By Helen Briggs BBC News
23 February 2018
The world's rarest chimpanzee has
been captured on camera in the remote forests of Nigeria.
The Nigeria-Cameroon chimp was
seen at various locations within Gashaka Gumti National Park, raising hopes for
its future survival.
Conservationists also recorded
the first sighting in the country of a giant pangolin.
The park is regarded as a
national treasure, but its wildlife is under threat from pressures such as
poaching.
Researchers from Chester Zoo,
working with the Nigeria National Park Service, surveyed over 1,000 square
kilometres of the national park.
Known for its mountain
rainforests, savannah woodlands and rolling grasslands, it is home to some of
West Africa's most endangered animals.
The cameras spotted some animals
that have never been recorded before in the area and others, like chimps, which
are rarely seen.
Stuart Nixon, the Africa Field
Programme Co-ordinator at Chester Zoo, said confirmation of the locations of
chimps was an important discovery.
"Gashaka's been regarded for
many years as having the biggest population of this Nigeria-Cameroon chimp,
which is the rarest chimp subspecies," he said.
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