27 Sep 2007 - Rangers
in Virunga National Park in the Democratic
Republic of Congo (DRC) have arrested two
men in possession of a dead juvenile mountain
gorilla.
The arrests were made on 25 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 asking US$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 crime 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 dissident General Laurent
Nkunda has recently made the national park
a no-go area for rangers, and making it
extremely difficult to protect the gorillas.
In an incident on 30 of August, a ranger
was killed and another seriously wounded
at the 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.
The International Gorilla Conservation
Programme has been providing equipment and
logistical support to ICCN rangers in Mikeno,
including a special 33-strong ranger unit.
The unit had been carrying out regular patrols
until they were forced out by the fighting.
Conservation organizations, including WWF,
say it is vital that the security situation
be stabilized so that rangers can get back
into the Mikeno sector of the park.
END NOTES:
• The International Gorilla Conservation
Programme (IGCP) is a partnership of three
international organizations — African Wildlife
Foundation, Fauna & Flora International
and WWF — that ensures the conservation
of mountain gorillas and their forest habitat
in Rwanda, Uganda and the DRC. IGCP works
with the protected area authorities of the
three countries where mountain gorillas
occur.
Joanna Benn, Communications Manager
WWF Global Species Programme
Chris Loades, Communications Manager
Fauna & Flora International
