All language subtitles for Trafficked.with.Mariana.van.Zeller.S04E05.1080p.WEB.h264-EDITH

[♪ rhythmic drumming]

[fire crackling]

[slicing]

[shouting].

[Mariana Van Zeller]
Tension's very high right now.

Everybody's yelling.

They're unhappy that we're here,

possibly filming
some of this stuff.

[shouting].

[Mariana Van Zeller] The
Democratic Republic of Congo

or DRC is one of the most
breathtaking places on Earth.

But a brutal colonial history,
political instability,

and dire poverty
have also shaped it

as a nation of extreme violence.

[Police Officer] Okay. Go.

[Mariana Van Zeller] But
now they're saying we can go.

Go on?

[loud chatter].

[Mariana Van Zeller] Okay.
I'll go with you.

So this is the local uh,
port and the local market.

And this is where we,
we know that there is

bushmeat being sold.

Obviously, we stand out
like sore thumbs here

with the cameras.

Everybody's like
looking at us.

[chatter]

[Mariana Van Zeller] In the
DRC, approximately two million

pounds of bushmeat,
butchered forest animals,

are eaten every year.

Regulations on the trade are
murky, with illegally-obtained

animals regularly offered up
for sale beside legal ones.

[shouting]

[Mariana Van Zeller] Which
explains why almost nobody

wants us filming here.

[shouting]

[Mariana Van Zeller]
There's dried fish being sold.

These fried worms.

And, yeah, right behind me,
there's a monkey being sold.

They're actually trying
to cover it up right now.

I've been told that when
you see bushmeat for sale in

markets like this,

live animals may also
be hidden nearby.

And that's what I'm looking for,

endangered chimps,
gorillas, and bonobos

that have been captured
in the forest and

trafficked to the city,

part of a multibillion dollar
black market that threatens

the very existence
of the world's great apes.

[shouting]

[theme music plays]

[Mariana Van Zeller] A recent
report by conservation

biologists predicts that
chimps and gorillas will lose

about 85% of their homelands
in the next 30 years.

Protecting these endangered
animals is a race against time,

because in addition
to habitat loss,

experts are reporting
the existence of

transnational crime
groups that are

snatching animals and
selling them overseas

for astronomical sums.

This is what brings me to the
Democratic Republic of Congo.

I want to understand the black
market for these species,

known as great apes, and to
track down some of the people

responsible for
this gruesome trade.

[Adams Cassinga] Wildlife
trafficking is the fourth most

lucrative crime in the world.

We are talking between
$20 and $30 billion.

The DRC is the only country in
the world which has got three

of the four great apes.

And here in the Congo Basin,

primates, in general,
are paying the price.

[Mariana Van Zeller]
Adams Cassinga is an activist

whose organization,
Conserv Congo,

infiltrates trafficking networks

and tries to
rescue at-risk apes.

[Adams Cassinga] A great ape
is the closest cousin

to a human.

It is as smart as we are.

We are watching it but
it's also watching us.

And when it sees you,
it ducks...

then it peeps again.

Only a chimp can do that.

[Mariana Van Zeller]
Scientists have determined

that we share an astonishing
98.8% of our DNA sequence

with chimpanzees.

They organize their social
relationships in ways similar

to humans and are capable
of complex communication.

They know intense friendships
and rivalries, and also

experience many emotions
that we as humans know well.

Among them, joy,
empathy, anger, and fear.

They also excel at
problem-solving.

[Adams Cassinga] It's very
difficult to catch a great ape

into a snare.

I'm not saying it's
impossible but it's very rare.

So the only way to
catch a great ape is a gun.

That's what kills an ape.

[Mariana Van Zeller] By killing
the family around it.

[Adams Cassinga] Yes.

[Mariana Van Zeller] And
taking the baby chimps.

[Adams Cassinga] Great
apes flock in families.

And before you can take a baby
away from them, you've got to

kill ten of them
to have just one.

[Mariana Van Zeller] That
is such a crazy number.

Given how protective we
humans are of our babies,

it makes sense.

And yet it's almost impossible
to fathom that there are

people out there who are willing
to slaughter entire families.

[Adams Cassinga] We have
what we refer to as tiers.

[Mariana Van Zeller] Okay.

[Adams Cassinga] When it
comes to wildlife trafficking.

