Bonobos, the great apes threatened with extinction which resolve disputes by having sex, have been given a sanctuary near Kinshasa where they wait to return to their home in the forests of the vast Democratic Republic of Congo.
"Lola ya bonobos", the paradise of the bonobos, is a 30-hectare forest run by the association Friends of the Bonobos, which over the last ten years has taken care of animals which have escaped being killed for the illegal bushmeat trade.
"We recover the orphans, which the environment minister has confiscated from the markets after their mothers have been killed, in accordance with the Convention on the International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES)," explained association president Claudine Andre.
In front of some 20 ministers and delegates visiting the sanctuary and who have come to Kinshasa for an international conference on the great apes, Andre explained how the bonobos were "incapable of surviving without affection".
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