle with other gorillas and live in semi-wild

conditions. The Taiping Four are estimated to be between two and five years

old; gorillas can live to 30 or 40.

 

The critics say allowing South Africa and Malaysia to keep the gorillas,

which have a huge commercial value, after the countries flouted the

Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (Cites) would set

an undesirable precedent.

 

Gorillas are fully protected under Cites. That four young gorillas

certainly brought into captivity by the slaughter of their mothers could be

shipped internationally in 2002, nearly three decades after Cites came into

effect, is a tragedy,says Shirley McGreal, chairperson of the United

States-based International Primate Protection League.

 

It is very important that any solution for these four individual animals be

engineered not only to protect the well-being of these animals, but to

attempt to prevent recurrence of similar incidents.

 

She says the Pretoria zoo does not have a good record of fostering gorillas,

three of the four gorillas it acquired in the 1970s were dead by the end of

the 1990s and no gorilla births have yet been recorded [i did not know

about the babies when the story was being written].

 

Dave Morgan, head of the African Association of Zoos and Aquaria, says the

Pretoria zoo was chosen as the end destination by Cites headquarters in

Switzerland because of its sound financial standing.

 

Gorillas are very expensive to keep and the Taiping Four will need lifelong

care. The Pretoria zoo has the budget, including subsidies from the

government, Morgan says.

 

Source: Mail & Guardian Online Tuesday, July 29,

2003 [http://www.mg.co.za/Content/l3.asp?ao=17893]