“It is my firm belief that unless we work together to change attitudes at all levels - from world leaders to the consumers of illegal bushmeat - there will be no viable populations of great apes in the wild within 50 years.”
-Dr Jane Goodall

            One of the greatest threats to the existing population of African great ape species in tropical forests worldwide is the commercial bushmeat trade.  African forests and shrubland are often referred to as “the bush” by locals, and animal meat that comes from these forests is known as “bushmeat.”  While this term applies to all wildlife, African great apes including chimpanzees, bonobos, and gorillas have been particularly threatened by this practice.  There are several factors that make great apes particularly susceptible to the threats of hunters.  Great apes have large bodies, tend to live in groups, and they are relatively conspicuous compared to other taxa.  The widespread demand for protein provides a huge incentive for hunters within the multi million dollar commercial bushmeat industry.  Additionally, infants left behind by hunted mothers can be sold as pets and to zoos around the world for a hefty price tag.  This increases the incentive for hunters to kill female apes, which poses even greater threats for the sustainability of the practice.  Also, with the rise in human populations, humans are encroaching on great apes natural territory which makes the interaction between great apes and humans more prevalent and poses additional risks for the safety of these apes. 

 

 

 

According to a 2005 survey across West and Central Africa, primates accounted for twelve percent of all hunted animals (Fa et al. 2005).  The Congo Basin in Africa, which is the world’s second largest tropical forest, has some of the most significant bushmeat impacts worldwide, where bushmeat accounts for up to eighty percent of the protein consumption (Pearce, 2005).  Large commercial hunting as well as local hunting in the Congo Basin is one of the most immediate threats to the future of primates, and the lack of sustainability of the practice has posed significant risks for widespread extinctions of many primate groups.  In the past, major limitations on the bushmeat trade included limited access to dense and unpopulated forest regions.  Access has become less of an issue in recent years due to roads and camps left behind by timber companies becoming available for use by hunters.  Illegal and unsustainable hunting of great apes is a global issue, affecting tropical regions in Africa, Asia, and the Neotropics. 

Aside from the obvious extinction related implications that result from these practices, there are also ethical implications related to great ape bush meat practices.  Many individuals find it irreprehensible to massacre populations of species for consumption that are so closely related to the human species and that have such an affinity for suffering and emotional response. It is common knowledge that Chimpanzees, for example, share 98% of their genes with the human species.  Regardless of the ethical implications, the current practice (if left unchecked) has the capacity to completely diminish populations of great apes in the near future.

Please watch the Jane Goodall Institute video below for a brief overview of how the bushmeat industry has affected great ape populations.  Although the video emphasizes the affects on Chimpanzees, the horrendous details and outcomes can be seen in all of the African great ape species.

 

 

 

 

Who are the African Great apes?

Chimpanzee: Pan Troglodites

The first of the three groups of Great Apes that have been severely impacted by bushmeat practices are chimpanzees. Chimpanzees, which are the closest living relative to the human species, have some of the most varied set of behaviors of all animals outside of humans. They engage in activities such as using tools, dancing, and socializing. They also have the capacity to pass on learned customs to their young. In one experiment, researchers taught two chimpanzees a complex set of instructions to retrieve food from an enclosure, and after being reunited with the remaining chimps in the group, it wasn’t long before all were using the technique (Vaidyanathan, 2011). They are also known to demonstrate a full range of emotions including grief and empathy. 

Female Chimpanzee in Tanzania teaches offspring hew to use a stem as a tool to remove termites from a mound (above)

Chimpanzee populations have been decimated in recent years. In addition to loss of habitat, bushmeat practice in particular has had major effects on chimpanzee populations. Although chimpanzees are currently the most populous of all of the great apes, they make up 1% to 3% of bush meat sold in markets (Casparyet al. 2001), and their populations are declining drastically. Chimpanzees have been on the IUCN red list of endangered species since 1996, at which point they transitioned from “vulnerable” to the “endangered” category. Most of the estimates of chimpanzee populations are crude since there has not been a ton of survey work performed over the chimpanzee’s range. In 2003, the International Union of Conservation of Nature estimated the current population of chimps to be between 172,700 and 299,700 (Vaidyanathan).  Others estimate that the current population is actually closer to 100,000 (ApeAlliance).  Regardless, it is believed that the remaining communities are going to disappear within the next couple of decades (Vaidyanathan, 2011).  One population in the ivory coast of West Africa was found to decrease by 90% in only 17 years. This rate of disappearance is typical for other communities as well. Current hunting rates of chimpanzees (especially female chimpanzees) relative to the long generation time of chimpanzees and the low population will make it impossible for chimpanzee populations to rise without drastic changes in practices.

