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Endangered Species Taken Hostage

Update ... This April 2022 news item mentioned the earlier pangolin hostage situation, but indicated it probably didn't turn out well for the animal.
COVID OPENS NEW BATTLEFRONTS IN AFRICA’S ILLEGAL WILDLIFE TRADE
April 11, 2022
Shoshana Kedem, African Business


Earlier this year Africa’s illegal wildlife trade took an unprecedented new turn. Deep in the dense tropical jungle of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) a giant pangolin – an endangered species of mammal with plate-like scales that can weigh up to 30kg – was kidnapped by rebels who demanded a $500 ransom.

A roaming ground for lions, critically endangered silverback gorillas and anti-government militias, the Virunga rainforest has gained repute as one of the deadliest parks on earth. Last year seven park rangers were shot dead by armed groups in the park. In the previous year, 13 rangers were killed in a rebel ambush.

Two weeks of negotiations with the pangolin’s hostage-takers ended with radio silence, says Adams Cassinga from Conserve Congo, an organisation fighting wildlife trafficking in the DRC that was involved in the rescue effort.

“We tried to sweet talk them to come out and eventually on the 14th day there was an altercation between this group and another armed group and they had to move into the deep jungles and that’s how we lost contact,” he tells African Business. “I think it got eaten.” ...
FULL STORY: https://www.savetheelephants.org/ab...ttlefronts-in-africa-s-illegal-wildlife-trade
 
DRC animal-nappers have struck again - this time seizing 3 baby chimpanzees and demanding ransom for their safe return.
Three baby chimps were kidnapped from a sanctuary. Their abductors are demanding a ransom

An animal sanctuary in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) is facing demands for ransom money, after kidnappers abducted three of its baby chimpanzees. ...

"This is the first time in the world that baby apes were kidnapped for ransom," Franck Chantereau, founder of the sanctuary where the kidnap took place, told CNN on Friday.

His sanctuary, called Young Animals Confiscated in Katanga (abbreviated to JACK in French), is in Lubumbashi, close to the border between the DRC and Zambia, on a key route from Congo to South Africa through which apes are smuggled to the rest of the world. ...

Kidnappers broke into the sanctuary around 3 a.m. on September 9, Chantereau said, and took away three of the five baby chimpanzees that he had rescued so far this year -- César, Hussein and Monga. He later found the other two hiding in the kitchen.

An hour after the break-in, Chantereau's wife received three messages and a video of the abducted chimps from the kidnappers. ...

The kidnappers claimed to have drugged the chimps and threatened to hurt them if Chantereau didn't pay the ransom.

"Obviously, it's impossible for us to pay the ransom," Chantereau said. "Not only do we not have the money, but you need to understand that if we go their way, they could very well do it again in two months, and also we have no guarantee that they will return the baby to us." ...
FULL STORY: https://www.wral.com/three-baby-chi...ir-abductors-are-demanding-a-ransom/20488754/
 
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