tagged w/ Mountain Gorillas
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photo gallery of the event
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Imagine almost as many people in gorilla suits as there are mountain gorillas on the planet, all of them running in the busy heart of London to raise funds for conservation projects.
Described as one of the most entertaining charity event on the planet, the Great Gorilla Run took place past Saturday.
YoG Ambassador Ian Redmond, intent on behaving like a gorilla all the way (7 miles!), took part. This is a section of his entertaining blog...
26th September
Knuckle-walking over London’s Tower Bridge in a gorilla suit is quite a novelty, I found today. How to describe it? Imagine almost as many people in gorilla suits as there are mountain gorillas on the planet (more than twice as many as there are Cross River Gorillas) - no, wait a minute, no need to imagine it - just look up the photos and videos of London’s annual Great Gorilla Run http://www.greatgorillas.org/gallery
The Great Gorilla Run is in its seventh year and has raised more than 60,000 pounds for grassroots community projects in areas of precious gorilla habitat in Africa, such as:
·Training 13 000 Rwandan farmers in sustainable agricultural techniques.
·Building water cisterns in Rwanda and DR Congo.
·Teaching local communities how to produce and distribute 500 fuel-efficient stoves in DR Congo, reducing consumption by up to 70% (firewood and charcoal are often illegally taken from gorilla habitat)
·Providing training to miners on ethical mining techniques. Illegal mining in DR Congo has been a huge problem for gorillas.
·Involving almost 30,000 young members in conservation activities through wildlife clubs in Rwanda and Uganda.
·Providing beekeepers in Uganda with investment and equipment.Imagine almost as many people in gorilla suits as there are mountain gorillas on the... more
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Before the king's burial, his subjects take their time to clean his body. It is not a ritual that should be lightly interfered with and, as the mighty, fallen monarch receives his last ablutions, medical personnel are keeping a respectuful distance.
The king was a gorilla called Titus. Although he had been deposed by his son, death seemed to have restored him to his full glory. The mighty silverback was once the dominant head of a tight-knit group of the great apes whose kingdom was on the eastern slopes of the Karisoke volcano in Rwanda's border lands, and a vital figure in the battle for the survival of the species.
Rosette Rugamba, head of tourism and national parks in Rwanda, said: "The other gorillas are mourning. They are cleaning him. You have to be very careful. You can't just remove the body." The Rwanda national parks office said the 450lb, 35-year-old gorilla had "succumbed to old age" after a short illness.
Officials described Titus as "possibly the most remarkable gorilla ever known", referring to his rise to dominance of he largest known group of gorillas in the world. And Sir David Attenborough, the naturalist who was famously upstaged by Titus when the gorilla, then five, climbed on his back, said yesterday he was sorry that Titus should have died when he was still "quite young". He added: "He was a charming little animal. Certainly, it was very memorable and I haven't been allowed to forget it."
Titus was given his name by the great US primatologist Dian Fossey, who came to the Mikeno chain of volcanoes in the 1970s to conduct a census of the great apes. Over two decades in Rwanda, she followed a group led by a male she had named "Uncle Bert" after a relative.
In 1974, Fossey gave one of Bert's offspring the name Titus. Ten years later, the primatologist was murdered in her Rwandan forest cabin, possibly because of her work opposing the exploitation of the animals. She was buried at the Karisoke Research Centre, which continues that work. In the years that followed, Titus became possibly the most photographed and studied gorilla in history.
One of the first of a generation of apes whose lives have been documented since birth, Titus left a remarkable record that has demonstrated how far human understanding of gorilla behaviour has come. For Titus, fame first came with his part in the film of Fossey's life, Gorillas In The Mist and latterly as the star of a recent BBC documentary The Gorilla King.Before the king's burial, his subjects take their time to clean his body. It is not a... more
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“Titus was still a strong leader of his group until the end, but the stress was too much for him at his age,” says Karisoke’s Gorilla Program Coordinator Veronica Vecellio. “We will remember him as a most special silverback."“Titus was still a strong leader of his group until the end, but the stress was too... more
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The "Gorilla King" Titus has passed away from old age.
