World Chimpanzee Day: How DNA Analysis Helps Fight Poachers in Africa

World Chimpanzee Day has once again drawn attention to the serious threats facing these great apes. Beyond poaching and illegal trade, chimpanzees also suffer from habitat loss — as forests are cleared for agriculture and mining — as well as from diseases such as Ebola and even ordinary human flu.

Conservation organizations are increasingly turning to modern technology in the fight against the illegal capture of chimpanzees. One such tool is identifying the geographic origin of a rescued animal through DNA analysis of non-invasive samples, such as hair, saliva, or feces.

According to Jana Pluháčková, head of the zoological department at Ostrava Zoo and coordinator of the European EAZA chimpanzee breeding programme, samples are taken directly at the site where confiscated animals are seized. The DNA results are then compared against a reference database of samples from chimpanzees whose origin is already known. This method makes it possible to quickly and accurately pinpoint the region a particular animal was taken from, helping to expose hotspots of illegal trade across Africa.

Using this data, experts compile maps of illegal great ape trafficking hotspots, allowing conservation efforts in the wild to be targeted more effectively. More information about the project is available at apegenomicatlas.org, where visitors can also support chimpanzee protection initiatives — a fitting gesture on a symbolic day like World Chimpanzee Day.

Around Prague, based on reporting by ekolist.cz