Today I stepped in a snare while following chimpanzees in the forest.
I was so caught up in following the chimpanzees that I barely even
noticed the snare (it didn't deploy – fortunately). The field
assistants later told me that if the snare had worked – it would have
pulled wire taught around my ankle and hung me upside down by my foot…
Yikes.
Up to 25% of chimpanzees in Kibale and Budongo Forests have
snare-related injuries (i.e., missing hands or feet). Snares are
typically set by hunters who intend to catch duikers, bush pigs, or
other small mammals, but chimpanzees may become trapped in these
snares while walking through the forest. Chimpanzees can often free
themselves from the trap, but in trying to pull away from the snare –
a chimpanzee often inadvertently pulls the wire even tighter around
his/her limb. If no veterinary intervention is made, this often leads
to loss of circulation and gangrene – eventually resulting in the loss
of the affected limb. One juvenile male at Kibale, Max, was
unfortunate enough to lose both of his feet to two separate snare
traps. Amazingly though, Max still manages to walk and climb (albeit
at a slower pace than the other chimps). There are currently
snare-removal programs taking place at Kibale and other nearby
forests, where ex-hunters are employed to find and destroy forest
snares. Sadly though, snares continue to be a threat for wild
chimpanzees. Above are two photos of Twig, an adult male at Kibale who
lost his right hand to a snare.
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