{"id":632329,"date":"2026-10-16T10:38:14","date_gmt":"2026-10-16T10:38:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/632329\/"},"modified":"2026-10-16T10:38:14","modified_gmt":"2026-10-16T10:38:14","slug":"one-gorillas-journey-from-illegal-traffickers-back-to-the-wild","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/632329\/","title":{"rendered":"One gorilla\u2019s journey from illegal traffickers back to the wild"},"content":{"rendered":"

\n EDITOR\u2019S NOTE:\u00a0 Call to Earth is a CNN editorial series committed to reporting on the environmental challenges facing our planet, together with the solutions. Rolex\u2019s Perpetual Planet Initiative<\/a> has partnered with CNN to drive awareness and education around key sustainability issues and to inspire positive action.\n<\/p>\n

\n If Bili the western lowland gorilla was nervous, she wasn\u2019t showing it.\n <\/p>\n

\n Moments before, the ape had been released into an enclosure at the Tchimpounga Nature Reserve in the Republic of Congo. She raced out in the open, before reaching for a human carer, who carried her into the forest. As soon as she was lowered to the ground, the ape set off again, climbing trees and plowing through the undergrowth. This wasn\u2019t a return to the wild \u2014 yet \u2014 but it was as close to her natural habitat as she\u2019s seen since she was wrenched from her home three years ago. Bili appeared ready to make up for lost time.\n <\/p>\n

\n This is the story of an illegal $20 billion trade<\/a>, told through the eyes of one scared young animal.\n <\/p>\n

\n Experts are uncertain where Bili came from. She could have been born in Cameroon, Gabon or the Republic of Congo. It is highly likely that many members of her family, if not all, were slaughtered to capture the infant to sell her into the exotic pet trade. What is certain is that she has lived nearly all her life in a rescue center in southern Nigeria.\n <\/p>\n

\n Bili was a few months old when she was intercepted by Nigeria Customs Services Special Wildlife Office in Lagos in August 2023, following an undercover operation in partnership with Focused Conservation, a nongovernmental organization. Investigators posed as buyers in a sting that resulted in the arrest and conviction<\/a> of two men for conspiracy, unlawful possession and the attempted sale of a gorilla.\n <\/p>\n

\n Peter Jenkins, the American co-founder of primate protection nonprofit Pandrillus, remembers receiving the call from customs. \u201cThey didn\u2019t know what to do with her really, or how to care for her,\u201d he recalled. \u201cThey sent me a picture of her sitting on the floor, looking about as pathetic as a baby gorilla can look.\u201d\n <\/p>\n

\"Bili,<\/p>\n

\n Jenkins took Bili to Drill Ranch, Pandrillus\u2019 wildlife rehabilitation center in Calabar, Cross River State, which borders Cameroon \u2014 a region known for its primates. She was unwell and covered in a fungal infection, recalled primatologist Lindsay Maess, who cared for Bili at the center. Yet Bili was a \u201cmiraculous case,\u201d she added, noting \u201cupwards of 80% of trafficked gorillas don\u2019t survive.\u201d\n <\/p>\n

\n Maess explained that trafficked infants go without mother\u2019s milk containing antibodies, and miss out on other elements of their natural diet, including foliage that treats parasitic infections. They are extremely vulnerable to illness. Some stop eating and collapse from emotional distress. The morning of our interview, a recently seized infant gorilla called Maraya had died, despite the efforts of Maess, three veterinarians and a nurse. \u201cJust when you think they\u2019re doing okay, they tank \u2014 and they tank so fast,\u201d she said. \u201cThis is the sad reality of ape trafficking.\u201d\n <\/p>\n

\n Bili\u2019s trauma ran deep. She would scream at the sight of a box or cage, and slept clinging to Jenkins\u2019 body for the first three months. \u201cShe was very young and needed that security \u2014 being loved,\u201d he said.\n <\/p>\n

\n She shared an enclosure with Brendan and Mili, two chimpanzees who themselves had been seized from traffickers. The outgoing chimps were \u201cprobably the best thing for her\u201d and \u201cgot her out of her shell,\u201d said Maess.\n <\/p>\n

\n But despite Bili\u2019s newfound security, Jenkins knew from day one they would need to find her a forever home.\n <\/p>\n

\"Bili<\/p>\n

\n Orphaned gorillas were once a byproduct of the bushmeat trade, but today infants are more likely to be targeted for trafficking, said Danny Murphy, a technical adviser for Focused Conservation.\n <\/p>\n

\n Focused Conservation is a US-based nonprofit staffed by former law enforcement officers specialized in organized crime. It is funded by the US Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs, explained Murphy, not because the US is a hotspot for trafficked wildlife, but because wildlife trafficking within Africa \u201cfunds insurgency, which does negatively impact Western interests.\u201d\n <\/p>\n

\n The nonprofit works to uncover wildlife trafficking networks. Buying and selling is often conducted on the open web and people will \u201cblatantly\u201d advertise animals, Murphy explained, given the perception of it as a \u201clow-risk, high-gain\u201d crime.\n <\/p>\n

\n Nigeria is a key station for wildlife leaving the continent; dead animal goods typically leave by ship, live animals by air, he said.\n <\/p>\n

