'Bonobo heaven': life at a DR Congo ape sanctuary
- Published: 17 Mar 2013 at 11.49
- Online news: World
Claudine Andre, a 67-year-old Belgian living in the Democratic Republic of Congo, has spent the last 20 years dedicated to the protection of the bonobo, an extraordinary species of ape threatened by trafficking and poachers.
An orphaned bonobo eats sugar cane on March 5, 2013 after being rescued by staff of the "Lola ya bonobo" ("Paradise for Bonobos"), a 35-hectare sanctuary outside Kinshasa for bonobos saved from illegal trafficking. Estimated to number 100,000 in 1980, today there are just 10,000 to 20,000 bonobos left, their dwindling numbers due to poaching and trafficking.
Walking out of the environment ministry in Kinshasa after lodging a request to rescue an infant ape on display at a local bar, she is visibly worried.
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