Gorilla Protection

Category: Uncategorized | Date: Nov 03 2008 | By: paula

A number of people have been raising concerns about how the crisis in the Congo is affecting the two gorilla orphans, Ndakasi and Ndeze, in Goma. We were really pleased to read today when Emmanuel confirmed that despite the conflict, he has been able to visit the babies and that they and their caretakers are all doing well. But in an emotional post on Gorilla Doctors blog, Dr. Lucy Spelman who is currently in Rwanda commented on her concerns of the situation facing the caretakers in the Congo and how it affects the gorilla conservation work and the orphaned babies in Goma.

She said

“I know that Jacques, Eddy, Jean Paul, the gorilla caretakers, and the orphans Ndeze, Ndakasi, and Mapendo are okay for now in Goma.  But the situation there is very unstable”

“Several people have said they feel helpless as they watch the events from a distance.  I’m an hour-and-a-half drive from Goma, and I feel the same way.

Meanwhile, on the humanitarian front, we are hoping that the ceasefire will hold and the convoy efforts to get food out through the front lines will be successful as the local communities around Goma have been without food for nearly a week now. We have heard distressing news about the condition of children especially, who are suffering from all manner of nutritional and health related disorders the aid must reach these people soon to avert untold suffering, starvation and death.

We send our good wishes with our colleagues on the ground, the ICCN, conservation partners, and journalists who are risking so much by staying there and helping through this crisis. If you have any spare dollars, please support the ICCN rangers through this crisis.

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Tags: Goma, Gorilla Doctors, gorillas, Lucy Spelman, MGVP, Mountain Gorillas, Ndakasi, Ndeze, Virunga National Park

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Category: Uncategorized | Date: Oct 26 2008 | By: paula

Conflict in eastern  Congo is once again in the headlines, once again it’s very bad news.

Emmanuel on Gorilla.cd reports

“Fighting at Rumangabo started at 0400 today between the rebels of Laurent Nkunda and the army. It has now totally engulfed the park station and our Rangers have been forced to flee into the forests for their lives. The rebels now are the only occupants of the park station at Rumangabo. This has never happened before. This is a serious time. We need to get our 50+ Rangers back to safety in Goma, 45km south of Rumangabo. The main road is blocked because of the fighting so they are walking through the forests of the park south, to Kibumba, about 20km away, where we aim to pick them up in trucks. We are trying to maintain phone contact but they don’t have much battery life in their phones”.

Emmanuel has made an appeal on Gorilla.cd and any donations made here will go directly to support these rangers during these difficult times. I’ve spoken to some friends on the ground who say that the situation is extremely bad.

An ABC news report on Monuc website reports that “Rebels loyal to renegade Gen. Laurent Nkunda have seized a major army camp in eastern Congo in heavy fighting Sunday that sent thousands of civilians fleeing, U.N. officials and rebels said. An unknown number of soldiers, rebels and civilians were killed in the renewed fighting in North Kivu province, civilians said.

Government troops raced down the road north from the provincial capital of Goma to reinforce a counterattack Sunday morning. One tank careened into a group of fleeing civilians and killed three teenage boys”.

This is the second time that Nkunda and his rebels have attacked Rumangabo. Thousands more are now fleeing through  the forests and aid agencies say that the fighting jeopardises the delivery of aid to the now malnourished victims of this escalating conflict.

More reports here on the Guardian and the BBC who state that the fighting is continuing and an unknown number of people have been killed. More than 200,000 people are said to have fled the area since the end of August.

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Tags: CNDP, Laurent Nkunda, Mountain Gorillas, rumangabo, Virunga National Park

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Category: Threats | Date: Oct 09 2008 | By: admin

We are alarmed with news reports that rebel forces have taken over the military base at Rumangabo. This has forced the ICCN to begin evacuating rangers from the Virunga National Park which is critical for their safety and survival, but will leave the gorillas and forests vulnerable.

According to AFP “The Democratic Republic of Congo’s envoy to the United Nations called on the Security Council to intervene to stop what he called an “imminent” Rwandan attack on the eastern DRC city of Goma.

Atoki Ileka told AFP that DRC authorities had “observed concentrations of Rwandan troops in the Rwandan border town of Gisenyi,” and that this suggested that an attack on Goma, located just across the frontier, was “imminent.”

Goma is the capital of Nord-Kivu province, which is at the center of renewed fighting between rebel and government forces that broke out August 28 in the east of the DRC.

“We have asked the Security Council to put the necessary pressure on Rwanda to prevent a new (Rwandan) aggression against DRC,” Ileka said, adding that troops in Rwandan uniforms had seized the Rumangabo military camp near Goma early Wednesday.”

Reuters have also just reported the invasion of Congo by Rwandan troops “Congo has accused neighboring Rwanda of sending troops across the border and fighting in support of a Congolese warlord. A Rwandan military spokesman denies the allegations.

North Kivu provincial Gov. Julien Mpaluku says Rwandan soldiers backing Congo warlord Laurent Nkunda crossed into Congo three days ago and headed for the frontier villages of Tshanzu and Bunagana. He said Wednesday that Rwandan troops were fighting in Rumangabo, a small village north of the regional capital, Goma”.

