Mysterious epidemic killing Guinean chimps
Pastor Dale Morgan
Mysterious epidemic killing Guinean chimps*
02 Dec 2006 15:16:33 GMT
Source: Reuters
CONAKRY, Dec 2 (Reuters) - A mysterious epidemic is responsible for the
disappearance of over half the chimpanzees at a colony in southeast
Guinea, one of Africa's most important research sites for the primates,
officials said Saturday.
Pepe Soropogui, head of the chimpanzee investigation at the Bossou
Environmental Research Institute (IREB), said no more than 12 West
African chimpanzees remain from a population of around 30 in 2002.
Primate experts are baffled by the dwindling population at Bossou, close
to Mount Nimba in the border region with Ivory Coast and Liberia.
"There are theories that some chimpanzees have contracted a sort of
bronchitis or pneumonia probably transmitted by man, but we are not sure
because chimpanzees have funeral rites and take away the bodies after
death," said Marie Claude Gauthier of the Jane Goodall Institute for
wildlife research and conservation.
Chimpanzees share around 98 percent of man's genetic makeup and are
sensitive to human diseases, she said.
Other theories include the migration of the chimps through the thick
jungles towards Liberia or the Ivory Coast. "Nothing has been ruled out.
It is a mystery," Gauthier said.
Chimpanzees have already disappeared from four countries in West Africa,
leaving Guinea and Ivory Coast with the most important populations.
According to the latest census, there are more than 8,000 chimpanzees in
Guinea.
The population at Bossou is one of the oldest permanent colonies
identified by researchers in the wild. Its chimps are known for using
stone hammers to crack open palm oil nuts -- among the most
sophisticated use of tools seen in nature.
The encroachment of nearby villages has threatened their habitat and
food supplies as well as introducing disease.
"This situation is worrying and we are trying to find the cause of the
deaths and disappearances. We still don't have the results of the
tests," said Christine Sagno, national head of the water and forestry
department.
"In the face of this threat, we have transported to the park in upper
Niger, at Faranah, a sanctuary where we are going to welcome 45
chimpanzees in captivity," said Sagno.
The capture of chimps in Guinea is punishable with between one and six
years in prison and a fine of 800,000 Guinean francs ($116), although
there are plans to increase this penalty.