Taiping Four Gorillas Go Home
The gorillas known as the Taiping Four are finally home. Kenya Airways sponsored the flight on Friday. They were smuggled to
“Overwhelming all though, is the sense that something incredibly important has been achieved today. We’re sending an equivocal message to those who trade in endangered wildlife that their dreadful activities will no longer be tolerated,” said Christina Pretorius of the International Fund for Animal Welfare (www.ifaw.org).
They are guessing the gorillas are about six years old and they are being sent to a wild life centre, which is a sanctuary where they can finally spend the rest of their lives.
The zoo is going to miss them but is glad to have been involved with both the gorillas and the fight to stop illegal animal smuggling.
It’s cute how one gorilla is so outgoing and one is a recluse. My one daughter and son are opposites that way as well. I hope that they can remain settled and live the rest of their lives in peace at the sanctuary.
In this older clip, Neil Greenwood from the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW) talks about the gorillas, how they each have their own unique personalities and how they are planning to move them with as little stress as possible. Because so much attention was created with the Taiping Four I think they have helped more people become aware of how widespread the illegal smuggling of endangered animals has become.
- To read about some other endangered animals, check out the Top Ten Birds in Decline.
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