The image below shows the current distribution of the remaining chimp populations:

Bonobo: Pan paniscus

Bonobos have a social system that is largely egalitarian and matriarchal (Gerloff 1999). In the wild, groups of up 100 bonobos will sleep together in nests that they construct in trees and then split into smaller groups while searching for food. They tend to react to stress by socializing and engaging in sexual activity. Although they are very closely related to the chimpanzee, they are known to exhibit much more mellow temperaments. According to the results of a recent study, bonobos have a thicker connection between the amygdyla (the emotional center of the brain that controls aggression) and other portions of the brain that are responsible for impulse control (Rilling 2011). In comparison to chimpanzees, it is also found that bonobos have exaggerations in the area of the brain that deals with empathy, distress, and emotional response (Rilling 2011).

As with the other Great Apes, bonobos populations have been significantly affected by bushmeat hunting over the last several decades. Historically, bonobos were not hunted by locals for religious reasons, but that has changed in recent years due to shifting cultural values and commercial poaching impacts (Hart 2008). Currently, bonobos are listed on the IUCN red list as “endangered”. Most of the estimates regarding population size of bonobos are about 20,000 to 40,000 species (Dupain 2001) although there have not been any attempts to estimate population size in the last ten years. According to the IUCN website, commercial hunting is the greatest known threat to bonobos.

 

The image below shows the location of the remaining bonobo populations:

 

Gorilla: Gorilla gorilla (Western Gorilla) and Gorilla Beringei (Eastern Gorilla)

Gorillas are herbivores that live in small groups of 10-20, with one alpha male, several females, and their offspring. Gorillas demonstrate a high vocal ability to communicate with other gorillas (Schaefer 2011) and have the capacity to use tools, although most tool usage has primarily been observed in captivity. Gorillas are considered to be highly intelligent, and many in captivity have been taught to use sign language for communication.

Koko, a female gorilla who has been taught sign language and can understand more than 1000 signs. Koko loves kittens and has raised several throughout her lifetime as if they were her own offspring.

 

Western Gorillas, which are found in various regions of West Africa including the Central African Republic, Cameroon,Gabon, Nigeria, and the Republic of Congo, are currently listed as “critically endangered” on the IUCN red list due to population reductions of more than 80 percent over the course of three generations (a gorilla generation is known to be about twenty years). Gorillas were listed as “vulnerable” until 1996, at which point they transitioned to “endangered” and then transitioned again in 2007 to “critically endangered”. This reduction in population is based primarily on hunting for meat and disease prevalence. The population of Western Gorillas is currently estimated to be around 95,000 (Harcourt 1996). Eastern gorillas are found in Uganda, and the Eastern Congo Basin and are currently listed as “endangered” according to the IUCN red list as of 2000. Hunting has also played a huge role in the diminishing population of Eastern Gorillas. Their population decline is expected to exceed 50% in the time period from 1970 to 2030. These decreasing population trends in both Western and Eastern Gorillas are not easily reversible when the high generation time of twenty years and low fertility of gorillas (about three offspring per female) are considered (Harcourt, 2002).

