Kenyan Authorities Seize Ten Primates

Feb 15, 6:34 PM (ET)

By RODRIQUE NGOWI

NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) - Kenyan officials have seized six baby chimpanzees and four guenons as they were about to be smuggled onto a plane, crammed in a small crate, a conservation official said Tuesday. The primates were discovered after security officials became suspicious about unusual noises coming from the crate, which was supposed to contain dogs, said Edward Indakwa, spokesman for the Kenya Wildlife Service.

The crate belonged to a woman who arrived from Egypt and was on her way to Nigeria. She failed to produce proper documents for shipping pets, but the crate was not opened by Kenyan authorities until she already had left for Nigeria. When officials finally opened the crate, they found the 10 primates, Indakwa said. One baby chimp died due to hunger, thirst and stress in the tiny cage. Others were in the care of the Kenya Wildlife Services, which planned to find them a foster home, Indakwa said.

"What it tells us is that chimps and other endangered species are being smuggled across the borders - and they are not being moved as animal cargo, but in accompanied packages," Indakwa said. "This is the largest consignment that we have seized in a long time," Indakwa said. "We are carrying out investigations with Interpol to identify the person." "They were very distressed when we got them. They were kept in a tiny cage, some 2 feet wide, 2 feet deep and about 4 feet long," Indakwa said.

Primates are often protective of their young and it is feared that poachers might have killed or wounded members of their families before seizing the babies, Indakwa said. Guenons are common, medium-sized monkeys of Africa, with long arms, legs and tails; small, round heads; and whiskers and beards. Many have brightly colored coats and faces that make them attractive to pet owners. They have a life expectancy of 20-25 years.

Some groups of chimpanzees, one of man's closest relatives, are threatened by poachers who hunt them for meat, deforestation that destroys their natural habitat and deadly disease. They have a have a life expectancy of 35-40 years. Trade in chimpanzees and other great apes is banned because they are classified as a highly endangered species by the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species.