Tier one being the hunter who
kills the animal but leaves.

[Mariana Van Zeller]
Who kills or catches,

if they want it alive.

[Adams Cassinga]
Kills and catches.

-Yeah.
-Both at the same time.

You cannot catch
before killing.

Tier two is what we
refer to as a transporter.

These are the people who
transport the products or

the species to these
areas, urban centers.

And when he reaches here,

there will be somebody
waiting there.

We call him a marketer.

-Uh-hmm.
-This is tier three.

So he connects with everyone.

[Mariana Van Zeller] So you,
you've actually found, you've

caught some of
these guys in your.

[Adams Cassinga] Of course.
That's what we do every day.

[Mariana Van Zeller]
Right. That's...

It's an uphill battle.

Across Sub-Saharan Africa, the
clips of ape rescues document

tedious and
dangerous operations,

which sometimes free animals

but often end up
simply recording tragedies.

[Adams Cassinga] If we had
arrived here two days ago,

we're going to find it alive.

But she's been shot.

And, as you can
see, she had a baby.

She has been breastfeeding.

They only have a baby
once every five years.

It's a pity.

[Mariana Van Zeller] And
what about the hunting?

Where is that
happening right now?

[Adams Cassinga] Anywhere
there's a forest, there's a,

there's a poacher.

[Mariana Van Zeller] Uh-hmm.

And all of them willing to kill
great apes and hunt great apes?

[Adams Cassinga] They will kill
anything that comes across.

This is a very harsh place.

[Mariana Van Zeller] To start
our investigation, we head to

where Adams says there's a
lot of poaching activity,

the Kahuzi-Biega National Park,

a protected region
in the eastern DRC.

But getting to the park,
like many things in the Congo,

requires time,
money, and connections.

The Congo cannot be
traversed by road.

In fact, only about 5% of
roads in the DRC are paved.

So our trip begins with a
two-hour flight east to the

city of Goma.

Then a four-hour
ferry to Bukavu.

And, finally, a two hour
drive in four-by-fours,

accompanied by a prayer.

[Horeb Bulambo] Father, we
pray so that you would be at

our departure and at our arrival
and our returning time.

Father...

[Mariana Van Zeller] We have
been joined by Horeb Bulambo,

a renowned Congolese
journalist, who, in the past,

has braved these
treacherous roads and

made contact with poachers.

[Horeb Bulambo] In the name
of Jesus Christ. Amen.

[All] Amen.

[Mariana Van Zeller]
So do you guys do that

every time you go out?

[Mariana Van Zeller] Have you
been, you've been up

several times before?

[Horeb Bulambo] Several
times, yeah. Yeah. Yeah.

[Mariana Van Zeller] And
which is why also we're all

wearing protective gear.

[Horeb Bulambo] Okay.
Thank you.

[Mariana Van Zeller] Okay.

Horeb has learned that an
active band of poachers

is operating 20
miles north of here.

But in this war-torn
region of the DRC,

it's a very risky journey.

We're entering the park, but
it also is ungoverned territory.

This is very concentrated
area for military checkpoints.

There's another
one right here.

We just passed by one.

And that's because we're
entering, basically,

rebel territory.

[gunfire]

For over 25 years, this area
has served as a staging ground

for armed rebel groups.

The stories of robberies,
killings, and rapes here

are all too real.

Coming up on a very muddy,

I mean, it's a
crater in the floor.

Holy moly.

He says to go here.

Oh, now, he's stuck.

[Horeb Bulambo] Let's
push from the front.

[Man] That's it.

[Horeb Bulambo]
No, it's blocked.

We can't go forward.

[Mariana Van Zeller] Not the
best place to get stuck,

for sure.

In fact, it's
one of the worst.

It's so dangerous that should
our team fail in our attempt

to pull the car free, we've
been told to abandon it

rather than wait for help.

[speaking native language].

[Man] Woo!

[♪ mysterious ambient music]

[Mariana Van Zeller]
Thank you.

[Horeb Bulambo] Yeah.

-Okay. This is it?
-Yeah. This is the way.

[Mariana Van Zeller]
Go from here?

Four long hours later, we've
arrived in an area where Horeb

has arranged a meeting with a
group suspected of trafficking

and killing great apes.

[Horeb Bulambo] Down there.