The image below shows the distribution of the remaining gorilla populations:

 

Drivers of the Bushmeat Industry

                The motivation for illegal bushmeat hunting is extremely varied.  The key drivers of the bushmeat trade include increasing demand for bushmeat in rural and urban areas, human encroachment into wildlife areas, lack of enforcement, lack of alternative employment opportunities in the affected areas, lack of alternative food sources, poor governance, and lack of clear rights over wildlife/land (Balme).  Some hunters seek bushmeat for direct consumption of the meat or immediate market trading/selling while many are involved in commercial selling in urban areas and even internationally (Balme).  In general, estimating the economic incentive for the bushmeat trade can be extremely difficult.  This is due in part to a lack of individuals who are available to observe activity in the locations where bushmeat trading is prevalent.  Even with the most intensive visual surveys of meat markets, it is extremely difficult to translate the observed butchered fragments of animal pieces into the true number of animals killed.  The best estimates indicate that commercial bushmeat hunting is a multi-billion dollar industry (Brashares).  In Tanzania, for example, up to fifty million dollars in illegal bushmeat is confiscated annually (Fa).   In Mozambique, it is believed that 182,000 to 365,000 metric tons of bushmeat are consumed annually, with an economic value of about 700 million US dollars per year (Barnett).  In central Africa, the estimates are even higher (Balme).  The tremendous financial incentive that exists in the illegal hunting and selling of wild animals is what keeps that bushmeat industry alive and active.  Great apes are particularly valuable due to their large size.  For example, a chimpanzee carcass can sell for about $200 US in Nigerian markets (Vaidyanathan). 

Images of chimpanzee, bonobo, and gorilla bushmeat being sold at market

 

There is evidence suggesting that commercial bushmeat hunting is increasing as a result of increasing demand due to increasing populations of humans in both rural and urban areas (Balme).  Estimates indicate that the price of bushmeat relative to alternative sources of meat such as livestock, poultry, or fish are higher in urban areas.  In one study, it was determined that the cost of bushmeat in urban markets is 1.57 times higher than the price of alternative sources of protein (Brashares).  In urban areas, demand is driven by taste (Balme). In fact, bushmeat is significantly more expensive than other sources of protein available in urban areas due to the cost's associated with commercial hunting and the expenses that are required to transfer carcasses to the selling location.  Bushmeat consumers in these locations are typically wealthier and view bushmeat as a protein source that is superior to chicken or fish. The opposite trend is seen in rural areas of Africa.  Bushmeat is the preferred source of protein in rural areas because wildlife sources are nearby and it is normally cheaper than other forms of protein (0.72 times the price of alternative protein) (Brashares).  In one study, researchers reported witnessing a large piece of chimpanzee limb meat being sold at market for only about $3 US, which was less that the price of a small chicken ($5 US) that had a much smaller volume of meat (Hicks).  Individuals who live in rural areas in Africa often have inconsistent availability of food and are malnutrition; therefor, the cheapest available source of protein is in high demand.  In many rural areas, bushmeat often represents the single most important source of protein available in communities.   In all of these areas, bushmeat significantly contributes to food security.  However, this practice is unsustainable and is leading to the widespread extinction of many of the remaining great apes.  In the Great Congo Basin of Central Africa, estimates reveal that human population growth of 2-3% per year will cause the demand for bushmeat to double in the next twenty years (Schenck).  According to this rate of population growth, if rates of bushmeat consumption remain consistent, large primates in that area could be hunted to extinction by 2020. 

One group of researchers explored the spatial patterns that govern bushmeat trading in urban and rural locations throughout Nigeria and Cameroon.  They found that urban and rural trading differed in the types of species that were being sold as well as in the condition of the meat, such as fresh meat versus smoked meat (Macdonald).    They also found that meat condition was not associated with the price of the carcass , and the price of the carcass was slightly positively associated with the size of human settlement (Macdonald). In all cases, the cost of the carcass was found to be directly associated with body mass (Macdonald).  This is one of the major reasons why it has been so difficult to control illegal selling of great ape bushmeat in Africa.  Chimpanzees, bonobos, and gorillas all have large bodies that make them a high price selling item in the bushmeat markets.  Gorillas, for example, weigh between 300 to 400 pounds in the wild, but they have been recorded to weigh up to 600 pounds.  Because of the social nature of all of the great apes, it is also virtually guaranteed that if a hunter finds a single ape, there will be many more nearby.  This increases the odds that a hunter will successfully catch and kill a single animal, and it also increases the odds that a hunter will kill multiple animals in a single slaughtering event. 