September 2009. On the morning of Sept. 14, trackers at the Karisoke Research Centre found the legendary silverback gorilla Titus, dead on his night nest in Volcanoes National Park, Rwanda. He was 35, which is quite old for a male mountain gorilla. Titus had been the dominant male in one of the gorilla groups studied for many years by Karisoke and was the subject of the documentary "Gorilla King" TV series.
Born in 1974
Titus' eventful life began in 1974, observed by Dian Fossey and her research assistant Kelly Stewart, daughter of actor Jimmy Stewart. Kelly was the first to see the newborn, so she named him Titus after a character in a novel she was reading. His mother, the elderly Flossie, lived in Fossey's Group Four, led by his father, Uncle Bert. Fossey noted in Gorillas in the Mist that Titus seemed to be "underdeveloped and spindly" and had difficulty breathing. He soon overcame these disabilities, the first of many challenges he faced in childhood.
Father killed by poachers
When Titus was 4 years old, poachers killed his father Uncle Bert, his uncle Digit, and his younger brother. Soon after, a newly arrived silverback named Beetsme killed Titus' infant sister, causing his mother and older sister to flee to another group. Titus was left at age 5 to live with a few unrelated males, including Beetsme and Tiger, that were soon joined by Peanuts and two others. The group remained all-male for several years, until another group's silverback died and five females came to join the bachelors. Beetsme eventually drove off all the other males except for Titus, who was favoured by Papoose, the dominant female.
Even tempered
An unusually even tempered and skillful leader, Titus maintained his dominance over a group of some 25 individuals without difficulty for many years.
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Please follow link to learn more about Titus and his incredible story...
* Follow the Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund International on Twitter.com and get the latest updates http://twitter.com/savinggorillasThe "Gorilla King" Titus has passed away from old age.
September 2009. On the... more
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"The Bushmeat Crisis" - the commercial hunting of many critically endangered species
(DRC, Africa)
GORILLA HANDS FOR SALE AT A MARKET IN THE
DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF CONGO... FOR 6 US DOLLARS.
*WARNING: GRAPHIC & DISTURBING IMAGES
This slideshow includes other critically endangered species also for sale.
Some are STILL ALIVE.
Please follow link to 'Endangered Species International' (ESI) for more information & to see what you can do to help..
For the first time, ESI reveal's photos of their field monitoring using undercover methods at key markets in the republic of Congo. Their research reveals that most of illegal bushmeat sold in markets originates from one single region where primary and unprotected rainforest still remains.
ESI estimates about 300 gorillas are illegally killed each year for the bushmeat market in the city of Pointe Noire.
With your help, ESI can stop the illegal commercial hunting of endangered species in Central Africa.
DID ANYONE HEAR THIS?
$6.OO...
THIS IS UNEXCEPABLE!"The Bushmeat Crisis" - the commercial hunting of many critically endangered species... more
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PSA - The Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund
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Despite an emergency response from veterinary surgeons, a silverback gorilla from a tiny population in the Virunga National Park in DR Congo has died after falling down a ravine.
Gorilla Organization staff in DR Congo are shocked and devastated by news of the death of Kanindo, a silverback gorilla thought to be in his late twenties or older. He is the seventh gorilla to die in the region in just over two years. There are now just 16 gorillas in the isolated population in the north of the Virunga National Park.
It appears that Kanindo fell down a gully at the edge of the park, about a three hour walk from the nearest patrol post. It’s thought he spent four days paralysed without food or water before he was discovered. Vets and trackers stayed with him for three days fighting unsuccessfully to save him.
