{UAH} ‘Pet’ chimp chained up for 25 years is rescued

'Pet' chimp chained up for 25 years is rescued

Tarzan may think it is human and fear other chimpanzees

CONSERV CONGO

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A chimp named Tarzan has been freed after spending much of the past 25 years in chains in a central African village where it was kept quiet with cigarettes and drink.

The male will begin a new life at a sanctuary in the Democratic Republic of Congo. It will be alone for two months at first to break any reliance on the substances and overcome fear of other animals. "He has been for so long with humans he may well think he is one himself and be terrified when he sees a chimp for the first time," Itsaso Velez del Burgo, of Lwiro primates rehabilitation centre, said.

Tarzan was an infant when it was illegally bought by a family in the eastern town of Bunia, to live as a pet and yield an income from visitors with cameras.

"But as he grew older, he became more aggressive and dangerous, so people were scared of him," said Adams Cassinga, whose organisation, Conserv Congo, freed the chimp this week.

Since the animal was no longer of any use, the family chained it to an old lorry engine under a basic shelter with "Beware of Tarzan, the ferocious beast" written on the wall. "To calm him down they'd get him indulging in alcohol and cigarettes, so he was addicted to these substances," Cassinga added.

An inspector from Conserv Congo spotted Tarzan this year in Bunia, which lies in one of the DRC's most war-ravaged areas. It took two days for the rescue team, made up of police officers, vets and government inspectors, to negotiate the safe handover. The animal was sedated and escorted to a UN peacekeeping base before being flown on to start its new life.

The anti-trafficking organisation has been inundated with cases to investigate, Cassinga said, particularly involving baby chimps which are highly sought after as pets around the world.

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