In all locations, bushmeat is predominantly hunted commercially and supplied illegally.  Because of the fact that the supply of great apes in natural habitats is decreasing, one group of researchers asked the question:  “As the opportunity costs associated with time spent hunting increase, does it discourage wildlife harvest as recent research suggests?” (Brashares 2011).  According to Brashares, the most widespread, reliable, and profitable forms of employment available in rural locations throughout Africa are in agriculture.  The problem with employment in agriculture is that it is seasonal.  In an effort to “gain insight on the opportunity costs of hunting” researchers collected information about the hourly breakdown of activities that bushmeat hunters engaged in during a typical week in Ghana and Tanzania.  They found that the weekly activities of bushmeat hunters was directly related to the availability of employment opportunities in agriculture:  Bushmeat hunting activity was highest during the time that farm land was uncultivated, and bushmeat hunting significantly decreased during peak agricultural periods (Brashares 2011).  This correlation implies that financial incentive is the primary driver for bushmeat hunters, and if other opportunities for employment were available, bushmeat hunting would probably decline throughout Africa.

 

Developing a better understanding of why people choose to eat bushmeat is just as important as understanding why people are hunting bushmeat.  If bushmeat is eaten in rural areas of Africa because it is cheaper, then the rising cost of bushmeat as the species become scarcer could result in a decline in bushmeat purchases.  However, if people choose to eat bushmeat because the taste is preferred, as is believed to be the case in urban areas of Africa, then rises in cost will probably have little effect on bushmeat purchasing (and therefor hunting).  A group of researchers conducted five taste tests in the region of Gabon to determine whether the taste of bushmeat was a determining factor in the purchasing of it.  The blind study was designed to determine whether individuals could correctly identify between bushmeat and domestic meats such as chicken, fish, and livestock, and whether their blind protein preference reflected their verbally stated preference before the taste test was conducted (Schenck).  The results of this study indicated that most individuals are able to identify the type of animal meat they are eating, rural participants show a preference for bushmeat, and subjects are more likely to prefer the type of meat during the taste test that they claim to prefer outside of the taste test (Schenck).  These results suggest that lowered price alone may not be the sole determinant in the protein selection of individuals living in rural locations.  This suggests that any efforts to discourage people from consuming bushmeat should include efforts to change the widespread thinking about bushmeat consumption. 

Bushmeat Hunting Methods

            There is a wide variety of methods that hunters use to illegally capture wild apes.  Snares are the most common hunting method used in illegal hunting for the capture of others smaller species such as duikers and rodents, but it can also cause huge problems for an unsuspecting ape family in search of food.  In a study conducted by Hicks, he reported documenting “hundred of snares, including dozens of 2.5 meter high “bomb” traps (thick wire snares attached to bent saplings which are capable of hoisting an okapi into the air” as he searched the Congo jungles for evidence of Chimpanzees.  Snares are usually comprised of a wire noose attached to woody vegetation (Balme).  Animals are indiscriminately caught inside of the snare when they put their head or some other body part inside (Balme).  They are then trapped even further as they attempt to escape.  Apes are incredibly strong, and as they attempt to rip themselves free, they often experience a wide array of injuries from amputated fingers or limbs to death associated with blood loss. 

          Approximately 1/3 of wild apes experience some form of snare related injury, and since these animals rely on walking, climbing, and swinging, these injuries can be a huge impediment to the success of the animal during the remainder of her life.  There are major ethical implications associated with snaring since the method causes a very slow and painful death when an ape's head or limb is caught (Balme).  There are also high rates of severe and wounding that does not actually kill the animal but causes significant suffering. Illegal snaring has become an increasingly difficult problem to control due to the widespread availability of wire that can be used to make snares.  One example is in Zambia, where the electricity supply corporation has greatly increased the amount of wire in rural areas, and greater than sixty percent of snares recovered from a conservation society in South Luangwa is made from this wire (Balme). 

