"Just four months old and weighing less than 3kg (6½lbs), Mayos (right) is a baby chimpanzee. So young, her teeth have only just come through and her hands and feet are still soft and pink. She should be clinging to her mother in the forest, too small to have taken her first steps.
But her mother is dead. Shot by a hunter and chopped up for meat in the forests of eastern Cameroon, on the west coast of Africa. Mayos’ life as a wild chimpanzee was brought to an abrupt end. The hunter kept her alive hoping to sell her as a ‘pet’. But her chances of survival were bleak.
Every year hundreds of chimps are illegally killed to supply the commercial ‘bushmeat’ trade. Chimp meat is sold in cities worldwide as a luxury food for wealthy people. Entire families of these intelligent, sentient creatures are hunted, killed and eaten on a daily basis, their traumatised babies sold as exotic pets.
This sickening trade threatens the chimpanzee’s very existence. One hundred years ago there were more than one million. Today fewer than 150,000 remain. Heading for extinction, chimps - our closest relatives - are being eaten to death.
Fortunately, Mayos is one of the lucky ones. She was rescued. After a long and arduous road trip the distraught baby was brought to Limbe Wildlife Centre (LWC) in southern Cameroon. Terrified and very weak, Mayos needed specialist 24 hour care. She is one of the youngest infants LWC has ever cared for.
Today, like a human baby, she needs milk every few hours and, just as importantly, plenty of tender loving care. Please will you help us look after her? It costs Limbe £18 per week to provide the milk she needs, and £10 a week to cover her medical costs.
At first Mayos, named after the village where she was found, was deeply unhappy and didn’t interact with her carer. Gradually though she’s becoming less distressed. The other day she even laughed when she was tickled – a deep, breathy chuckle! Always a good sign, a young chimp will only laugh when feeling comfortable. Thankfully, Mayos seems to be on the long road to recovery.
Three other infants have been recently rescued by LWC and, together with Mayos, have formed an energetic gang in their quarantine facility. But their rehabilitation journey has only just begun. It will require three years of intensive care before they are ready to join the Centre’s resident group of older chimps. Limbe currently cares for 50 rescued chimps, as well as 14 gorillas. You can see how their running costs soon add up!
Limbe knows the real solution lies in the long term. This is why they work very closely in association with another extraordinary group, the Last Great Ape Organisation (LAGA), to stop live trade. LAGA are remarkable.
They are determined to secure a future for Cameroon’s wild chimpanzee population. With the authorities, they apprehend poachers and prosecute those despicable dealers trading in chimps and other endangered animals.
Dynamic and indomitable, their activities range from undercover investigations to arrests, legal action and media follow-up.
The following report contains more information on LAGA’s vital work. But please be warned, the shocking reality of what they face can be disturbing.
We need your help now. LAGA is about to seize three more baby chimps from a foreign logging company in Cameroon. Please, help fund this operation. It is top secret so I can’t give any more details here, but you’ll be able to read about it soon on www.bornfree.org.uk. LAGA will take the rescued youngsters to Limbe. Like Mayos, the babies will urgently need expert, round the clock treatment and good food. Please, give what you can to support LAGA and help Limbe provide this care.Like me I expect you’re a little overwhelmed by the sickening cruelty in Cameroon and the plight of Mayos and the other orphans. But as you can see, your donation will have a massive, positive impact. Please, give what you can to support Limbe Wildlife Centre and the Last Great Ape Organisation. Help protect our chimpanzee cousins.
Don't ignore their plight. Please, give what you can to help the chimp orphans of Cameroon.
Thank you.
Will Travers"
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