Potoooooooo
Contributor
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As tough as the trip was, we did make some interesting finds. One is the possible existence of a super-smuggler of endangered chimpanzees and orangutans who remains completely unknown to the public, though not necessarily to law enforcers. We now know his real name, but on my return in September we had only a nickname for him, the first half of which — Gorge — I use here, and the second half of which is the name of a country home to wild chimpanzees.
Gorge would still be unknown to us if an Egyptian conservation friend hadn’t mentioned him to me during our trip, at the end of August. She knew almost nothing about this man, but he was a foreigner and was stirring resentment among Egypt’s well established exotic animal sellers, many of whom keep their breeding facilities in a village near the Giza pyramids. An elder of one of those families had called our friend repeatedly to complain about this Gorge.
Shady dealers complaining about another shady dealer. When that happens, you know it could be big. And it happens to be a major tool we use to make breakthroughs.
We asked our conservation ally to work her network to shed some light on this character. It was to little avail: as I write this, she still claims she is being stonewalled. People there were “afraid” of Gorge, she told us in an email.
Egyptians have been relaying exotic animals, including chimpanzees, from Africa to collectors worldwide for generations. They are experts at it, and have come to see this business niche as an entitlement.
What kind of man scares people like them?
I would eventually come back to Gorge, but in an unexpected place.
As tough as the trip was, we did make some interesting finds. One is the possible existence of a super-smuggler of endangered chimpanzees and orangutans who remains completely unknown to the public, though not necessarily to law enforcers. We now know his real name, but on my return in September we had only a nickname for him, the first half of which — Gorge — I use here, and the second half of which is the name of a country home to wild chimpanzees.
Gorge would still be unknown to us if an Egyptian conservation friend hadn’t mentioned him to me during our trip, at the end of August. She knew almost nothing about this man, but he was a foreigner and was stirring resentment among Egypt’s well established exotic animal sellers, many of whom keep their breeding facilities in a village near the Giza pyramids. An elder of one of those families had called our friend repeatedly to complain about this Gorge.
Shady dealers complaining about another shady dealer. When that happens, you know it could be big. And it happens to be a major tool we use to make breakthroughs.
We asked our conservation ally to work her network to shed some light on this character. It was to little avail: as I write this, she still claims she is being stonewalled. People there were “afraid” of Gorge, she told us in an email.
Egyptians have been relaying exotic animals, including chimpanzees, from Africa to collectors worldwide for generations. They are experts at it, and have come to see this business niche as an entitlement.
What kind of man scares people like them?
I would eventually come back to Gorge, but in an unexpected place.