Another Grauer's Gorilla Confiscated from Poachers

After more than a week of undercover investigation, another eastern lowland or Grauer's gorilla was confiscated from poachers in Goma, Democratic Republic of the Congo, on 10 October. The sting operation involved agents of the Congolese national parks authority ICCN (Institut Congolais pour la Conservation de la Nature) with assistance from NGO gorilla conservation partners of the Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund International (DFGF-I) and the Mountain Gorilla Veterinary Project (MGVP). DFGF-I was alerted by foreign aid workers in Goma who had been offered a baby gorilla for sale by a man on the street. That man and a number of his accomplices have been apprehended by Congolese authorities and are expected to undergo prosecution for their involvement in poaching and trafficking endangered wildlife.
The gorilla has already undergone an initial veterinary exam and appears relatively healthy physically though she is clearly traumatized psychologically. She is a female and is estimated to be under 2 years old. She is temporarily being cared for by MGVP and DFGF-I with assistance from ICCN, and will remain in quarantine before joining any other gorillas if that is what is decided for her. MGVP and DFGF-I, with some caregivers from ICCN and the Rwandan parks authority ORTPN (Office Rwandais du Tourisme et des Parcs Nationaux), are currently caring for 2 other confiscated eastern lowland gorillas and one mountain gorilla at different locations in the region. All of these animals are continuing to do very well as the regional partners try to find a better solution for their short-term care, and improved enforcement of laws to halt the still continuing trafficking of these rare animals.

Stuart-Christopher Nixon and Chris Whittier

Orphanage to rehabilitate the confiscated gorillas

Stuart-Christopher Nixon completed a biology degree at Liverpool University in 2002. He started his work with great apes in 1998 at Chester Zoo and studied western gorillas in the Central African Republic and Grauer's gorillas in the Tayna Gorilla Reserve during 2001. Since 2004 he has worked in the Democratic Republic of the Congo as a field scientist for the DFGFI's "Landscape graueri" program.
Dr. Christopher Whittier is currently the Regional Field Veterinarian for the Mountain Gorilla Veterinary Project and is also completing his PhD at North Carolina State University College of Veterinary Medicine. He is based in Rwanda but works with the mountain gorillas and oversees MGVPs field activities in all three range countries including Uganda and Congo.

Democratic Republic of the Congo Overview

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