Gorilla Organization trackers noted Kanindo’s disappearance, and later spotted that his usual companion, a juvenile gorilla named Mukokya was alone. Mukokya’s father Nzanzu died of old age in February, and the youngster had been accompanied by Kanindo for the last few months. Trackers found Kanindo in a ravine. He was unable to move, and he could not be lifted out.
Vets from Conservation Through Public Health (CTPH) and Mountain Gorilla Veterinary Project (MGVP) stayed with him, administering painkillers and antibiotics, but were unable to save his life. Kanindo died just before 18:00 on Saturday 11 July. A veterinary assessment found fractures and signs of a heavy fall.
Kanindo had been in excellent health when he was last seen. It’s thought he was the father of a baby born in February, which sadly died at less than a week old. The Executive Director of The Gorilla Organization, Jillian Miller, says “Kanindo was a silverback in the prime of his life. We don’t know if he fathered any other babies, or if this sad loss is the end of his genetic line. The death of every individual is important, but losing a silverback is a massive blow to this tiny population already on the edge of extinction.”
The gorillas at Mount Tshiaberimu are classified as eastern lowland gorillas, but it has been suggested that these gorillas may in fact be a unique and rare subspecies. The Gorilla Organization has been working in this area, in collaboration with the Congolese wildlife authority (ICCN), for over 13 years. When the project began there were 16 gorillas, and at its height the population grew to 22. Now the figure is back to where it started at 16.
The governor of North Kivu province, Julien Paluku Kahongya, expressed his regret to see this precious animal disappearing at a time when the province has just opened up again to tourists. The Chief Warden at Mount Tshiaberimu, Norbert Mushenzi, called for urgent action to prevent the total loss of the gorillas.
Kanindo was buried at a livestock farm at the edge of the park where he was well-known to the farmer, who said he was very fond of the gorilla.
*If you would like to help these gentle giants, please contact me directly (or visit by Blogger page http://julesrs007saveanimals.blogspot.com/ ) for a varied list of links, contacts and a numerous number of ways you can help.Despite an emergency response from veterinary surgeons, a silverback gorilla from a... more
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RWANDA, Africa - A forest fire has destroyed nearly 10 hectares of prime forest inside the famed Parc de Volcanoes, home to the mountain gorillas found along the border triangle of Rwanda, Uganda, and the DR Congo.
Local authorities are said to have successfully mobilized most of the local residents, many of whom are direct beneficiaries of tourism to the area, who set out to combat the fire on the ground. This assisted the efforts by the fire brigade and security services greatly and underscored the conservation mindset of communities living near the park.
At one point, the fire threatened to cross over to the Ugandan side of the border transcending national park but was eventually contained in Rwanda but not the Ugandan side of the border.
According to reports from the ground, no gorillas were affected directly by the fire although other wildlife and birdlife has been displaced from the affected area, while a number of beehives were also said to have been destroyed.RWANDA, Africa - A forest fire has destroyed nearly 10 hectares of prime forest inside... more
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Explore | Africa
WINNER MAUI FILM FESTIVAL 2009
On a trip to Rwanda, Explore had the opportunity to visit four families of wild mountain gorillas, a species with only 720 remaining members. Their guide is Craig Sholley, who has been intimately involved in the preservation of African wildlife for more than 30 years. The team's thrilling interaction with these peaceful creatures - who share 98.6% of their genetic makeup with humans - is a startling reminder of their own humanity.Explore | Africa
WINNER MAUI FILM FESTIVAL 2009
On a trip to Rwanda, Explore had... more
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PHOTO: A mountain gorilla is having a snare removed. Illegal logging/deforestation has created access for illegal hunting and illegal wildlife-trade. The snares are used to catch "bushmeat" (anything that ends up in the trap).
Large numbers of endangered animals have been killed by armed groups at Africa's oldest national park in the Democratic Republic of Congo since the start of the year, park officials and environmental groups said Tuesday.
Chimpanzees, elephants, antelopes, birds and hippos have been slaughtered after Virunga National Park became the scene of intense fighting.
