[imagesource: Tom Svensson / Conservation Photographer]

Three young chimpanzees have been snatched from a sanctuary in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

The kidnappers are holding the animals, aged between two and five, hostage and demanding a six-figure ransom in what has been reported as the first known kidnapping case of its kind.

The apes were kidnapped earlier this month when the gang broke into the JACK Primate Rehabilitation Centre in the dark of night.

The sanctuary has also received a threat that the apes’ heads will be sent next if the money is not sent.

These poor primates have already been through the wringer, having been orphaned by the wildlife trade.

One of the most recent of the three chimps to arrive at the sanctuary had reportedly been there for only a matter of weeks, after being rescued from a market in the remote north of the country. That journey comprised two flights and three days spent on the back of a motorbike, reported The Independent.

The founder of the centre, Franck Chantereau, said that they had all been given a second chance, but that there was now “this fresh horror”.

Via The Telegraph, Adams Cassinga, from ConservCongo, a Congolese NGO that investigates wildlife crimes, confirmed that this might be the first kidnapping of an ape in the world:

“This is very rare, this is the first time, not just in Africa but the world, that I am hearing of this. We have heard [of] people using wildlife as a shield or as a political or social agenda. This is the first time I have heard of people literally kidnapping animals so that they can ask for money,” he said.

Since founding the shelter in the Katanga province 16 years ago, Chantereau said that the illegal trade has “become a war” with buyers paying around £10 000 (close to R200 000) for baby chimps on the black market.

Now the roughly 100 endangered apes at his facility are under armed guard, but still, that hasn’t stopped the three little chimps from being stolen.

Chantereau has received multiple “proof of life” videos showing the “terrified” chimps in a bare-brick room. In one video you can see a chimp with her arms tied above her head:

🌿KIDNAPPING CHIMP/JOUR 12 -” #Menaces sur la vie de ma femme.Enlèvement planifié de mes enfants et demande de #rançon conséquente… Les #ravisseurs des #chimpanzés n’ont pas de limites.Voici une vidéo reçue des 3 bébés pour vous montrer notre #cauchemar (Franck, Fondateur JACK) pic.twitter.com/JlAlI93DHn

— J.A.C.K. – Jeunes Animaux Confisqués au Katanga (@JackChimps) September 20, 2022

While the organisation is working with law enforcement agencies to rescue the chimps, Chantereau believes he won’t see the animals again and believes that paying the ransom might “put all the world’s apes at greater risk than they already are”.

In the space of just 40 years, the number of chimpanzees roaming the forests of western and central Africa has dwindled to between 172 000 and 300 000, down from millions.

Only 40% of these remaining chimps live in the DRC. The JACK sanctuary is one of just three centres to take care of the species.

[sources:telegraph&independent]