[Mariana Van Zeller] Okay.

[Horeb Bulambo] He's hidden
in a hidden place.

[speaking native language].

[Mariana Van Zeller]
Oh, this is it.

This is where they
have their camp.

[♪ mysterious tense music]

[speaking native language].

[Mariana Van Zeller] Okay.

He's putting on his
disguise right here.

We've made contact with a man
we're calling Jean, the leader

of a clan of Batwa Pygmies

that is rumored to
be poaching great apes.

[Mariana Van Zeller] Oh, wow.
Holy moly.

It's a, so it's a
trap, basically.

They got, okay. Oh.

[Mariana Van Zeller]
Very delicious?

[laughing]

The Batwa are an
at-risk group in the DRC.

Compared to the
majority Bantu people,

who represent 80%
of the population,

they number less than 1%

and have experienced
widespread discrimination.

[Mariana Van Zeller] Wow.

So he's saying, basically,
that the government calls this

a park, a protected area,
but they call it, this,

their home, their land.

They also say that
you're poaching, illegally,

endangered species.

[Mariana Van Zeller] On a prior
trip here, Horeb had been told

that this group was catching
chimpanzees in the park.

But if that's not the case,

we've just taken
a very treacherous journey

for nothing.

We're not here to judge.

[Jean] Yeah.

[Mariana Van Zeller] We're
just here to understand and

ask questions.

[Mariana Van Zeller] Hmm.

[Mariana Van Zeller] While
higher level traffickers might

ultimately earn
life-changing sums,

Jean's take is only
enough to feed his family

for about a week.

[Mariana Van Zeller] Like
humans, chimps normally

give birth to just
one baby at a time.

And for the first five years
of its life, that baby

never strays far
from its mother.

When you hear the baby
crying and screaming and

the mother coming,
do you feel bad?

Do you feel sad?

[chopping]

[Mariana Van Zeller] It's only
after we finished talking and

a measure of trust has been
established that they decide

to take me to one more
location in the bush.

So the animals try
to come through here,

they step on this,
and they're trapped.

[Mariana Van Zeller] Jean's
group is collecting $10 for a

baby chimp, a pittance even
for first-tier traffickers.

But it's
complicated to lay blame.

Although they have
drawn first blood,

the men I've just met

feel that they
have no other option.

[Adams Cassinga] Let's not
think in a monolithic way.

Not every poacher do this
because that's what they

wanted to do.

But there are those who
are compelled to do it

because of life's hardships.

[Mariana Van Zeller] Uh-hmm.

[Adams Cassinga] If you go in
the so-called "protected areas"

are, there are no schools.

There are no hospitals.

There is nothing.

So if the state
is going to say,

"Don't touch. Get out of there,"

it has to come up with
ways and means on how

these people can also
live a decent lifestyle.

[Mariana Van Zeller] In the
absence of legitimate

opportunities, the black
market provides its own.

In this case, tier two
smugglers who transport

captured animals and bring
them to major cities in the DRC.

I'm wondering what sort of
quick money they can make for

a baby ape they've
just purchased for $10.

It's been incredibly difficult

to make contact
with a transporter,

but, finally, one of Horeb's
contacts comes through.

The guy we're meeting
asked us to meet him here,

in a church on the outskirts
of town, in a place where

he sort of felt safe.

We don't know much about him.

We know we can
call him Jacques.

That's what he
wants to be known as.

And that he was
involved in the trade.

[door shuts]

[singing in foreign language]

[door opens]

[door shuts]

[Mariana Van Zeller] Thank you
for coming.

[Mariana Van Zeller] At the
edge of a protected forest

in the Democratic
Republic of Congo,

I'm meeting a man who says
he's wanted by the police.

Are you religious?

Is that why you wanted to
meet here in the church?

[Mariana Van Zeller] Uh-hmm.

So can you tell
me what you do?

[Mariana Van Zeller] How many
chimps do you think you've sold?

[Mariana Van Zeller] And who
were they? They were...

[Mariana Van Zeller] How
much were you buying the

chimpanzees and how much
were you selling them for?

[Mariana Van Zeller] But how
do you carry the chimpanzees,

the baby chimpanzees?

Where? In a cage or, where?

[Mariana Van Zeller] Were you
ever stopped by the authorities?

[Mariana Van Zeller] Oui?