The park, on the frontier with Uganda, was made a world heritage site by the UN's cultural body UNESCO, and is home to endangered species such as the mountain gorilla.
"Four chimpanzees were killed last week in the central zone and 11 elephants since the start of the year," park director Emmanuel de Merode told AFP.
He added "a large number of game animals", including antelopes, had also been slaughtered.
Bantu Lukamba, from local environmental NGO Innovation, said: "At least 31 animals, including 11 migratory birds and three hippos were killed over 21 days."
They died between May 25 and June 16, he said.
Armed groups have overrun the park since violence flared up last year.
It became the theatre of intense fighting, mainly between government forces or their proxies and rebels of the National Congress for the Defence of the People.
"It is impossible to get control the situation in the park, given the huge number of armed men who exploit its resources," Merode said.
The park is also home to Lake Edward, which in 1980 was the world's most important hippopotamus sanctuary with 27,000 of the animals.
There are now less than 300, according to Merode.
Created in 1925, Virunga National Park is the oldest in Africa.PHOTO: A mountain gorilla is having a snare removed. Illegal logging/deforestation has... more
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KINIGI, Rwanda (AFP) — Rwanda "baptised" 18 rare baby mountain gorillas at what has become an annual event to highlight the plight of the endangered species.
The baby gorillas, however, were not physically present at the colourful ceremony at the edge of a national park where the primates live.
Eighteen masked people represented the gorillas at the event, which included songs and dances, attended by senior government officials including Prime Minister Bernard Makuza.
Tourism Minister Monique Nsanzabaganwa said government was expanding the the size of the volcanic park by 10 percent by the end of the year in a bid to promote the conservation of the gorillas.
"This campaign is to encourage gorilla conservation initiatives and to promote the local tourism industry," she said.
"Tourism remains one of Rwanda's key sectors," she added.
The ceremony was the fifth of its kind in Rwanda in as many years. A total of 103 gorillas have been baptised and officially received a name so far, according to AFP count.
The world's last mountain gorillas are concentrated in the mountains straddling the border between the Democratic Republic of Congo, Rwanda and Uganda.
They number around 700 in all, according to the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP).KINIGI, Rwanda (AFP) — Rwanda "baptised" 18 rare baby mountain gorillas at what has... more
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International Experts Issue Frankfurt Declaration to Call for Better Protection of Gorillas
Under the title 'Gentle Giants in need” 160 government officials, experts, corporate representatives and conservationists from 20 countries attended a conference in Frankfurt, 9-10 June to mark the UN Year of the Gorilla, a global campaign to help implement the gorilla agreement.
In the “Frankfurt Declaration” they highlighted major threats to gorillas and their habitats, as well as the strategies available for the conservation of the second closest relative to
humankind.
In the Declaration delegates appeal to governments, the international community and industrial companies to enhance activities to reduce threats to the remaining gorilla populations in the wild, which can contribute to peace-making and prosperity in Central Africa.
Why are the gorillas threatened with extinction? Humans.
An omnipresent yet invisible threat to gorillas and their habitats, as well as to countless other species, is the ever-growing human demand for energy and its consequences.
Human encroachment, "bushmeat" hunting, the destruction of their habitat for charcoal, and coltan mining.
Charcoal production is a major threat to gorilla forests in many areas, not least the Mountain Gorilla habitat in Virunga National Park, Democratic Republic of Congo. To reduce this threat, solar cookers, tree-planting on farms and the spread of fuel-efficient stoves are needed.
The Year of the Gorilla (YoG) is supporting a project in the Mountain Gorillas’ range which enables local residents to purchase highly fuel-efficient stoves for a low price, thereby enabling them to use less firewood, which is often taken from the very same forests that are home to the gorillas.
For more information:
'GRASP' - Great Ape Survival Partnership http://www.unep.org/grasp/International Experts Issue Frankfurt Declaration to Call for Better Protection of... more
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Has the recent violence in the Democratic Republic of Congo threatened the populations of lowland gorillas? How many are left?
