Chimpanzee is rescued from boot of a car after being caught in a snare and beaten with an iron pipe by Angolan traffickers - only to lose his fight for life 11 days later

  • Chimpanzee discovered stuffed into the boot of a car by poachers in Angola 
  • Primate had been wounded by a snare, beaten and tied by the hands and feet 
  • Rescuers, who called the chimp Caita, had to amputate two fingers due to injury 
  • She survived for 11 days but sadly died, before captors were jailed wildlife crimes
  • WARNING GRAPHIC CONTENT 

This is the heartbreaking moment a chimpanzee was discovered in the boot of a car in Angola after being captured by wildlife poachers. 

Animal workers discovered the female chimp - which they named Caita - covered in lacerations from a snare used to capture her, and with her hands and feet bound.

Staff from charity Wild@Life, based in Germany, said Caita had been beaten with a metal rod and was so badly injured that two of her fingers had to be amputated.

Wildlife workers in Angola were shocked to find a female chimpanzee that had been badly wounded by a snare, tied up and beaten in the boot of a car in Angola

Wildlife workers in Angola were shocked to find a female chimpanzee that had been badly wounded by a snare, tied up and beaten in the boot of a car in Angola

The chimpanzee's wounded fingers
The chimpanzee's hand after the operation

The chimp's hand had been so badly wounded in the snare (left) that to of her fingers had to be amputated to prevent infection (right)

A spokesman for the charity explained they had been acting on a tip-off when they found Caita in the car on a busy street in Angola in August last year. 

'We could not believe our eyes when they met with the situation in front of us,' the spokesman said.

Two poachers who had captured the chimp and killed her family for meat were arrested, and having since been jailed

Two poachers who had captured the chimp and killed her family for meat were arrested, and having since been jailed

'A female chimpanzee was tied up by her wrists and feet by thick ropes, her fingers were hanging off and she was in a great deal of pain and distress. 

'She had been caught in a rusty snare, and her family murdered in front of her - they were to be sold for bushmeat.

'The two Poachers struck her across her back with an iron pipe, tied her up and threw her in the trunk of a car.'

The team took Caita to a nearby rescue centre where she survived for 11 days - slowly regaining her appetite as workers tried to treat her wounds.

But, sadly, she contacted tetanus from the snare and 11 days after being rescued she died from septic shock. 

It is not known how long Caita was held in the trunk of that car, or whether she was to be sold alive or killed and cut up a part of the trade in animal parts. 

Chimpanzees are often eaten as bushmeat, while their bones, blood, organs, and other body parts are used in various traditional medicines. 

The two poachers have since been jailed for wildlife crimes. 

A spokesman for Wild@Life added: 'Many are also sold to zoos and man-made safari parks where humans pay to keep them trapped and away from everything that is natural to them.

Caita undergoes and operation
Caita under anesthetic

Caita survived for 11 days after being rescued, but contracted tetanus from the rusty snare used to capture her and eventually died from septic shock

'They are sold to laboratories where they're tortured in the name of science, too.

'None of these animals belongs anywhere but in the wild with their families. 

'The ones who are rescued from humans are given everything possible to keep them safe and to enrich their lives but make no mistake, there is no replacement for their families and their wild homes.

'Wild@Life is continuously operating on the ground to rescue the victims of poaching.'

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