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(Bloomberg Opinion) – Perhaps there is no individual who has done more as the late Zen Goodol for Chimpanzee. Being a honor of 99-year-old David Attenboro, each other among the great British proposals of protection, brought revolution in the way we both see the great monkeys and ourselves. We cannot allow his legacy to go away.
Gudol’s early success came from her comments in the Gombay Stream Game Reserve in Tanzania, where she discovered – with the help of an old chimp she named David Grabard – that primates hunt for meat and,, landslides, that they make equipment and use equipment – a skill that was previously used to lift above the rest of the animals. Now we know that we are far from unique, share this talent with monkeys, monkeys, elephants and crows.
Later in his career, after harvesting of disastrous forests in the areas around the work of his area, Gudol pledged to become a voice for those who could not speak for themselves – his beloved chimpanzee. He fought a fight to end the use of monkeys in medical research, and established refuses for orphaned people by Bushmet trade. The Gen Gudol Institute, the global non-profit conservation organization, which he established in 1977, now supports community-led projects worldwide.
Despite these efforts, the great apes are still in a strict strainer. All four sub-species of Chimpanzee are classified as at least endangered, and have completely disappeared from four countries in their border.
One of the biggest threats to endanger the primates is an illegal bushmet trade. Rural communities rely on protein, but chimps and gorilla meat are also considered dishes in parts of the world, and their body parts are used in traditional medicine. Infants suffering from violently being orphaned are either left for dead or sold as foreign pets. The demand of rich urban people has increased prices and has pokeed the great apes in an attractive business. Interpol has warned that illegal wildlife business is one of the most profitable areas for organized crime, with an estimated $ 20 billion per year.
Because such trade is in the shade, it is difficult to get a picture of how many chimpans are affected. But researchers have tried to create a picture using the number of orphan chimpas taken by the sanctuaries. A 2010 study estimated that for each child’s chimp in an orphanage, he was killed up to 25 adults. With over 1,000 care throughout the African continent, it means thousands of more killed. Given that the female chimpanzee does not give birth to her first baby unless she is average on average at the age of 15 – and then only every three to six years – the rate of poaching means that the population does not have a chance to recover.
There is also a risk of disease. The disadvantage of residence from deforestation, mining and agriculture has put humans and primates in close quarters, allowing zoonotic pathogens – for transmission of animals to humans – for spread. It is thought that the monkeys infected with murder and butcher caused the outbreak of HIV and Ebola virus. What is the need for us to stop them from eating and give them more space to be present in peace?
But the virus can also be passed in another way with tragic consequences. For example, the normal human cold virus, Rhinovirus C, in 2013 caused a malignant respiratory outbreak between wild chimpanzi in Uganda. Between 1999 and 2006, five diseases in the Kota de Evoire that killed many endangered primates were associated with humans. Because Chimpanzee is our closest relatives – sharing 98.8% of our DNA – they make excellent hosts for our diseases. But because they do not have historical immunity, we have a mild disease fatal to them.
Sadly, ecoturism, a major source of revenue for protection projects, is one of the causes of the apes. And this is not only one. Researchers at the Kible National Park in Uganda found that the respiratory virus broadcast in local children was often causing an outbreak of deadly among the population of chimp. I have written how the fall in the population of the bat increased infant mortality, the lesson is that healthy bats mean healthy humans. The primate equation is equally true: Healthy children mean healthy chimpanzies.
Over the years, Gudol fans have become familiar with the different names and personalities of the chimps that he is studying: the thoughtful and reliable David GraBard, the aggressive Frodo, dodge the “bad bot”. Instead of assigning them numbers by the scientific community of the 1960s, it was criticized, this familiar, he was criticized. But this helped the world see these primets as emotional beings with deep intelligent, emotions and unique personalities.
There are many challenges for chimpanzee and to deal with them – better enforcement of hunting sanctions, community engagement, housing protection and vaccine – will not be easy. But this is worth it not only to protect nature but our own species. Gudaul understood that.
More than Bloomberg’s opinion:
This column reflects the individual views of the author and does not necessarily reflect the opinion of the editorial board or Bloomberg LP and its owners.
Lara Williams is a Bloomberg opinion columnist who covers climate change.
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