On the Trail - Robin des Bois

and 6 kg. In the Chinese province of Yunnan, offering
a red panda skin is the omen of a happy marriage.
The fur can also be used in the manufacture
of hats. According to a CITES document from 1994,
the majority of these red pandas in Chinese zoos
were caught in the wild, especially Myanmar.
Seizure of 3 pelisses or sections of a pelisse
made out of red pandas (Ailurus fulgens, Appendix
I)
Kathmandu, Centre Region, Nepal
September 2013
An adult red panda measures 50 cm in body length
and 30 to 50 cm for the tail.
Felines
Tiger (Panthera tigris), leopard (Panthera pardus),
jaguar (Panthera onca) and ocelot (Leopardus
pardalis) are in Appendix I. Lion (Panthera
leo) is in Appendix II.
Total seizures from 1 st July to 30 th September
26 tiger, leopard and lion skins
Seizure of 2 leopard skins
Yaounde, Province of Centre, Cameroon
July 20, 2013-09-24
Investigations led police to intercept the vehicle of
leopard skin traffickers. One woman and one man
were arrested. They were headed to the home a
client in the city’s rich neighbourhood. They are part
of a trans-border criminal network trafficking wild
animals between Congo and Cameroon. The seizure
took place with the technical assistance of the Last
Great Ape Organisation -LAGA- NGO. A leopard skin
is worth around 10,000 euros. The 2 leopards were
poached recently. According to CITES, in 1992, the
leopard population was estimated to be 1,500 in
Cameroon and 730 in Congo. Without any recent
inventory, it would seem reasonable to drop a zero
from each of these figures.
Seizure of 2 leopard skins
Udham Singh Nagar District, State of Uttarakhand,
India
July 21, 2013
The man who was arrested is originally from Pithoragarh
(Uttarakhand).
Seizure of a lion skin
Mbandjock, Province of Centre, Cameroon
July 23, 2013
The man was arrested while trying to sell the skin.
He got it in 2012 but it is not known how he did. It
was 3 m long end 2 m wide. The skin was one of a
young lion. The operation was led with the technical
support of the LAGA. The last survivors live in
the center and north Cameroon in the Waza National
Park and the Benoué Biosphere Reserve. Development
of human activity and the construction
of a water dam in the park was cause of a rise in
poaching activities and reduction of natural prey
available for the lions.
Pricelia Tumenta, a professor at the Dschang University,
applauds this arrest and the efforts it shows
on the part of the Ministry of forests and wild fauna.
“During research on in the Waza National Park,
there were speculations and rumors of young lions
or lion parts being traded to neighboring countries
for various uses. However, there was no evidence as
strong as this case at hand. This might be the beginning
of an end to the trade in lions and lion parts.”
That is quite an optimistic declaration. If one can
realistically envisage an ending, it would be that
of the lions. From many thousands in Cameroon
at the beginning of the years 2000, there were no
more than 3 or 400 in 2007, and today are barely a
few dozen. Lions on Appendix I of CITES ? That is an
urgent goal !
© Lance H Martin
© Causes
On The Trail # 2. Robin des Bois
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