Gorilla Journal 15, December 1997

Karisoke Research Centre

June 1997: The security situation in the Parc National des Volcans deteriorated considerably; exchanges of gunfire occurred with increasing frequency. The staff of the Karisoke Research Center (Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund) suspended all monitoring and anti-poaching activities on June 17th, two weeks after the government parks service, ORTPN (Office Rwandais du Tourisme et des Parcs Nationaux), stopped all tourism.
July 1997: Some people living around the park took advantage of the lack of protection for the park's flora and fauna, and the intensity of illegal activities became extremely worrying. There were cattle grazing in the forest, substantial areas of bamboo were cut, and large quantities of antelope meat were coming out of the park for sale in local markets. Evidently many snares have been set.
August 1997: Karisoke staff negotiated access to the gorillas with a local army commander. This was agreed to as no infiltrators had been encountered during preceding military patrols. On August 4th, Karisoke staff located all three research groups, but the gorillas fled at the approach of the trackers. One new baby was seen in Beetsme's group. We have had no detailed information about the gorillas since.
It goes without saying that the Government of Rwanda is doing all it can to restore peace and stability in the northwest of Rwanda, however, it is still impossible for us to work in the park. One of our trackers, Nshogoza Fidele, who began work with Dian Fossey in 1978, was murdered by the Interahamwe.
The mountain gorillas are more threatened by armed combat now than ever before. But another great danger comes from poachers, whose antelope snares can easily trap a gorilla, at a time when they are particularly vulnerable. In the last 2 weeks (October) a young female gorilla at Jomba, Virunga National Park, D. R. Congo, has been observed with a serious snare injury. This injury was detected as guides with ICCN (Institut Congolais pour la Conservation de la Nature) are now able to visit three gorilla groups from Jomba, and in fact reopened to tourists on September 10th. All activities in the Parc National des Volcans, Rwanda, remain suspended.

Liz Williamson

Dr. Liz Williamson studied gorillas in Gabon from 1984 until 1990, when she became the Director of the Nyungwe Forest Conservation Project, Rwanda. She was involved in gorilla surveys in Congo/Zaire and Cameroon in 1994 and 1995. Until the end of 2001 she was the Director of the Karisoke Research Centre.

Volcano National Parc overview

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