Major injury to gorilla after becoming caught in a snare

              Chimpanzee who lost limb after becoming caught in a snare

There are a variety of other methods used to hunt wildlife for bushmeat including fire, bows and arrows, nets, pit fall traps and dogs.   In most cases, it is not uncommon for hunters to use some combination of guns, poison darts and arrows, and dogs to hunt apes.  Hicks describes the preferred method of chimp hunting of one group of hunters in his report “Illegal Trad Threatens DRC’s”: 

“We were informed by hunters in the forest zone south of the Uele River that the preferred way to hunt chimpanzees is to pursue the apes with a pack of dogs, chase them up into trees, and kill them with a shotgun or crossbow with poison arrows.  Althernatively, hunters will stealthily approach a group of arboreally-feeding chimpanzees at dawn, picking them off one-by-one with crossbows and poison arrows.  The crowbow’s silence allows the hunters to kill a number of individuals before the group becomes aware of the hunter.  Cooking later denatures the poison, making the meat safe for consumption”

Hicks goes on to describe the personal account of an ex-hunter, who witnessed this style of killing with his own eyes in 1999 in an areas south of Aketi.  He recalls how an entire family of chimpanzees had been massacred, with ten dead juveniles and adults “sprawled at the base of a tree, their eyes bulging out from the effects of the poison”.

        The widespread availability of firearms in Africa in recent years has been a major contributor to the amplification of illegal bush hunting (Downing).  The firearms that are used include shotguns, single-shot rifles, and "muzzle-loaders" which are often times made at home (Balme).  The use of automatic weapons is reported as being somewhat rare (Balme).  In rural areas, guns and hunting knowledge are passed down within a family from father to son (Downing).  According to some reports, most of the hunters that are killing the wild apes of Africa do not actually own the firearms that are being used for purposes of illegal bushunting;  they are supplied by "upper-class city dwellers" (Downing).  In any case, hunting is no longer limited to local villagers.  Organized groups of large commercial bushmeat hunting are actively exploiting the majority of the African forests, including wildlife reserves (Downing).  This large scale and widespread method of commercial bushmeat hunting has had a huge impact on the great ape populations in Africa.

High Risk of Disease Transmission

          Bushmeat consumption has dire effects on the population of great apes, but it also has significant effects on the humans who engage in the practice.  One of the major implications that stems from the consumption of bushmeat is the widespread association with the risk of disease.  The risk of disease from the consumption of bushmeat has a deep history that can be traced back to the early nineteen hundreds.  During this time, the race to colonize Africa was in full force (Timburg). European powers flooded to the jungles of Africa with a mindset to become wealthy off of the lush biodiversity that the continent had to offer (Timburg).   Cameroon in Central Africa was no exception; in the late 1800’s, German colonists raided its villages with the intent of developing roads and establishments (Timburg). Forced out of their homes and into unpaid service, the villagers turned to eating bushmeat with higher prevalence in order to find substance outside of their livestock and local trappings (Timburg). This practice has carried through to today, despite the huge risk of disease that is associated with the consumption of Bushmeat.

Twenty percent of the Chimpanzees hunted in and near Cameroon carry Simian immunodeficiency virus (SIV), which is a disease that is related to Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV). The practice of butchering bush meat can be extremely messy, and it is speculated that early consumption of bush meat could have resulted in the transfer of SIV to the blood of humans, where it mutated to the HIV that is still having a profound effect on human populations today (Timburg).  Two clusters of SIV strains found in Cameroon are very close to the human strain, and it is so far the clearest picture anyone has of the origin for HIV. Though bush meat hunting has been practiced for thousands of years, the change that occurred in the late 1800’s was the ability for SIV and HIV to travel. Those diseases were no longer isolated to remote jungles and villages.  The development of roads and technology, the widespread use of ship travel, and the establishment of large cities in combination with the human population growth associated with the start of the Anthropocene promoted the widespread passage of this disease amongst humans.

The images above demonstrate how bushmeat slaughtering carries a high risk of human/ape blood transmission

Consumption of bushmeat can also pose significant health risks

The risk of acquiring SIV from bushmeat has been supported, and it is expected to be highest in persons who hunt primates and prepare their meat for consumption (Peeters). With a greater understanding of infectious diseases, one would think this practice would have fallen out of favor. The chimps commonly used for consumption in southeast Cameroon have demonstrated an SIV infection rate of 35% (Owen).   There are over 30 types of monkeys that are known to be able to carry the SIV infection; however, Chimpanzees are the only great ape known to be susceptible to it.  The Chimp virus is a conglomeration of the monkey viruses, suggesting that the chimps had to have eaten monkeys in order to acquire their particular mixed strain (Owen). Thus by continuing to eat bushmeat, humans are introducing the possibility of new strains of HIV. This is a practice that not only is diminishing already dwindling populations of primates in Central Africa, but it is laying the ground work for another HIV epidemic to sweep the world.

