27/09/2007
Rangers in Virunga National Park, Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) have arrested two men in possession of a dead juvenile mountain gorilla. The arrests were made on the 25th September after an undercover investigation by the Congolese Institute for the Conservation of Nature (ICCN) into a ring of suspected gorilla traffickers.
The traffickers were trying to get $8,000 for the gorilla, a female about 3-4 years old, taken from the Mikeno sector of the park. She is thought to have died about a week ago. The group is also believed to have abducted another gorilla, the whereabouts and condition of which are not yet known. The suspects are currently being questioned by the authorities.
The tragedy is the latest result of insecurity in this area of the DRC, and brings the number of mountain gorillas killed so far this year to 10. Fighting between the DRC army (FARDC) and troops loyal to the dissident General Laurent Nkunda has recently made the National Park a no-go area for rangers, making it extremely difficult to protect the gorillas.
In an incident on the 30th of August a ranger was killed and another seriously wounded at Kabaraza Patrol Post in the central sector of Virunga National Park; ranger outposts in the Mikeno sector (southern sector of the park) have also been attacked recently by armed groups and their equipment stolen. Besides the threat caused by the conflict itself, the inability of the rangers to patrol and monitor the gorilla groups results in a lack of protection, making the gorillas more vulnerable to poachers and traffickers.
As a partner in the International Gorilla Conservation Programme (IGCP) with WWF and AWF, FFI is supporting emergency efforts to protect the gorillas. IGCP had been providing equipment and logistical support to the ICCN rangers in Mikeno sector of Virunga National Park including a special 33-strong ‘advance force’ of rangers who were carrying out regular patrols, until they were forced out by the fighting. It is vital that the security situation be stabilized so that ICCN rangers can get back into the Mikeno sector of the park. We will continue to update you with information as it becomes available.
We will report any further developments as information becomes available. Please make a donation to support this vital work at this time (select ‘protect mountain gorillas’).
For more details contact:
Chris Loades. Fauna & Flora International: chris.loades@fauna-flora.org or call +44 (0)1223 571000.
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