While rescuing and caring for illegally trafficked chimpanzee orphans, SYCR is working to solve the root of the problem through national and international awareness and by working with Cameroon's Ministry of Forestry and Wildlife to support law enforcement and increase forest protection. In the forests of Cameroon, habitat destruction and the illegal ape meat trade are driving chimpanzees rapidly toward extinction. While vulnerable populations dwindle, individuals suffer unimaginably. The chimpanzees who die violently at the hands of poachers are not the only victims of the ape meat trade. Infants who survive the hunt can be sold as pets in Cameroon or smuggled out of the country to meet the growing demand from Asian zoos, ultimately condemned to malnutrition, disease, loneliness and misery. As a result of the lucrative international trade, some poachers specifically target nursing mothers for their infants. Sadly, females carrying babies are often slower and easier to hit with shotguns.