[speaking English]
How much money?

[Mariana Van Zeller]
$50 goes a long way here.

It's about a month's wage
for an average worker.

And when poverty meets
weak institutions,

as it does throughout the DRC,

it sets the stage for a
thriving black market.

Why did you stop?

[Mariana Van Zeller] For tier
two middlemen like Jacques,

the next step is to ship apes up
the Congo River to the capital,

Kinshasa, and hope
they survive the journey.

[Adams Cassinga] So along the
way, they will die of disease,

they will die of stress,
they will die of hunger,

they will die of suffocation
because they're being concealed,

and so on and so forth.

[Mariana Van Zeller]
Adams Cassinga says the babies

that reach the capital alive
will now be sold to traffickers

on the third tier.

[Adams Cassinga] These are the
movers and the shakers

of the trade.

He's gonna charge you $5,000,
and he had, for something

which he has
bought for maybe $500.

[Mariana Van Zeller] To locate
third-tier traffickers,

those who have contact
with foreign buyers,

Adams has suggested I visit a
live animal market in Kinshasa.

[Mariana Van Zeller] Yeah. Okay.

So we're gonna try and go film
this live animal market that

he says is right on
the side of the street.

It's about 10
minutes from here.

Oh, wow.
You see that?

[clinking]

Basically, I can see there's
like a monkey that's chained

and a bunch of other animals

right here on the
side of the road.

Oh, wow.

[birds chirping]

[Mariana Van Zeller] Hello.
Good. I'm Mariana.

Gadhafi?

- Oui.
-Gadhafi.

[Mariana Van Zeller] So he's
saying they're selling this,

this monkey for $250.

[Mariana Van Zeller]
130 for the grey parrots.

These are actually
endangered species.

They're called grey parrots.

They're endangered.

There's five of them here.

And a bunch more
over there, actually.

Despite the open trade in
endangered animals,

like these grey parrots,

I've heard that animal
sellers won't risk

selling chimps or other
great apes out in the open.

So I'm talking to this man,
Gadhafi, to see if he'll

open up about how
they're trafficked.

What type of a monkey is this?

[Mariana Van Zeller] A baboon?

[Mariana Van Zeller]
Six months?

Oh, so it's a baby baboon.

[Mariana Van Zeller] $650.

The owner of the market sees
him talking to us and decides

he wants to talk too, but he
wants his identity protected.

So baboon, monkey, grey parrots,

rabbits, python, turtle.

[Mariana Van Zeller] He said
it would be dangerous for him

to give us any names.

But Gadhafi here was also
looking at me and trying to

say that it's something that
we can talk when we leave this

place, that he can give
us some more information.

Gadhafi has agreed to meet us
out of earshot of his boss.

Do you know any chimps for sale
here in Kinshasa, in the city?

[Mariana Van Zeller] How much
do they pay, the people that

buy for you?

[Mariana Van Zeller] Have
you ever been caught by

the authorities?

[Mariana Van Zeller] Do you
know where the chimps go

when they leave the country?

[Mariana Van Zeller] You
don't care where it goes?

[Mariana Van Zeller] You know,
unfortunately, I kept pressing

and trying to get to possibly
see a live chimp somewhere.

You know, they weren't
really willing to reveal

much information about that.

They say that usually
it's actually done

on command per order.

So once somebody comes
here and orders a chimp,

he can get it.

It's rare that baby
chimps are intercepted,

but when it happens,
many are brought here,

to the Lwiro
Rehabilitation Center.

Wow. There's chimps right here.

That's a really big one here.

Wow.

These are the
so-called "lucky ones".

Many were rescued from
poachers or outgrew

their utility as pets.

But in all cases, they were
taken in after young lives

filled with trauma.

How old is this guy?

[Mariana Van Zeller] Luis Flores
is head veterinarian here.

What's their state when
they're first rescued,

when they first arrive?

Mentally, how do
they arrive here?

[Mariana Van Zeller] A lot
of these babies have actually

seen their mothers being
killed in front of them.

[Mariana] To export, as part
of a trafficking network?

[Mariana Van Zeller] So on the
one hand, you have people who

kill them for meat.

[Luis Flores] Yeah.

[Mariana Van Zeller] And on
the other, you have the people

that catch them and...

[Mariana Van Zeller]
So where are they going?

