Three Baby Chimpanzees Kidnapped from Animal Sanctuary; Abductors Demand for Six-Figure Ransom [Video]

Three baby chimpanzees have been kidnapped from an animal sanctuary in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), according to circulating media reports on Saturday, September 23.

The animal enclosure is facing demands for ransom money.

The abductors reportedly want an "unspecified six-figure ransom" during a proof-of-life video, which is only one of the many messages sent by a kidnapping gang.

The three baby chimps, aged between two and five, were snatched from their enclosure at the middle of the night from the JACK Primate Rehabilitation Center in the city of Lubumbashi, located in southern DRC earlier in September.

Since then, the gang responsible for the abduction sent multiple messages, including videos, threatening to kill the primates if their ransom money demand is not met by authorities.

Sanctuary officials have expressed their concern and determination to save the baby apes from the kidnappers.

While seem to be an isolated case, animal kidnapping and wildlife trafficking do occur in the DRC and other countries in Africa as a transit hub to the rest of the world.

Regardless, the chimpanzee ransom for money scheme is being considered by officials to be the first of its kind in DRC and worldwide.

Kidnapped Chimpanzees

The sanctuary is called also Young Animal Confiscated in Katanga, where JACK is the abbreviation in French, and is founded and owned by Franck Chantereau.

In spite of the animal welfare advocacy of the sanctuary, it is located between the DRC and Zambia border, a key route from Congo to South Africa used by smugglers to traffic apes in the region and to the rest of the world.

It was around 3:00 a.m. local time on September 9 in DRC when the kidnappers broke in the sanctuary, taking away three out of the five baby chimps named Cesar, Hussein, and Monga who were originally rescued so far this year.

An hour after the break-in, Chantereau's wife received three messages and a video showing the abducted chimps from the kidnappers.

The sanctuary head said the perpetrators informed them that they are planning to kidnap their children who were supposed to take a vacation at their residence.

However, the children did not arrive, so it prompted the kidnappers to take the three baby apes, demanding a large amount of ransom from the family, as cited by CNN.

Chimpanzee Kidnap for Ransom

Videos have circulated on social media showed the situation of Monga, whose arms were tied above her head in a room.

Meanwhile, the two other young chimpanzees Hussein and Cesar were seen fleeing away from their captors, according to Al Arabiya news.

In the Twitter page of JACK Primate Rehabilitation Center, the footage posted on September 21 showed the ordeal being faced by the baby primates.

The video below was reportedly taken by the kidnappers.

It has been two weeks already since Chantereau received proof-of-life evidence from the kidnappers.

Despite the risks, the sanctuary owner said he will not yield to the demands of the abductors since it will create a potential precedent for kidnap for ransom, even for monkeys and other animals, CNN reported.