/ 24 March 1999

BABY CHIMP OFF TO ZAMBIA

ALPHIE, the baby chimpanzee rescued from a cage in Krugersdorp by the International Fund for Animal Welfare, is flying to Zambia on Friday. Alphie, who was found chained in a small cage in the home of a South African truck driver two weeks ago, is going to the Chimfunshi Wildlife Orphanage, a private sanctuary in northern Zambia, The Star newspaper reported on Wednesday. Ifaw bleieves the chimp was purchased by a South African truck driver in the Democratic Republic of Congo and smuggled into South Africa. Nature Conservation authorities will lay charges against the man as it is illegal to keep or trade in endangered animals.