January 2007

The worst is happening

 
Paulin Ngobobo, senior warden with the ICCN and responsible for the southern sector of the Virunga National Park, reports about recent events in his blog - extremely worrying.

January 16th, 2007: We were able to confirm that a second gorilla has been killed. There is a very real possibility that others were also shot in the last few days. The gorilla had been killed for meat, his name was Karema, another solitary silverback that had been born into a habituated group.

January 9th, 2007: One of the habituated silverbacks at Bukima was been shot by a rebel group poaching in the park.
January 11th: The UN Peacekeepers agreed to our request for an armed escort into the area occupied by rebels to go and retrieve the body of the dead gorilla.

January 10th, 2007: Military from the 13 battalion who occupy the patrol post at Bukima entered the gorilla habitat and started cutting it down to make charcoal. I want to send my rangers in to stop the military from cutting down the forest, but last time I tried to stop them, they shot at me. Then they arrested me, threw me in their prison and had me flogged 65 times until I was bleeding. The military commander responsible has now been sent to Kinshasa, and I will meet with the new military commander and hope that he is more willing to work with us and control his men.
 

Virunga National Park Overview

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