[Mariana Van Zeller]
So the UAE, Dubai, and...

[Luis Flores] Yeah.

[Daniel Stiles] The Arabian Gulf
is the biggest market now

for the great apes
as exotic pets,

and to go into these big safari
park-type zoos, wildlife parks.

[Mariana Van Zeller] Back in LA,
I meet up with Daniel Stiles,

one of the world's foremost
experts on wildlife trafficking.

He confirms what I heard
in the DRC, that one of the

biggest markets for baby apes
is currently in the Middle East.

So this is how they sell them?

[Daniel Stiles] Yup.

So this is like an advertisement
by a supplier in Kinshasa.

[Mariana Van Zeller] Yeah.

[Daniel Stiles] He says, "Does
anybody want these chimps?"

And if anybody does, whoop,
they're on a plane and they're

off to Dubai.

These are the ones that didn't
survive the poor transport.

That one's been
damaged in capture.

[Mariana Van Zeller]
You can see his head.

[Daniel Stiles] Yeah.

[Mariana Van Zeller] He
has injuries on his head.

[Daniel Stiles]
That's a gorilla.

[Mariana Van Zeller] Ugh.

[Daniel Stiles] They're the most
desired of the great apes.

I've got prices actually offered
by a trafficker in Dubai.

The equivalent
is over $500,000.

[Mariana Van Zeller]
Half a million dollars?

[Daniel Stiles] Half
a million dollars.

[Mariana Van Zeller]
For a gorilla?

[Daniel Stiles] Of which
there are many in the Gulf.

Many.

A lot of private wildlife
parks are springing up,

belonging to private
individuals, and they're

patterned after ones
we have here in the US.

[Mariana Van Zeller] Hmm.

[Daniel Stiles] And I think
you've heard of Doc Antle.

[Mariana Van Zeller] Uh-hmm.
I have indeed.

Three years ago, I
investigated Doc Antle

and his operation
in South Carolina,

a so-called "animal sanctuary"

that was charging visitors
$500 to take selfies

with baby animals.

[Doc Antle] I am the only one
qualified in this activity

of raising cubs.

[Mariana Van Zeller] Antle was
later arrested by the FBI and

has recently been convicted
of four felony counts

related to wildlife trafficking.

[Daniel Stiles] He is one of
the prime ones that have

sort of inspired
these guys, I think.

They're linking the
wildlife park with the

social media accounts.

[Mariana Van Zeller] Uh-hmm.

[Daniel Stiles] To
drum up business.

That's the biggest new thing
that's evolving now in,

in great ape trade.

[Mariana Van Zeller] Once upon
a time in Hollywood,

great apes were routinely used
to drum up attention and dollars

at the box office.

Today, the screens are
smaller, but the same dynamic

is at play overseas,

where baby animals draw
likes on social media

and attract paying customers
to private zoos.

[cheering]

But now that I know how the
market works, it's impossible

to see a baby chimp in
captivity without wondering

just how it
reached foreign soil.

That's why I set my
sights on investigating

this social media post

about a baby chimp
named Koba by Jasem Ali,

a man who calls himself
the UAE lion king.

[Mariana Van Zeller]
Given the complexities of

captive breeding programs,

Daniel Stiles told me that it
was very unlikely that

there are any
located in the UAE.

So how would this baby chimp,
named Koba,

leave his home country,

possibly the DRC,
where I had just been,

and suddenly arrive in
a zoo 3,000 miles away?

I wanted to go to the UAE to
investigate, but our request

to film in the
country was denied.

So I sought help
from an insider.

[Zara Hovelsas] The people
you are up against are

extremely powerful.

They have a lot of money and
they can just, you know,

do whatever they want.

[Mariana Van Zeller] Zara
Hovelsas is a Swedish national

who lived as an expat in
the UAE, and spent years

volunteering and caring for
animals at the RAK Zoo,

owned by Jasem Ali.

So we've got a big tiger and
somebody on top of the tiger.

Is that him?

[Zara Hovelsas] That
would be him, yeah.

[Mariana] Lionking_UAE?
Is that, that's his...

[Zara Hovelsas] Uh-huh.

[Mariana Van Zeller] Jasem Ali
opened RAK Zoo with government

support in 2009.

