Noted scientist Jane Goodall has written to Science, Technology and Environment Minister Law Hieng Ding (photo) and the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (Cites) secretariat asking them to send the four rare gorillas which were imported illegally from Nigeria and currently kept at Taiping Zoo to a wildlife sanctuary in Cameroon.

The Cites secretariat is responsible for enforcing the rules that govern trade in endangered species internationally.

Goodall is well known for her research into chimpanzee behaviour at the Gombe National Park, Tanzania. Her work there began in 1960, making inroads for future primate studies, and continues to this day.

In an Oct 30 letter sent from the Jane Goodall Institute in Southampton, UK, Goodall said that the four baby lowland gorillas should be sent to Cameroon as they had probably been captured there before being shipped to Malaysia via Nigeria.

She recommended the Limbe Wildlife Centre in Cameroon as a suitable home for the animals because the staff there were experienced in caring for gorillas that have been rescued from local or international trade.

She noted that the centre already had eight gorillas which were nursed back to health despite having arrived "sick and traumatised". They are now living as a group in a large enclosure there.

Possible home

Earlier, a watchdog body, the International Primate Protection League (IPPL) had also recommended the Limbe Wildlife Centre as a possible home for the four gorillas.

Goodall, whose institute performs research and wildlife conservation projects, said that sending the gorillas to a sanctuary would discourage further commercial trade in the highly endangered species and would help educate young Africans about the importance of wildlife protection in order to discourage illegal hunting.

She also expressed her disappointment with the Taiping Zoo for contributing to the illegal trade of endangered species.

"I was saddened to learn that, despite all the outreach and education concerning the endangered status of gorillas, the Taiping Zoo has contributed to their plight by acquiring individuals caught in the wild," she said.

Goodall stressed that no party should be allowed to profit directly or indirectly from the gorillas and called on the government to identify and prosecute "all those who played a role in the illegal and unethical transactions" to bring the animals to Malaysia.

However, she commended the government, which announced on Oct 10 that it had decided to surrender the gorillas and send them to a breeding facility that would be decided by the Cites secretariat.

"I am indeed pleased that your government will confiscate the illegal shipment of four young gorillas from Nigeria to Malaysia on the recommendation of the Cites secretariat," she said.

Exchange program

Under Cites, all commercial trade involving wild-born gorillas is outlaws except in cases with a conservation agenda.

The gorillas in Taiping are believed to have been captured in the wild in Cameroon and smuggled into Nigeria before being exported to Malaysia in January this year using false information on official documents.

According to the IPPL, which is following the case closely, a company in Bayan Lepas, Penang, called NigerCom Solutions Sdn Bhd run by a man named Tunde Odukoya is believed to have imported the gorillas.

According to a report in The Star on Oct 12, a Penang-based company received RM 240,000 from the Taiping Municipal Council for the animals.

Taiping Zoo director Kevin Lazarus had earlier claimed that the gorillas were part of an exchange program with Nigeria's Ibadan Zoo that would see sun bears and Malayan tigers sent to Ibadan in exchange for the gorillas.

However, when contacted on Oct 12, the Wildlife Department said that no animals had been sent there from Malaysia.