\"Members<\/p>\n

\n Recently the country has outlined a national strategy<\/a> to combat wildlife and forestry crimes through increased law enforcement and education of the judiciary. In 2021, customs established the Nigeria Special Wildlife Office (SWO), an investigative unit operating in partnership with Focused Conservation. It was this partnership that led to Bili\u2019s seizure.\n <\/p>\n

\n Most buyers of baby gorillas appear to be based in the Middle East and India, said Patricia Raxter, director of intelligence and analysis at United for Wildlife, an anti-trafficking program within The Royal Foundation, a UK charity led by the Prince and Princess of Wales.\n <\/p>\n

\n \u201cWe\u2019re seeing this massive acceleration in the trade in great apes,\u201d Raxter said. \u201cThe exotic pet trade period is really exploding, and I think part of that is driven by social media.\u201d\n <\/p>\n

\n Interpol estimates the annual value of wildlife crime is $20 billion<\/a>. Between September 15 and October 15, 2025, a global crackdown coordinated by the agency and the World Customs Organization seized almost 30,000 live animals, including more than 200 primates.\n <\/p>\n

\n Putting seized apes on a path back to the wild is expensive for cash-strapped conservation organizations.\n <\/p>\n

\n Caring for an infant gorilla for three years can cost \u201cthousands of dollars on milk alone,\u201d said Zack Schwenneker, project manager at Drill Ranch.\n <\/p>\n

\n \u201cSeizures are great \u2014 and it\u2019s a success \u2014 but the sanctuaries that end up caring for the animals end up bearing all of the costs,\u201d he said. Schwenneker added that large international grants for wildlife trafficking enforcement \u201cnever include post-seizure care costs.\u201d\n <\/p>\n

\"Peter<\/p>\n

\"Bili's<\/p>\n

\"An<\/p>\n

\n Pandrillus looks after nearly 700 animals, said Jenkins, and has experienced a rise in new additions since the formation of the SWO. Maess, who has since left Pandrillus and now works as an advisor for Focused Conservation, said Nigeria\u2019s rescue centers are at \u201cmax capacity.\u201d Bili, she added, had been ready for a new home \u201cfor quite some time.\u201d\n <\/p>\n

\n Speaking to CNN in September, Jenkins said he was relieved the gorilla was leaving for a larger sanctuary, even if he described it as \u201cway down the list of great outcomes.\u201d\n <\/p>\n

\n \u201cThat animal belongs with its parent in the forest,\u201d he said. More needs to be done, he argued, to end wildlife trafficking by protecting animals in the wild \u2014 whether from hunters, traffickers or other detrimental activities like logging. \u201cI\u2019ve been here for 38 years watching this happen and (I\u2019m) just generally very angry at what\u2019s being allowed to transpire,\u201d he said.\n <\/p>\n

\n \u201cWe\u2019re not having success \u2026 it breaks my heart,\u201d he added.\n <\/p>\n

\n United for Wildlife helped coordinate Bili\u2019s relocation with Pandrillus and Focused Conservation; an operation also involving Nigeria\u2019s Ministry of Environment and Department of Forestry, and the Congo Ministry of Forest Economy.\n <\/p>\n

\n Ahead of the journey, the team at Pandrillus spent weeks making Bili comfortable with being confined again. Then on September 21, Bili left Calabar on a 20-hour road trip to Lagos, beset by a breakdown and delays. Two days later she was flown by DHL to the Republic of Congo, before being transferred overland to Tchimpounga, a primate rehabilitation center operated by the Jane Goodall Institute north of the port city of Pointe-Noire.\n <\/p>\n

\n Dr. Rebeca Atencia, executive director of the Institute in the Republic of Congo and head veterinarian at the center, traveled with Bili and oversaw her introduction. \u201cBili has adjusted very well,\u201d she told CNN. \u201cShe has shown herself to be a very resilient young gorilla.\u201d\n <\/p>\n

\"Bili<\/p>\n

\n Bili has already embraced her new life at the Tchimpounga Nature Reserve, which features indoor and outdoor enclosures spanning forest and savannah. Once the gorilla completes a 40-day quarantine and passes health checks, she will be introduced to a younger female gorilla called Mozambique already living at the sanctuary, with whom she can develop her social and behavioral skills.\n <\/p>\n

\n If all goes well, she could be moved again, along with Mozambique, to the Lesio-Louna Reserve in the Republic of Congo, a 173,000-hectare protected area managed by The Aspinall Foundation and the Ministry of Forest Economy.\n <\/p>\n

\n \u201cThe hope is that, in time, this group will have the opportunity to progress through the rehabilitation and reintroduction process and ultimately return to a life in the wild,\u201d said Dr. Atencia.\n <\/p>\n

\n \u201cThey will have,\u201d she said, \u201ca second chance at a normal life.\u201d\n <\/p>\n

\"Bili<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"EDITOR\u2019S NOTE:\u00a0 Call to Earth is a CNN editorial series committed to reporting on the environmental challenges facing…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":632330,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[26],"tags":[111,139,69,147,406],"class_list":["post-632329","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-wildlife","tag-new-zealand","tag-newzealand","tag-nz","tag-science","tag-wildlife"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/632329","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=632329"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/632329\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/632330"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=632329"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=632329"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=632329"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}