            There are several other diseases that can be transmitted from wild apes to humans, and vice versa.  Another example of one of these diseases is ebola, which is fatal in eighty percent of the humans that become infected. There have been several instances of viral epidemics in humans that resulted from the handling of greater ape species during bushmeat slaughtering (Leroy). In 1976, there was an outbreak of ebola in the Conbo Basin that killed 300 people.  There was another outbreak in Gabon in the 1994  that killed 70 humans (Leroy).  The same year, 30% of the Chimpanzees at the Tai National park were also fatally infected with ebola (Leroy).  It was later determined that ebola was capable of being passed from apes to human beings (Leroy). Ebola is also known to be transmitted between humans and gorillas (Rizkalla).  In 2003, about 600-800 gorillas disappeared from a Gorilla sanctuary in Congolese and about the same time, an Ebola epidemic killed 114 out of the 128 humans who were infected with the disease.  The 2003 outbreak is believed to have started with the unsafe handling of infected carcass’s (Rizkalla).   In 2005, researchers reported the appearance of two T-lymphotrophic viruses that came up in bushmeat hunters (HTLV-3 and HTLV-4), both of which are thought to have originated in primates (Marris).

The fact that humans are so susceptible to diseases that affect monkeys and apes can be attributed to our shared genetics.   Humans share 98.7 percent of their genes with chimpanzees and bonobos.  Though Africans have been eating bushmeat for years, in some areas such as Cameroon, there has been a recent insurgent of fear regarding it. Recently, there were reports of a poacher who found a dead gorilla in the forest and then took it back to the village where everyone who ate the meat died within days. Three quarters of all new viruses that can infect humans come from animals and it is becoming apparent that people are far more susceptible to ape transfers (Williams).  Much like what occurred in 1884, at the possible inception of HIV, this global exchange of bush meat is setting the precedents for a worldwide epidemic of not merely a new strain of HIV but of viruses previously unknown to man.

The Damage After the Damage

           It is no secret that illegal hunting of bushmeat is decimating the remaining populations of great apes; however, this devastation is not just the result of the loss of animals that are being killed for their meat.  When a mother is hunted and killed, there are often orphan babies that are left behind.  For most hunters, orphaned chimpanzees, bonobos, and gorillas are not large enough to make a profit by selling them for meat.  In these cases, hunters typically attempt to sell the orphans as pets or to zoos.  The conditions that these orphans experience are typically abysmal, and most of the orphans who fall victim to this cruel trade either die at the hands of their captors or experience lifelong psychological damage. 

            In one study, researchers recorded their encounters with chimpanzee orphans over the course of an 18 month period from 2007 to 2009 in the forests in and surrounding Congo.  Interviews with locals revealed that bushmeat practices have significantly increased in the area over the previous fifteen years which is highly concerning considering the fact that the Democratic Republic of Congo is home to about half of the remaining chimpanzees left in the African wild (Hicks). During this time, they observed 42 chimpanzee orphans being kept in homes, on the roadside, and being sold at markets (Hicks).  All but two of these orphans were found South of the Uele River, which they attributed to greater human settlement and higher instances of mining.  Roads to mining camps provide hunters greater access to the forest, and miners also engage in bushmeat hunting.  The graph below displays the study area in Congo showing where orphaned chimps were encountered.  The dark red indicates higher levels of orphan sitings, including both confirmed and unconfirmed cases of chimpanzee orphans.

            In the study of chimp orphan sitings surrounding Congo, Hicks reveals to have documented new orphan arrivals every ten days.  Hick’s accounts during the course of the study are both shocking and horrific.  Two of the orphans that were reported to them were already dead by the time they arrived.  In total, 10 of the orphans died of illness or neglect following their capture.  Hicks describes some of his observations durng the course of the study in the following passage:

“The chimpanzee orphans that we encountered were generally kept in abysmal conditions, often tied to short ropes inside squalid enclosures. Two of the orphans we saw had their top incisors knocked out or burned down to stubs with hot knives to prevent biting.” 

