Claudine André

Claudine André ( born 1946 in La Hestre, Belgium ) is a Belgian- Congolese art dealer, animal rights activist and author.

Life

Claudine Andre was born in Belgium. At four years old she came to the Belgian Congo, as her father, a veterinarian, had then been appointed by the government there. In addition, Andres father was a government employee and plantation owner in what was then the Belgian Congo so that she could grow up in a still almost untouched nature.

With the end of Belgian colonial rule Claudine André was forced to flee as a 14 -year-old with her family to Belgium. Barely an adult, she returned to the Congo. She married, had two children and worked as an art dealer and businesswoman in Kinshasa. 1991, the country was shaken by war between the army of dictator Mobutu Sese Seko and opposition, she fled with her family to Belgium again. Following the establishment Kabila she returned and began to support the zoo in Kinshasa in the reconstruction.

Lola ya Bonobo

After an experience with a bonobo orphans in 1994 in Kinshasa zoo they devoted himself to the rescue of endangered species and founded the animal welfare organization AAC, the 2002 ABC ( " Les Amis des Bonobos du Congo " ) changed its name.

2002 to build a Bonobo Conservation Station near Kinshasa, Lola ya Bonobo, the paradise of Bonobos succeeded. There she works with 20 employees, including local and international biologists, ecologists and animal keepers. She is in contact with international environmental organizations and African protection and rescue centers. Lola means " paradise " in Lingala, a language of the Congo. The guard station was officially opened in sponsorship of the Ministry of the Environment. In addition, " Lola ya Bonobo " a member of the Pan-African Union of protection stations for primates ( PASA ).

When young bonobos are offered for sale in markets around Kinshasa, engages the animal protection organization ABC and points to the Ministry of Environment on the animals. They thus ensuring their seizure and then takes it in its protective Lola ya Bonobo station.

" The key to protecting bonobos ," André said in an interview, " is in formation. " Only those who know how valuable are the natural resources of their own country, they will also preserve. More than 20,000 Congolese children has been led by their Bonobo Conservation Station Lola ya Bonobo in the vicinity of the capital, Kinshasa, André. " We explain them about the monkeys on how close they are related to us and how they live," she says. Then, when one of the kids comes to her and asks how one can become a biologist as to better study the monkeys later and protect, then that is already a huge step forward.

Works

• Claudine André: Wild tenderness. My paradise for bonobos in the heart of Africa. Kosmos Verlag Stuttgart 2007
• Claudine André, C. Kamate, P. Mbonzo, D. Morel, B. Hare: The Conservation Value of Lola ya Bonobo Sanctuary. In: Takeshi Furuichi, Jo Thompson ( eds.): The Bonobos Behavior, Ecology, and Conservation. Springer, New York 2008, ISBN 978-0-387-74785-9, (p. 303-322. ).