Rumangabo is the headquarters of the Virunga National Park where our former CEO Emmanuel de Merode and his team of rangers including Diddy and Innocent are based. In a post on the Official Virunga National Park website where Samantha reports that heavy fighting had broken out between the army and Nkunda’s rebels. The fighting approached the park station (Rumangabo is the Park headquarters). Military tanks were apparently “firing on the hills where they believe the rebels to be; an army helicopter is also hovering, patroling the area”.

It is now certain that the CNDP (Nkunda’s troops) have taken control of the Rumangabo military base - a major blow to the army and a major threat to the Rangers at the station.

A post on the blog at Gorilla.cd states

“Emmanuel is doing his utmost to try and secure the station and get the remaining people out. Monuc - the UN team in DRC - thankfully knows Pierre and the others are all there and have told them not to move from the station as it is unsafe”.

This is of course terrible news for conservation as it not only puts the ICCN staff in a severely dangerous situation(over 120 rangers have died in the line of duty over recent years), but will further curtail conservation activities, patrols or management of the park. In addition, it is likely to escalate the problem of internal refugees which will deepen the environmental impact of the tens of thousands that are being displaced as they seek safety.

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Tags: Diddy, ICCN, Innocent, Laurent Nkunda, MONUC, Mountain Gorillas, Rangers, rebels, wildlifedirect

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Category: Kabirizi Family | Date: Oct 05 2008 | By: rumangaboyouth

Looking for Miza was only just recently launched in New York at the first childrens Gorilla Summit

The book was developed to raise awareness amongst young people about the crisis facing mountain gorillas, and the need for everyone to help. Like it’s predecessor Owen and Mzee, “Looking for Miza” is already no. 1 in Amazons non fiction childrens books on monkeys and apes.  This book was made possible through a collaboration with the ICCN and involved working with  Diddy and Innocent, two rangers who are the heroes of the story. After spending time with them in Congo they both came to Kenya to help tie up ends. Both Diddy and Innocent were wonderful to work with and are recognized in the book along with others for their important contributions towards the story and photos. from is the editorial review on Amazon

“In a magical place called the Congo, in the beautiful forests and jungles of Virunga National Park, lives a young female mountain gorilla named Miza. She was just like any other baby gorilla, riding on her mother’s back, playing, taking naps. Then, one day, when Miza and her mother were out searching for food, Miza’s mother disappeared, leaving her baby alone and frightened. Miza’s father, a fierce silverback named Kabirizi and the leader of Virunga’s largest family of mountain gorillas, set out to find Miza. The Congolese rangers, who dedicate their lives to protecting the gorillas, were searching for Miza, too. Everyone was worried about her. Then something amazing happened: Kabirizi found Miza and brought her back to live with her family.

Virunga is home to roughly 380 mountain gorillas, just over half of the planet’s remaining mountain gorilla population. Miza and other mountain gorillas face an especially uncertain future. They are an endangered species, disappearing at an alarming speed. Without our help they could vanish completely.

Filled with lush photographs by award-winning photographer Peter Greste, LOOKING FOR MIZA is a powerful call to action. The fate of these majestic creatures is in our hands. This is Miza’s story. It’s our story, too. “

Children are signing the Kids Global Act  Pact and leaving suggestions for solutions to the crisis on the Scholastic website here

You can order the book on Amazon here 

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Tags: Congo, gorillas, Looking for Miza, Mountain Gorillas, Virunga National Park

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Category: Humanitarian Situation, Political situation, Threats | Date: Oct 04 2008 | By: rumangaboyouth

According to this article in the Associated Press fighting in Eastern Congo could escalate into a wider conflict.

“The top U.N. envoy to Congo warned Friday that renewed fighting in eastern Congo has heightened ethnic tensions and could lead to the renewal of a wider conflict in central Africa.

Alan Doss urged all militias in the country’s hilly eastern border area — the scene of the worst fighting and a humanitarian crisis in Congo — to support a U.N. disengagement plan to bring peace to the conflict-wracked region.

He expressed dismay at reports this week that a key rebel leader, Laurent Nkunda, who initially said he would discuss the plan, was now reported to be backtracking and “walking out of any effort to move the peace process forward.”

Nkunda launched a low-level rebellion several years ago claiming Congo’s transition to democracy had excluded the country’s minority Tutsi ethnic group, which is being targeted by ethnic Hutus from Congo as well as Rwanda.

The U.N. estimates there are about 20,000 militia fighters in the east, belonging to a number of different groups.

Among them are members of an extremist ethnic Hutu militia accused of orchestrating the 1994 genocide of 500,000 ethnic Tutsis in Rwanda. The group and others are accused of razing villages, terrorizing the local population and perpetrating rapes”.

The fighting in this region directly affects conservation efforts and the needs of Virunga National Park are now greater than ever and although the original authors of the gorilla blog have stopped posting here, WildlifeDirect will continue to support gorilla conservation efforts by maintaining this blog and raising funds to continue support the rangers in the field.

To date we have sent over $400,000 to the Virunga National Park  from funds raied on this blog which has helped significantly in keeping the rangers on the ground. Thank you all for your support. The situation in Eastern Congo is very serious but we cannot give up hope that peace will return. Our goal is to help ensure that wildlife, especially mountain gorillas survive through this trying period. Our thoughts and prayers are with the rangers who continue to work despite the escalating conflict.

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Tags: Congo, Mountain Gorillas, Virunga National Park, wildlifedirect

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