        
           The data collected on the individuals who were in possession of the orphans reveal that the vast majority were merchants, hunters, government officials, and police/military (Hicks).  The fact that government officials were in possession of the orphaned chimps is highly disturbing considering the fact that chimpanzees are protected by law in those regions. A significant point that Hicks mentions in his report is that few of the officials or merchants that he encountered were even aware of the fact that Chimpanzees are protected in those regions.  Two merchants were in posession of documents that had been signed by local officials which gave them permission to keep the orphaned Chimpanzees and sell them as pets (Hicks).  Due to the protected status of chimps, the permits had been issued illegally.  These accounts reveal major inconsistencies between laws that exist in the region and the enforcement of those laws by government officials and police offers.  These rifts are probably one of the major reasons that illegal bushmeat hunting is continuing to devastate ape populations even though they are protected in many regions.

          Aside from the physical abuse and neglect orphaned apes experience, there is severe psychological trauma that results from an infant ape witnessing the massacre of his family and then experiencing the impoverished captive conditions that usually follow.  There have been many studies performed that reveal that orphans who are subjected to “severe sensory and social isolation during nursery rearing” result in unusual activities and behaviors as juveniles and adults.  These aberrant behaviors can include scratching and picking at their own flesh, rocking back and forth, regurgitation and re-ingesting their food, and “self-clasping” (Lopresti-Goodman).  They may also engage in self-abuse such as hitting or biting themselves and pulling out their own hair (Lopresti-Goodman).  The consequential mental and social delays can prevent them from successfully rearing and raising families or adapting to social structures later in life (Wobber).  These findings reveal that orphans who are separated from their families and subjected to harsh living conditions are likely to face life long detriments. Some studies reveal that Chimpanzees who are held captive during their infancy and juvenile years develop anxiety disorders similar to the post-traumatic stress disorder that is seen in humans who undergo horrific life experiences (Lopresti-Goodman). Most of these outcomes apply to orphans who were studied after being sent to animal sanctuaries.  The outcome is generally far worse for orphans who are not saved, if they even survive infancy at all. 

         The outcome is not all terrible for those apes that are sent to sanctuaries.  One study reveals that if a chimp is raised in a healthy, social environment (including one with their mother, peers, or humans reciprocating the maternal role) and a rich, stimulating physical environment, they are capable living healthy adult lives and developing normally (Wobber).  These results suggest that if an orphaned ape is sent to a high quality ape sanctuary site early in life or shortly after being separated from her mother, the outcome can be positive.

The two videos attached below are the stories of Shufai and Nona, two young gorilla's who were sent to the Ape Action Africa Conservation in Cameroon.  Both of them experienced gun shot wounds while clinging for life as their mothers were gun downed and sold for meat.  They were then left for dead by the hunters;  their small size would not return a profit in the meat market.  Thanks to the heroic efforts of the individuals who saved them, and the noble efforts of those who have dedicated their lives to saving orphaned and injured apes, both will have a second chance at a safe and fulfulling life.

 

 

Conservation Efforts

There is no question that the bushmeat practice has posed substantial risks to the continued existence of the great ape species in Africa.  So now, the question becomes:  What is currently be done about this issue?  What else can be done?  There have been several investigations into the possible solutions, many of which are already being implemented today.  These solutions include various forms of species management, heightened efforts in education and awareness in the affected regions, providing economic alternatives for livelihood and other incentives for hunters to quit the bushmeat trade, implementation and enforcement of conservation laws, and a variety of other small scale efforts.  Another important consideration is the fact that all of the locations of the remaining great apes are some of the most poverty stricken areas in the world.  Hunter’s engagement in the bushmeat trade is often a result of lack of alternatives, so poverty alleviation efforts should be addressed with conservation efforts simultaneously (povertyandconservation.info).  Some methods of poverty alleviation include:  creating a system of assets and income including opportunities for employment and selling of local goods and services as well as providing infrastructure to reduce health risks in the environment including access to clean water, sanitation, safe housing, etc (povertyandconservation.info). 

