Research facility destroyed by locals after trained Chimp steals and

We support our Publishers and Content Creators. You can view this story on their website by CLICKING HERE.

A famous tool-using chimpanzee living near a Guinea research center reportedly ripped a baby from her mother’s arms and then killed her.

The mother, Seny Zogba, told Reuters that she was working in a cassava field when the chimpanzee, one of two surviving male chimpanzees in the area, came up from behind, grabbed her eight-month-old baby, and ran off into the forest.

The mutilated body of the infant was later found about 1.9 miles away.

“Witnesses claimed the baby girl had been eviscerated by the chimp, perhaps using tools,” according to The Times. “The organs had been harvested for food, some reports said.”

The baby’s death prompted a large angry crowd to ransack the Bossou Environmental Research Institute, “destroying and setting fire to equipment including drones, computers and over 200 documents,” according to Reuters.

“Papers and equipment including computers, camera traps, and drones were piled up and set on fire, gutting the international research facility.” the Times noted. “Only when the army deployed was calm restored.”

“It’s the way she was killed, that’s what angered the population,” Joseph Doré, a member of the group that attacked the facility, told the Times.

He added that hunger had likely driven the chimpanzee to kill.

“A project to plant a new green corridor to connect the Bossou chimps with other groups over the mountain had displaced farmers from their land and left both animals and humans short of food, he said,” the Times wrote.

“In the past, the village had the space to grow enough food to comfortably share with the chimps, Doré said. Fewer fields now meant that neither humans nor animals were eating well.

Moussa Koya, another local, said the food shortage had recently led to the chimpanzees engaging in aggressive crop-raiding, sometimes injuring women and children in the process.

“It was not their will [to be violent] but it has become the habit of the chimpanzees,” Koya said.

Gen Yamakoshi, the chief researcher at the Bossou Institute, thinks it’s even worse than that.

“They no longer fear humans,” he told the Times, though he steered clear of blaming them. “It is not clear if the accidents are as a result of food or excitement. It is similar behavior to how chimps treat one another. If they are excited they cannot control their behavior.”

Oddly familiar story. Chimp scholar eviscerates baby. Local mob ransacks lab at the chimp sanctuary, blaming them for attack. Ecologist says chimps need more resources in their community, but Japanese scientist believes it was a death of exuberance: the ape just got too excited. pic.twitter.com/22YrKpgXWS

— Paul Hundred, GED (@paul_hundred) September 26, 2024

Yamakoshi believes the chimpanzee responsible for the baby’s death is Jeje, a 27-year-old, though he has doubts that any mutilation occurred. Jeje’s mother, Jire, is one of two surviving female chimpanzees, bringing the total in the area to just four.

Aside from this incident, the chimpanzees in the Bossou area have long been famous for their ability to use tools.

“Their exceptional use of technology to process food has inspired headlines around the world, as well as the David Attenborough-narrated BBC documentary Chimpanzees: Toolmakers of Bossou,” the Times added. “Studies of their mourning rituals, road navigation, and taste for fermented palm sap only stirred the curiosity of scientists and foreign tourists — increasing the risk of dangerous ‘over-habituation.’”

“The research site has for years provided many jobs to a remote community with few opportunities for its younger members. But Yamakoshi can accept that local resentment has built towards outsiders’ plans for the chimps and the land that has left many locals ‘feeling left behind’. Little remains now of the facility, said Paul Lamah, the head of the institute. Sacks of cement stockpiled to build a new library and conference center have been ripped open with machetes,” according to the Times.

Senior Staff Writer — [email protected]
Writers and editors can be contacted at [email protected] with feedback, tips, or corrections.

V. Saxena is a staff writer with a decade of experience as a professional writer, and a lifetime of experience as an avid news junkie. He holds a degree in computer technology from Purdue University. Saxena also contributes to BizPac Review.