The family was on tour at the Waza National Park in Cameroon's Far-North Region before they were abducted at gunpoint by five gunmen aboard motorbikes, according to paramilitary sources in the area.

NPR: Cameroon President Orders Urgent Rescue Of French

The poachers on horseback are also suspected of killing 300 elephants in Cameroon's Bouba N'Djida National Park in early 2012.

CNN: Cameroon elephant slaughter latest in string of killings

The family -- a couple, their four children and an uncle -- were seized in a national park in remote northern Cameroon on February 19.

CNN: STORY HIGHLIGHTS