Congo Wildlife Center Gives Chimps a Home

Congo Wildlife Center Gives Chimps² a Home

A new arrival to the Lwiro Primates⁴ Rehabilitation⁵ Center gives a brief hug to his human rescuer. Then, the young chimpanzee is gone --- off to play, in a much securer home than his last.

Conservation workers in the Democratic Republic of Congo recently removed the wild animal from illegal captivity⁶. The team travelled hundreds of kilometers with the chimp¹ to the center. It is a protected place, or sanctuary⁷, for primates separated from their parents.

The center opened about 20 years ago in the Congolese village of Lwiro. There are more than 100 chimpanzees at the sanctuary today.

Democratic Republic of Congo and neighboring Congo Republic are home to the largest number of great apes in Africa.

But most great ape populations are decreasing from forest loss, hunting and trafficking, says a recent report from the Great Apes Survival Partnership⁸ (GRASP).

Illegal hunters, or poachers, seek young primates to sell to zoos or individuals. The poachers often kill a whole chimpanzee family to capture one young member, conservationists say.

Itsaso Velez del Burgo is the Lwiro center's director.

"It's horrible because the year 2021 was the worst year in the history of our center, we had 15 arrivals," she said. She added, "And you have to think that for every chimpanzee that arrives here at the sanctuary, there are ten more that died in the forest....The situation is serious. If we don't act to protect the forest, soon it will be empty."

The United Nations says that poachers can sell a live chimpanzee for $50 to $100. But, later the animals can be marketed again at far higher prices.

In eastern Congo, violence has made it hard to release the apes back into the wild, in a process known as reintegration. Reintegration is the sanctuary's goal, Claude-Sylvestre Libaku, manager of the center, said.

"There are already groups (of apes) that are ready to be reintegrated, but the presence of armed groups in the forest is blocking us," Libaku said.

There has been a resurgence⁹ of some armed groups in Eastern Congo in recent years, leading the government to declare martial¹⁰ law in parts of the east.

Although there is no evidence that the illegal trade in great apes is linked to armed groups, their presence in the forest still presents a threat, said Johannes Refisch of the United Nations-led GRASP.

"I would agree that (the apes) are more at risk when there are more guns around," he said. "There is a higher risk for wild meat hunting, and even in areas where great apes are not targeted, hunters might bump into a gorilla¹¹ and kill the animals because they feel threatened."

Words in This Story

primate³ – n. any member of the group of animals that includes human beings, apes, and monkeys

conservationist – n. someone who works to protect animals, plants, and natural resources

bump into – phrasal verb to meet (someone) by chance; to see someone you did not expect to see

1 chimp   

n.黑猩猩

参考例句：

• In fact,the color of gorilla and chimp are light-color.其实大猩猩和黑猩猩的肤色是较为浅的。
• The chimp is the champ.猩猩是冠军。

2 chimps   

（非洲）黑猩猩( chimp的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Chimps are too scarce, and too nearly human, to be routinely slaughtered for spare parts. 黑猩猩又太少，也太接近于人类，不可以作为人器官备用件说杀就杀。 来自英汉非文学 - 生命科学 - 医学的第四次革命
• And as nonprimates, they provoke fewer ethical and safety-related concerns than chimps or baboons. 而且作为非灵长类，就不会产生像用黑猩猩或狒狒那样的伦理和安全方面的顾虑。 来自英汉非文学 - 生命科学 - 医学的第四次革命

3 primate   

n.灵长类（目）动物，首席主教；adj.首要的

参考例句：

• 14 percent of primate species are highly endangered.14%的灵长类物种处于高度濒危状态。
• The woolly spider monkey is the largest primate in the Americas.绒毛蛛猴是美洲最大的灵长类动物。

4 primates   

primate的复数

参考例句：

• Primates are alert, inquisitive animals. 灵长目动物是机灵、好奇的动物。
• Consciousness or cerebration has been said to have emerged in the evolution of higher primates. 据说意识或思考在较高级灵长类的进化中已出现。

5 rehabilitation   

n.康复，悔过自新，修复，复兴，复职，复位

参考例句：

• He's booked himself into a rehabilitation clinic.他自己联系了一家康复诊所。
• No one can really make me rehabilitation of injuries.已经没有人可以真正令我的伤康复了。

6 captivity   

n.囚禁；被俘；束缚

参考例句：

• A zoo is a place where live animals are kept in captivity for the public to see.动物园是圈养动物以供公众观看的场所。
• He was held in captivity for three years.他被囚禁叁年。

7 sanctuary   

n.圣所，圣堂，寺庙；禁猎区，保护区

参考例句：

• There was a sanctuary of political refugees behind the hospital.医院后面有一个政治难民的避难所。
• Most countries refuse to give sanctuary to people who hijack aeroplanes.大多数国家拒绝对劫机者提供庇护。

8 partnership   

n.合作关系，伙伴关系

参考例句：

• The company has gone into partnership with Swiss Bank Corporation.这家公司已经和瑞士银行公司建立合作关系。
• Martin has taken him into general partnership in his company.马丁已让他成为公司的普通合伙人。

9 resurgence   

n.再起，复活，再现

参考例句：

• A resurgence of his grief swept over Nim.悲痛又涌上了尼姆的心头。
• Police say drugs traffickers are behind the resurgence of violence.警方说毒贩是暴力活动重新抬头的罪魁祸首。

10 martial   

adj.战争的，军事的，尚武的，威武的

参考例句：

• The sound of martial music is always inspiring.军乐声总是鼓舞人心的。
• The officer was convicted of desertion at a court martial.这名军官在军事法庭上被判犯了擅离职守罪。

11 gorilla   

n.大猩猩，暴徒，打手

参考例句：

• I was awed by the huge gorilla.那只大猩猩使我惊惧。
• A gorilla is just a speechless animal.猩猩只不过是一种不会说话的动物。