The ethical chocolate companies proving that cacao farms and precious wildlife can co-exist

Photo Credit: Guenter Guni / Not only do chimps love cacao beans, they are also extremely good at harvesting them.

Cacao pods grow straight out of the trunk of the tree, some way off the ground. Chimpanzees jump up and twist them off the tree. “They are almost as good at us at harvesting the cacao,” Brima says. “But they twist to get them off, while we cut. That twisting is bad for the tree, for future crops.”

So to dissuade the chimpanzees, the farmers around the rainforest plant distractions that are both easier for the chimps to get at, and less costly for the farmers to lose. “Bananas and mangoes. They love those.”

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The ethical chocolate companies proving that cacao farms and precious wildlife can co-exist

You have to get up very early in the morning to fool a chimpanzee. More importantly, the next morning you have to get up earlier still. I know this because I recently enjoyed a long conversation ...

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/food-and-drink/features/ethical-chocolate-companies-proving-cacao-farms-precious-wildlife/

Article published by Andrew Baker on 7 July 2019 7:00am on www.telegraph.co.uk