Episode Information

In late 2001, from the rain forests of Cameroon, four helpless baby western lowlands gorillas were snatched from their mothers who had certainly been killed by poachers for bush meat. The infant gorillas were later taken to Nigeria and kept in the Ibadan zoo where there was only one aging female gorilla. In 2002 documents certifying that the four gorillas were born in the Ibadan zoo were forged, hence the four gorillas were smuggled through South Africa to Malaysia. However they were soon confiscated by the Malaysian government which had learnt from the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES), that the four Gorillas had been illegally brought into Taipei Zoo. This film chronicles the step by step procedure of returning the ‘Taiping Four’ to their home in Cameroon. It features the Gorillas’ journey from the Pretoria Zoo which was their temporary home, and follows their voyage into the Limbe Wildlife Centre in Cameroon. Interviews with hunters and ex-hunters reveal the truths and myths about the bush meat trade and explain the world of poachers and gorilla hunters in the Cameroon. This is a world class story governed by emotive footage, it relates a memorable anecdote; and celebrates the role played by the Gorillas as they become true ambassadors, whilst traveling more countries than an average human being.