Gorilla Protection

Apr 11 2007

Local chiefs and Gorilla protection in Virunga

4 Responses to “Local chiefs and Gorilla protection in Virunga”

1. # STEPHon 11 Apr 2007 at 9:16 am

   Do the Gorilla’s do much damage to the crops or are they more of just a aggravation to the tribes of the area??? What reasoning is it that these gorillas want to go into the fields?? Maybe they like a little corn in their diet. :):)..Seriously are the crops affected that much? Well hope things stay smooth between the tribes and these lovely gorillas….Stephanie

2. # Paulinon 12 Apr 2007 at 11:06 am

   Hi Steph - the Gorillas don’t actually do that much damage to the crops, but we have to ensure that they do not eat entire fields of crops because this will affect relationships between the Gorillas and the communities. So no.. the crops are not affected to any great extent. The potential of tourism revenues once Congo is a more stable place far outweighs any damage that these Gorillas can do. There are not that many of them after all. Best, Paulin

3. # Davidon 14 Apr 2007 at 11:42 am

   Hello. I am wondering, how long have the gorillas been eating the crops? Is it something they have started recently? Do they eat the crops because it is an easy food source, or is there less food available now in the forest?

4. # Paulinon 15 Apr 2007 at 2:07 pm

   hello David. Gorillas are more inclined to eat crops first of all when they are habituated (because they are not so scared of humans) and when there are crops near there natural habitat, which comes as a consequence of population growth in general. So Gorillas eat crops because it is an easy food source; there is certainly enough for them to eat! Kwa Heri, Paulin

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