He claims his mission is to
rescue animals neglected or

mistreated by
their previous owner.

And this is the zoo that we've
actually been investigating as

you know, because they
have a new baby chimp

that has just arrived.

-Koba.
-Koba. Yeah.

[Zara Hovelsas] The comments
are just, people are loving it.

"I want one.
I want to see it."

[Mariana Van Zeller] "Oh, my
God. He looks so cute." Yeah.

This one says, "I could
watch this on repeat.

The love and tenderness he
gives and receives from the

animals, so attractive."

This baby couldn't
have been born there.

[Zara Hovelsas] No.

[Mariana Van Zeller] They have
to have come from somewhere in

Africa probably, right?

[Zara Hovelsas] Yeah.
Exactly. Yeah.

For that baby to be there in
his arms now, her whole family

would have had to be shot.

She would have been pried
from her dead mother's arms,

shipped over in the
most horrific way,

or on someone's private jet.

[Mariana Van Zeller] So you
still have people that

you work with?

[Zara Hovelsas] Yeah. Yeah.

[Mariana Van Zeller] And do
you think that they are people

who can help us try to figure
out where this animal came from?

[Zara Hovelsas] Definitely.
Yeah. Yeah. For sure.

[Mariana Van Zeller] Less than
a week later, Zara asked two

friends to visit the RAK Zoo,
where a handler woke Koba up

so they could
purchase time with her.

[Zoo Worker] Koba. Koba.

[Zoo Worker] No. No.
She's here.

But before, we put, you know.

[Mariana Van Zeller] While we
can't come out and say that

these claims are untrue, we
can say that at one year old,

a chimp is normally
inseparable from its mother.

And when Zara followed up
with the same trainer,

he contradicted what he told
the visitors and said that

he didn't actually know if the
baby's family was at the zoo.

We reached out to Jasem Ali to
ask if he wanted to respond

to our story.

Through an assistant, he
repeated the claim that

Koba was born at his zoo.

Although, when asked to
provide any evidence,

they refused.

Zara says that illegal wildlife
trafficking in the UAE

is widespread, evidenced
by sellers openly advertising

animals on social media.

So I can reach out to
any of them and say,

"Hey, do you guys happen
to have a chimp for sale?"

[Zara Hovelsas] Yeah, and I see
in the comments all the time,

"How much do you sell them for?"

And then they
probably DM them.

[Mariana Van Zeller] And, in
fact, that's what Zara did

right after our conversation

and found a trafficker
on Instagram.

[text tones]

[text tones]

An animal that may have been
bought for $10 to $50 in the

very forest I just left is
now on sale in the UAE

for $350,000,

and, most likely,
it got there illegally.

For great apes to cross most
international borders,

they must carry paperwork
authorized by CITES,

a global treaty between 184
parties that issues permits to

regulate the trade of captive
wild animals and maintains a

database to track
their movements.

[Ivonne Higuero] The world
is looking to us and has

confidence in us
to play our part

in addressing these challenges.

[Mariana Van Zeller]
Ivonne Higuero is the

secretary general of CITES.

So any great ape, any
chimpanzee, any bonobo,

any gorilla that is leaving,
for example, the DRC,

that trade is not
legal, correct?

[Ivonne Higuero] Normally.
Normally, yes.

[Mariana Van Zeller] We spent
some time in the DRC, in the

Congo, investigating
the wildlife trafficking,

particularly of great apes.

And if you go on social media,
for example, you'll find a lot

of chimpanzees and sometimes
even gorillas and bonobos in

places like Dubai, in zoos,

in safaris, and private homes.

We were told by experts too
that these great apes,

that it's not possible for these
chimpanzees, for example,

to be bred in captivity.

That they, if they have
baby chimpanzees,

they must be coming
from the wild.

Is that correct?

[Ivonne Higuero] They're very
difficult to breed in captivity.

If there are baby chimpanzees,
this is a concern because

obviously, yes, there must be
something that is going on.

[Mariana Van Zeller] So this
is the one particular case

that I do want to bring to
your attention and I'd love if

you can investigate further.

It's a baby chimp call,
that goes by the name of

Kobo or Koba.

And he's at RAK Zoo.

He's about one year
old, more or less.

[Ivonne Higuero]
We will check.

That I can
definitely look into.

I will try to find out about
this particular chimpanzee.

