Update: Another Mountain Gorilla Killed in DR Congo

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 September 25th after an undercover investigation of a ring of suspected gorilla traffickers was initiated by the Congolese Institute for the Conservation of Nature (ICCN). Tragically, this was the tenth gorilla to be killed this year.

The female gorilla was about 3-4 years old and was taken from the Mikeno section of the park and is believed to have died about a week ago. The traffickers were trying to get $8,000 for the gorilla. 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. 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), along with the Flora & Fauna International (FFI) and the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF), the African Wildlife Foundation 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 critical that the security situation be stabilized so that ICCN rangers can return to the Mikeno sector of the park and once again provide much-needed protection for the area's gorillas.

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