Photo, above:  A bushmeat hunter in the jungle on the way to hunt and to check traps.  See below, Hour Three: Spillover: Animal Infections and the Next Human Pandemic by David Quammen; discussion of Cut Hunter, 1908.

Eighty per cent of the meat eaten in Cameroon is killed in the wild and is known as bushmeat. The nation's favoured dishes are gorilla, chimpanzee or monkey because of their succulent and tender flesh. According to one estimate, up to 3,000 gorillas are slaughtered in southern Cameroon every year to supply an illicit but pervasive commercial demand for ape meat . While the ancient Baka people no longer hunt primates for themselves, they still kill gorillas for the commercial trade and will eat the meat if they find the animals already dead.

Though Cameroonians have eaten primate meat for years, recent health scares have begun to raise fears about the safety of the meat. "In the village of Bakaklion our brothers found a dead gorilla in the forest," Mr Biango said. "They took it back to the village and ate the meat. Almost immediately, everyone died – 25 men, women and children – the only person who didn't was a woman who didn't eat the meat."

Three-quarters of all new human viruses are known to come from animals, and some scientists believe humans are particularly susceptible to those carried by apes. The human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) is now widely believed to have originated in chimps. Apes are known to host other potentially deadly viruses, such as ebola, anthrax, yellow fever and other potential viruses yet to be discovered.

Babila Tafon, head vet at the primate sanctuary Ape Action Africa (AAA), in Mefou, just outside the capital Yaounde, believes the incident that Biango describes could have been caused by an outbreak of ebola, but cannot be sure because no tests were carried out. Viruses are often transferred from ape to human through a bite, scratch or the blood of a dead ape getting into an open wound. There is a lower risk from eating cooked or smoked primates, but it is not completely safe. The transfer of viruses from ape to man is a primary concern for the international virology research and referral base run by the Pasteur Centre in Yaounde. Each week, it screens more than 500 blood samples for all manner of viruses, and alerts major international medical research centres if it finds an unfamiliar strain.

Bushmeat is not only a concern for Cameroonians. Each year, an estimated 11,000 tons of bushmeat is illegally smuggled in to the UK, mainly from West Africa, and is known to include some ape meat. 

JOHN BATCHELOR SHOW

Hour One

Saturday  2 March 2013 / Hour 1, Block A: The Wild Life of Our Bodies: Predators, Parasites, and Partners That Shape Who We Are Today by Rob Dunn  (1 of 2)

Saturday 2 March 2013 / Hour 1, Block B:  The Wild Life of Our Bodies: Predators, Parasites, and Partners That Shape Who We Are Today by Rob Dunn  (2 of 2)

Saturday 2 March 2013 / Hour 1, Block C: . Darwin's Devices: What Evolving Robots Can Teach Us About the History of Life and the Future of Technology by John Long  (1 of 2)

Saturday 2 March 2013 / Hour 1, Block D:  Darwin's Devices: What Evolving Robots Can Teach Us About the History of Life and the Future of Technology by John Long  (2 of 2)

Hour Two

Saturday 2 March 2013 / Hour 2, Block A:  Deep Future: The Next 100,000 Years of Life on Earth by Curt Stager  (1 of 2)

Saturday 2 March 2013 / Hour 2, Block B:  . Deep Future: The Next 100,000 Years of Life on Earth by Curt Stager (2 of 2)

Saturday 2 March 2013 / Hour 2, Block C:  Silent Spring at 50: The False Crises of Rachel Carson by Roger Meiners, Andrew Morriss, Pierre Desrochers and Roger E Meiners  (1 of 2)

Saturday 2 March 2013 / Hour 2, Block D:  Silent Spring at 50: The False Crises of Rachel Carson by Roger Meiners, Andrew Morriss, Pierre Desrochers and Roger E Meiners  (2 of 2)

Hour Three

Saturday 2 March 2013 / Hour 3, Block A:  Spillover: Animal Infections and the Next Human Pandemic by David Quammen  (1 of 4)

Saturday 2 March 2013 / Hour 3, Block B:  Spillover: Animal Infections and the Next Human Pandemic by David Quammen  (2 of 4)

Saturday 2 March 2013 / Hour 3, Block C:  Spillover: Animal Infections and the Next Human Pandemic by David Quammen  (3 of 4)

Saturday 2 March 2013 / Hour 3, Block D:   Spillover: Animal Infections and the Next Human Pandemic by David Quammen  (4 of 4)

Hour Four

Saturday 2 March 2013 / Hour 4, Block A:  The Language of Pain: Finding Words, Compassion, and Relief by David Biro  (1 of 2)

Saturday 2 March 2013 / Hour 4, Block B:  The Language of Pain: Finding Words, Compassion, and Relief by David Biro  (2 of 2)

Saturday 2 March 2013 / Hour 4, Block C:   The Language of Plants: A Guide to the Doctrine of Signatures by Julia Graves  (1 of 2)

Saturday 2 March 2013 / Hour 4, Block D:   The Language of Plants: A Guide to the Doctrine of Signatures by Julia Graves  (2 of 2)

..  ..  ..

Music

Hour 1:  Avatar

Hour 2:  Defiance

Hour 3:  Crysis

Hour 4:  Apocalyptico