After a woman claimed that one of the animals had killed her infant, an enraged crowd vandalized the facility, destroying and setting fire to equipment, including drones, computers, and over 200 documents, media reported, citing the center’s managers.
Witnesses reported that the crowd was reacting to the discovery of the mutilated body of an infant found 3 kilometers from the Nimba Mountains Nature Reserve.
The child's mother, Seny Zogba, told a Western media outlet that while she was working in a cassava field, a chimpanzee approached from behind, bit her, and dragged her baby into the forest.
Local ecologist Alidjiou Sylla reportedly stated that the dwindling food supply in the reserve was causing the animals to leave the protected area more often, increasing the chances of attacks.
The research center noted that it had documented six chimpanzee attacks on humans within the reserve since the beginning of the year.