[Mariana Van Zeller] But the
secretary general's office

later told us that they would
not investigate Koba unless

we could provide evidence that
the chimp was illegally taken

from the wild.

They suggested we reach out
to a local CITES delegate

in the UAE.

And we did.
Several times.

But they never
provided answers.

If it all feels like a
bureaucratic runaround,

it's because CITES has no
actual enforcement arm.

Even if it was determined
that Koba was trafficked,

CITES can't send a team
in to rescue him.

[speaking native language].

[Mariana Van Zeller] And
so the grim reality is that

protecting apes
requires an approach

that goes beyond treaties.

And in the DRC, that approach
includes putting AK-47s

in the hands of rangers.

[Mariana Van Zeller] In the
DRC, the race is on to protect

great apes before
they're killed for meat

or trafficked abroad.

Towards the end of my journey,
I joined a patrol with a group

of rangers led by a man
named Juvenal Muganka.

[Juvenal Muganka]
Be careful here.

[Mariana Van Zeller] The
greatest danger to gorillas is

habitat loss, but
there are others.

We're actually in rebel
territory, which is why a lot

of these guys are
also carrying guns,

in case there's poachers.

And there's a lot of
landmines in this area.

[Juvenal Muganka] Careful.
There is gorilla poop here.

[Mariana Van Zeller] Whoa.

So this is gorilla
poop right here?

[Juvenal Muganka] Yeah.

[Mariana Van Zeller] So we're
going in the right direction?

[Juvenal Muganka] Yeah.

[Mariana Van Zeller] So,
by nest, you mean this is

where they slept, this
was their bed last night.

[Juvenal Muganka]
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

The gorillas were
here last night.

[Mariana Van Zeller] Trekking
through the forest, you can

see what an incredibly
difficult place this is

to navigate, let alone patrol.

Juvenal?

[Juvenal Muganka] Yes?

[Mariana Van Zeller]
There you are.

It's really slippery here now.

[Juvenal Muganka] Yeah.
Be careful.

[Mariana Van Zeller] In two
hours, we've traveled barely

more than a mile.

And then as we enter a
particularly dense section of

the forest, the patrol stops.

[Juvenal Muganka]
Yeah. He's here.

[speaking native language].

[Mariana Van Zeller]
Oh, my God. It's right here.

Look, it's right here.

Oh my god.
It's right in there.

[speaking native language].

[mimicking growling]

[Mariana Van Zeller] He's
starting to make the noises.

Juvenal is starting to
make the growling noises.

[mimicking growling]

Oh, my God.

Come on. Let's go.

Right there.

[chewing]

This is crazy.

Nothing can prepare you
for this, the majesty of a

full-grown silverback,

not in a cage or
behind steel bars,

but as free as you or me,
in its own habitat,

caring for its family,
living without fear.

[Mariana gasping]

[♪ peaceful music]

[Mariana Van Zeller] The
mother is actually holding a

baby gorilla that was
born just last week.

Yeah, I mean, to know
that they're basically

killing the families,
killing the silverbacks

so they could take and
sell the baby gorillas,

so there's a lot of incentive
to kill these animals.

But still, you know, when
you're in the presence of

these animals here, it's
really hard to understand

how somebody could do that.

Yeah, so if we keep on this
way, you know, by the time

my son is my age, there
might be no gorillas left.

Like that's a really emotional
and sad, sad thought,

as beautiful as this moment is.

It really is special and
you feel so privileged to,

to be here and, and see this.

Juvenal, what does
it feel to you

every time you see a gorilla?

For, for me, it was incredibly
emotional, but for you?

[Mariana Van Zeller]
Juvenal, you're making me cry.

Do you think that in 30 years,
we'll still be able to see

gorillas in the
wild like this?

[Mariana Van Zeller] Compared
to all the other black markets

I've covered, this was one
of the most emotional for me.

I've got
goosebumps everywhere.

To know how much suffering,
how much death humans caused

to these great apes
is beyond imagination.

But there are
ways we can help.

We can take a stand against
the exploitation of apes for

entertainment
and reduce demand.

We can work to alleviate
poverty and help people

find alternatives to poaching.

And we can put more resources
into protecting great apes

in the wild and
preserving their habitats.

There is still time,
but barely.

Captioned by
Cotter Media Group.