The short answer is yes, dramatically.
Not to be confused with Western Lowland Gorillas, which are thriving in significant numbers in neighboring Congo (a recent census counted 125,000).
Today fewer than 5,000 Eastern Lowland Gorillas are estimated to remain in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), formerly known as Zaire. Some 17,000 inhabited the region as recently as 1994, but today habitat loss, hunting ('bushmeat'), and war and violence are combining to push them over the edge.
Following the 1994 genocide in Rwanda, an influx of refugees, along with bloodthirsty militias, moved across the border into the neighboring DRC. These militias set up training grounds in the very forests the gorillas call home, making conservation work impractical to say the least. Park rangers, game wardens and wildlife researchers either fled their wooded beats or were removed at gunpoint.
In the wake of this, civilian populations in the affected areas still had to make ends meet somehow. So hunting for so-called “bushmeat,” and cutting down the forest for firewood, charcoal and space for agricultural plots became the means for day-to-day survival, and continue to this day.
Some 91 percent of the human population in the region practice subsistence agriculture. This means that large swaths of gorilla habitat throughout the region have been converted to farms. At the same time, 96 percent of the locals rely on firewood as their main supply of energy for warmth and cooking. “Forested parks are for many of them the last remaining source of fuel,” reports the Year of the Gorilla website.
*please follow link for the rest of this story*Has the recent violence in the Democratic Republic of Congo threatened the populations... more
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By 'Fovea Exhibitions'
The mountain gorillas of the Virunga National Park live surrounded by violence. Heavily armed soldiers of guerrilla warfare, poachers, illegal charcoal makers, all roam the forest poised to destroy what gets in their way.
Still... a village and the world were outraged when a family of the gentle primates was murdered in cold blood in July 2007. Just over 200 of the extremely rare mountain gorillas, of which there are only 680 in the world, live in the Democratic Republic of Congo, virtually the epicenter of humanitarian crisis and civil wars that have left almost 6 million people dead in the last 15 years. Last autumn a peace treaty was signed, and rangers discovered 5 babies gorillas have been born.
The non-profit charity Fovea Exhibitions will host Stirton's internationally award-winning photo essay through August, documenting the story of the tragedy and the renewal of some of the last mountain gorillas on the planet.
The reception will celebrate both Fovea’s second year anniversary and the 2009 Year of the Gorilla.
FOVEA 's mission is to educate through visual journalism.
It was founded to create a space where today’s important humanitarian and social issues can be explored in depth through the medium of photojournalism. Fovea mounts exhibitions by the world’s most talented and thoughtful photojournalists, and hosts events where the public can engage them, and industry experts in discussion about the subjects they have covered.
In an effort to reach the next generation, Fovea also brings photojournalists to public schools in the Hudson Valley where they give interactive presentations to elementary, middle and high school students.
Fovea Editions Inc. is a registered 501(c)3, not-for-profit educational charity.By 'Fovea Exhibitions'
The mountain gorillas of the Virunga National Park live... more
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Baby gorilla rescued from suspected traffickers -
Undercover officers rescued a baby gorilla from suspected animal traffickers in the Democratic Republic of Congo, a national park in the country announced Tuesday.
The gorilla, thought to be about two years old, was hidden at the bottom of a bag and covered with clothes when Congolese Wildlife Authority officers arrested the suspected trafficker on Sunday, Virunga National Park said.
The gorilla, a female, was overheated and dehydrated after six hours in transit. She also had a puncture wound on her right leg, among other injuries, and is malnourished, but is responding to treatment, the park said in a statement.
It is not clear if the young gorilla's mother is alive or dead, park spokeswoman Samantha Newport said.
