Mar 28 2007
What happens when poachers kill Mountain Gorillas
I wanted to share a few thoughts on the effects of the recent Mountain Gorilla deaths on the remaining Gorillas in Virunga National Park in Congo.
Both Silverbacks killed in January were solitary males. This provokes less social trauma on the remaining Gorillas in the area, but it has a negative effect on the growth of the population as a whole. New Gorilla groups must form, and this nearly always happens when a solitary Silverback displaces the alpha male from a group (often when he gets old). Sometimes, as we saw with Mapuwa and Pilipili recently, two new groups are formed and so the population grows. This is natural and it’s a good thing. The populations at Bikenge, where the two Silverbacks were killed, will suffer from a lack of strong solitary males.
The overall state of a group is very much determined by the dominant Silverback. He affects the temperament of the group. If he’s agitated, the group will be nervous. If he’s calm, the group follows suit. If the Silverback is killed by poachers, it has a catastrophic effect on the rest of the group.
Some colleagues of mine at ICCN (Kajuga, Mbula and Sikubwabo) wrote a paper on the effects of the killing of a dominant Silverback, Rugabo, of the Lulengo group, by poachers in 1995. The Lulengo group lived in the Bikenge area in Virunga, and was at the origin of many of the groups who are there today. The Mapuwa group (which has now split) was formed from the Lulengo group. Karema, killed by rebels in January, also originated from this group. You will see from this article that I mention how important it is that we protect the individuals in these groups. When a Gorilla is killed, the group itself is usually destroyed, and the trauma is felt for years afterwards.
Technorati : congo, mikeno, mountain gorilla, poacher, virunga, wildlifedirect
Daily news from the conservation frontline by Innocent and Diddy, and other Congolese rangers risking their lives to save mountain gorillas of the Virunga National Park in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo
What happens to the Poachers when they are caught?
Or how often are the poachers caught. How do you guys catch them. Do they feel bad for what they do?
Maintaining the law is a big part of our work. So when a poacher is arrested he is charged and taken to the “tribunal de grande instance” in Goma (the court). They would normally get fairly stiff sentences if we can get a good case together, several years in jail. Frankfurt Zoological Society obtained some European Union funds to hire a lawyer to help us to uphold these laws. In the past we haven’t always managed to arrest poachers because we haven’t had the necessary equipment, but since the war stopped and with the increased support, things are getting better (see the congo rangers blog)
Wow, I learn so much from reading your blog, sir. Thanks for the information and the great pictures of gorillas in the wild.
s.
[…] In the field, you can read about a rather adventurous short trip taken by two Wildlife Direct staff members to a bigger city and also get a glimpse into some of the difficulties facing the area. In the Masai Mara National Reserve, a large number of poachers were recently caught in one operation; from the Gorilla Protection Blog you can read about the wider effects of poaching for entire gorilla communities. Some revision: What is Wildlife Direct? Wildlife Direct is a program of the Africa Conservation Fund, founded and chaired by Richard Leakey: the purpose of Wildlife Direct is to provide support to conservationists via the use of blogs, many of which are the personal blogs of individuals involved in the conservation effort in Congo. Wildlife Direct does not take any administration fee from donations as it is funded separately, generally by European Union grants – funds donated go entirely to the conservation effort. […]
Ummm…This Has Nothing To Do With The Atagonists….
What Part Of Africa Are The Congo Gorilla’s From If They Even Are From Africa?
WHY WONT YOU JUST TELL US WHAT HAPPENS TO POACHERS WHEN THEY ARE CAUGHT!!!!!! WHAT HAPPENS DO THEY GO TO JAIL FACE DEATH ROW OR WHAT TELL US!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
i agree with victoria. what happens when poachers are cought? fines, jail time, what????
AND I RULE