One of the most important efforts that is continuously considered is the establishment of public or private reserves based on IUCN categories.  This is especially important because currently, many of the great apes live outside of protected areas (Redford).  Outside of protection from illegal hunting (hopefull), the establishment of reserves is extremely important because it addresses another major issue that all of the great ape species face which is habitat loss.  This is a huge undertaking, and it requires the establishment of fences, staff to control the parks, and methods of controlling illegal hunting (Redford).  In order to minimize the effects on locals, it is important to create jobs within the reserves that are specifically target to locals and allowing locals to be involved in decision making.  This is extremely important because lack of consideration of locals can lead to severe hostilities within local communities.  This conflict was demonstrated in an incident that occurred in a gorilla conservation park in Uganda (Blomley).  Once more protected parks are established, it can also be beneficial to restore habitats that have already been degraded or polluted through forest restoration projects (Redford).  This is another opportunity for employment of local community members.

Formal education and awareness is another important aspect of ape conservation and minimizing the effects of the bushmeat trade.  One of the most important areas of awareness is through providing education and enhancing the knowledge of individuals who live in the areas affected by the great ape bushmeat crises (Redford).  Increasing the availability of scholarships for individuals associated with these communities would increase the attainability of formal degrees in ape conservation. Some of these resources can already be found through various organizations such as the Prince Bernhard Scholarships, The Orang Utan Republik Foundation, the ERuDeF Foundation of Cameroon, and the United States Fish and Wildlife Service via the Great Apes Conservation Fund (Redford).  Another area of education that is extremely important is with the locals themselves.  This can be achieved through the use of media, radio soap operas, environment publishing, pamphlets, posters, etc.  Media outreach through outlets such radio soap operas can be particularly successful in areas where many individuals are illiterate.  The Great Apes Film Initiative has worked to make this type of information available to locals in a wide variety of ways.  In 2010, they provided locals of Uganda with great ape documentary screenings via electricity provided by pedaling a bicycle (gafi4apes.org).  The screenings reportedly reached an estimated 68,000 people in 2010 alone (gafi4apes).  While education is extremely important, it is also important that any and all of the messages reflect the perspectives of the locals (Redford). 

Another major step that is required for the prevention of bushmeat practices is the development, implementation, and enforcement of formal legal legislations and regulations regarding great ape conservation.  In order for this type of policy to be successful, there must be alternative forms of proteins available to locals that are not protected or expensive (Redford).  One of the major caveats of the development of laws is that they are only going to be effective to the extent that they are actually enforced.  The failure of conservation laws was demonstrated in the section discussing orphaned chimps, when one study revealed that many chimp orphans were in the hands of government officials and kill permits had been issued illegally.  While it is important to get law enforcement officials on board with the enforcement of these laws, there is also the possibility that severe or brutal enforcement of these types of laws can lead to alienation of local communities, which is actually disruptive to the overall goal (Redford).  Another way to increase the effectiveness of these laws is to engage locals in the enforcement of these laws, such as by hiring locals as community game guards (Redford).

There are several other small scale means of eliminating the prevalence of illegal bushmeat hunting that have been employed.  One is through financial payments or incentives.  An example would be for the direct payment for snares collected (Redford).  Another example is through the use of values such as spiritual values or values linked to human health to prevent individuals from eating bushmeat (Redford).  The success of this type of effort depends largely on the extent to which locals are involved in determining what their values are.  In reality, elimination of illegal bushmeat hunting would require the employment and success of each of these different areas simultaneously.  Chimpanzees, gorillas, and bonobos need to have protected areas to live without encroaching on humans.  Locals must be aware of the consequences that are associated with the illegal hunting and consumption of bushmeat, and that awareness should be impactful enough to influence their values regarding bushmeat hunting and consumption.  When they do choose to stop eating bushmeat, there needs to be alternative protein forms available.  When they stop hunting bushmeat, there needs to be alternative forms of employment and livelihood.  And for those who cannot be encouraged to stop the practices, there needs to be consequences that are enforced without creating a larger rift between the enforcing agent and the local communities.  The only way for these amazing creatures to persist for the next century is with the collaborative effort of all of the individuals that are associated with this practice.