"You can assume that a gorilla family was attacked in order for the traffickers to obtain a baby -- but it is impossible to know if a whole family was wiped out, just a few individuals, or none at all," she said. "In most cases gorillas have to die to get a baby -- but we cannot know specifically for this case."
The animal is now being looked after by specially trained carers, Newport said.
"This is of course not an ideal replacement for a mother -- but the best option we have," she told CNN via e-mail. Carers often have some veterinary training, but are not fully fledged vets, she added.
But gorillas do not do well in situations like this, she warned.
"Gorillas, it is worth noting, are notoriously difficult to keep alive," she said. "Chimps are fighters, as are bonobos. But gorillas -- when the going gets tough -- tend to just shut down. So it really is a critical time right now to ensure she gets the veterinary attention and human warmth that she needs to get through this."
The suspect was getting off a plane from the interior of the country, near the gorillas' habitat, the park said.
One person has been charged under the country's law forbidding the destruction of flora and fauna, Newport told CNN. The park did not name the suspect.
Gorillas can fetch up to $20,000 on the black market, the head of Virunga National Park said.
"Investigations have yet to reveal where these animals are being sent and who is buying them, but on the ground sources tell us that a baby gorilla can fetch up to $20,000," said Emmanuel de Merode, the director. "We must remember that for each trafficked baby gorilla, several gorillas have probably been killed in the wild."
He led the three-month undercover operation that netted the suspect and the gorilla, the park said.
The gorilla is a lowland eastern gorilla (Gorilla beringei graueri), also known as the Grauer's Gorilla, a subspecies of Eastern Gorilla only found in the forests of eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, according to the park.
Virunga National Park calls itself the oldest national park in Africa, established in 1925. It lies in a region that has been badly affected by the long-running war in the Democratic Republic of Congo. The gorilla section is in a strategically important area near the borders of Rwanda and Uganda.
A ranger was killed earlier this year, and rangers lost control of a large part of the park to rebels for over a year.
But a census earlier this year suggests mountain gorillas are surviving despite poaching and war.
Officials have long said that the 250-square kilometer gorilla reserve in the southern part of Virunga National Park is where around 200 of the world's 700 mountain gorillas live.Baby gorilla rescued from suspected traffickers -
Undercover officers rescued a... more
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Extinction Blog
United Nations declares 2009 'Year of the Gorilla'
Poaching, deforestation and the dreaded Ebola virus have taken a terrible toll on populations of the four remaining gorilla species. Now, in an effort to help save our primate cousins from extinction, the United Nations Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals has declared 2009 the "Year of the Gorilla."
Three of the four species of gorilla are considered critically endangered, with just 700 mountain gorillas, 300 Cross River gorillas, and 5,000 eastern lowland gorillas left. The fourth species, the Western lowland gorilla, is critically endangered in some of its home countries, although the total population is much higher, at around 150,000.
All four species face declining populations, with threats ranging from the bushmeat trade, poaching for traditional medicine, habitat destruction from logging or the charcoal trade (an important source of fuel in Africa), and disease.
Luckily, the Year of the Gorilla is already off to a good start. This week, the 10 nations with gorilla populations agreed to examine the effectiveness of their anti-poaching laws and, hopefully, improve their implementation. Some of the money pledged for the Year of the Gorilla campaign will go toward educating judges so they understand the need to strictly enforce current anti-poaching laws.
Other actions to be funded by the YoG campaign include training park rangers, supporting scientific research, raising awareness of the gorillas' threats, and developing alternative sources of income (such as eco-tourism) for people living near gorilla populations. The UN hopes to raise more than $600,000 to support these efforts.Extinction Blog
United Nations declares 2009 'Year of the Gorilla'
Poaching,... more
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BULENGO, Congo — Jean-Marie Serundori wakes up every morning with gorillas on his mind.
“I wash my face, I stare at the mountains and I think of them,” he said. “They are like our cousins.”
But Mr. Serundori, a Congolese wildlife ranger entrusted with protecting some of the most majestic — and most endangered — animals on the planet, is far from the broad-backed mountain gorillas he loves.
