Gorilla Protection

Last night, CBS re-broadcast the 60 Minutes about the Virunga gorillas. In case you missed it, you can watch in online here.

You may remember that Anderson Cooper came to Virunga last October to interview us for the show.

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This is Diddy. It has been a difficult week. On Tuesday Alexandre Wathaut, the director of Virunga National Park, died of natural causes at the age of 64. It came as a shock to all of us here, as he was well liked and much respected.

Director Wathaut with his grandchildren (photo taken in January)

The Funeral at Rumangabo

Director Wathaut had worked for the ICCN (the Congolese Wildlife Authority) since 1971. He started as an accountant in Rutshuru, but then transferred to fieldwork and became a wildlife warden, first in Virunga and then at Kahuzi-Biega National Park.

During his time at Kahuzi-Biega, Wathaut was responsible for establishing the ranger station at Nzovu, which was critical in protecting a large area of important lowland habitat for wildlife. He rose to the rank of Director in 2005 and then transferred last year back to Virunga, where his leadership was crucial in coordinating efforts during the gorilla crisis.

Atamato was one of the pallbearers (on right)

Innocent in the white shirt on the right

The funeral took place today and he was buried at the Rumangabo Station. As you can see, hundreds of people came to pay their respects. He will be sorely missed.

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