Instead, he is stuck in a wet and filthy camp for internally displaced people where the only wildlife are the cockroaches that scurry across the mud floors. He is one of the hundreds of thousands of people left idle and destitute by eastern Congo’s most recent spasm of violence, and the consequences in this case may be dire and irreversible.
Eastern Congo is home to almost a third of the world’s last 700 wild mountain gorillas (the rest are in nearby areas of Rwanda and Uganda). Now, there are no trained rangers to protect them. More than 240 Congolese game wardens have been run off their posts, including some who narrowly escaped a surging rebel advance last month and slogged through the jungle for three days living off leaves and scoopfuls of mud for hydration.
“We figured if the gorillas can eat leaves, so can we,” said Sekibibi Desire, who is staying in a tent near the other rangers.
This is just the latest crisis within a crisis. Congo’s gorillas happen to live in one of the most contested, blood-soaked pieces of turf in one of the most contested, blood-soaked corners of Africa. Their home, Virunga National Park, is high ground — with mist-shrouded mountains and pointy volcanoes — along the porous Congo-Rwanda border, where rebels are suspected of smuggling in weapons from Rwanda. Last year in Virunga, 10 gorillas were killed, some shot in the back of the head, execution style, park officials said.
The park used to be a naturalist’s paradise, home to more than 2,000 species of plants, 706 types of birds and 218 varieties of mammals, including three great apes: the mountain gorilla, the lowland gorilla and chimpanzees.
Now Virunga is a war zone.
Rebel soldiers command the hilltops. Government soldiers fire mortars at them, blowing up precious gorilla habitat that is rapidly disappearing anyway because of deforestation and an illegal charcoal trade.
“Armed groups hide in the park, they train in the park, and most importantly, they eat in the park,” said Samantha Newport, a spokeswoman for Virunga National Park.
Ms. Newport said that two years ago, at one of the lakes in the park, a local militia went on a hippopotamus-hunting rampage, machine-gunning hundreds of hippopotamuses for their meat.
“The lake turned red,” she said.BULENGO, Congo — Jean-Marie Serundori wakes up every morning with gorillas on his... more
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The survival of several hundred rare gorillas is threatened by rebel fighters who have taken over the animals' sanctuary, a spokeswoman for the Virunga National Park said Tuesday.
The gorilla sector of the park "has been swallowed up in this conflict," said Samantha Newport, communications director for the refuge.
She fears for the animals' safety, not least because mountain gorillas do not always flee the sound of gunfire and mortars, she said.
"There are documented cases of the gorillas getting caught in the crossfire and getting killed," she said. "It's the chaos of war and they are right in the middle of it."
That leaves the situation "extremely precarious" for the critically endangered species, she said.
There are no mountain gorillas in captivity, she added. "The mountain gorillas live in the wild. They don't reproduce in captivity."
Nkunda's fighters seized the headquarters of the park on October 26, park officials announced last month, a move park director Emmanuel de Merode called "unprecedented."
The seizure forced hundreds of rangers who normally monitor the gorillas to flee.
The rangers "track and monitor the mountain gorillas," freeing them from snares and intervening medically in life-threatening situations, Newport said. "It's really important to keep track on a daily basis."
That has been impossible for weeks, she said. "There has been a complete lack of knowledge about the gorillas for some time. Nkunda's forces control about 50 percent of the park, including the gorilla sector."
The gorilla section of the park lies in a strategically important area near the borders of Rwanda and Uganda, she explained.
Fighting between Congolese government soldiers and rebels led by Nkunda has displaced more than 250,000 people. That's in addition to roughly 800,000 who already had been driven from their homes, according to the United Nations.
Virunga National Park is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and Africa's oldest national park. It was formerly known as Albert National ParkThe survival of several hundred rare gorillas is threatened by rebel fighters who have... more
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