Gorilla Protection

Heavy fighting broke out at 3.30am today between rebels and the army around the Gorilla Sector, specifically near the patrol post of Bukima and going down toward Rumangabo park station. The situation had been calm for some months but all this has just changed.

This is Samantha. I was at Rumangabo this morning with Diddy, Innocent, Balemba, Pierre and others and you could hear the mortars being fired not so far away and reverberating through the hills.

This is taken from the main house at Rumangabo station. In the distance (just) you can see 2 buildings - that is a military camp that the rebels are targeting. Beyond the buildings is Sabinyo, a volcano that straddles DRC, Rwanda and Uganda. It is towards the buildings and to the right that the fighting is taking place.

It is not clear who attacked who first - ie the rebels attacked the army first or vice versa. But one thing is for sure, the army is sending in major reinforcements.

When we left Rumangabo heading toward Goma we came across a convoy of military vehicles carrying all kinds of heavy weaponry and soldiers. Weapons are not my area of expertise, but there was definitely a wide array on display of all shapes and sizes - and also something called Stalin’s organ, a weapon with multiple tubes that looks like an organ and presumably fires a rocket from each hole.

This was one of the tanks we passed on our way back. 

I just spoke to Diddy and the bombing continues as I write.

There is one thing for certain though. If we can hear the bombing and mortars, so can the gorillas. If human populations around this area feel threatened, so do the gorillas.

I will keep you up to date.

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This is Pierre. The Congolese Wildlife Authority (ICCN) is currently in talks with the Congolese military (known as FARDC) to find a way to redeploy the troops that have been stationed in the park at Rwindi since January this year and move them out of the park. There are about 700 men in total. (Rwindi is just south/south west of Lake Albert).

Emmanuel has had several meetings with General Vainqueur Mayala, who is the highest ranking officer in the North Kivu province and who commands the 8th military region which occupies areas of Virunga National Park. General Mayala has been very cooperative and Emmanuel is confident that a solution will be found soon.

Lets keep our fingers crossed… We would like to get all armed groups out of the park and let the Rangers do their job.

The Rwindi plains

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This is Pierre. It has been another bad month for elephants in Virunga National Park. In the past few weeks at least seven elephants were killed in the Rwindi area, including the two that I blogged about earlier this month.

We don’t have a photos yet, but hopefully the rangers on the ground in Rwindi will send us some in the next couple days. There have been several press reports about the more recent killings, including on Bloomberg.

It is clear that we must find a solution that will remove the armed groups from the interior of the park. Unless we do something soon, there will be no elephants left.

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This is Innocent. Yesterday I got a call from our rangers at the Gatovu Patrol Post. They told me that they had seen a solitary gorilla in the forest nearby. I immediately went over there to identify which individual it was.

We found the gorilla at about 10 minutes from the patrol post. I was amazed to see that it was Buhanga, the solitary silverback that had once belonged to the group now led by Kabirizi.

It was fantastic to once again see a gorilla in the wild- it was the first time since last year when the rebels took over the Mikeno Sector of the park. As you can see from the video, Buhanga has grown a lot bigger since last time I saw him!

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Emmanuel was sworn in last week as Chief Warden of Virunga National Park - so it’s now official and work is already well underway to manage and protect Africa’s oldest national park. There was an inauguration ceremony in Goma with the leading local authorities before the Military Tribunal, and then another ceremony up at Kibati patrol post with the Rangers.

Emmanuel greets the provincial Environment Minister, Felicite Kalume Ndoole, before the ceremony

Emmanuel takes an oath

At Kibati Rangers await Emmanuel’s arrival

Emmanuel arrives to be sworn in by ICCN’s Director Cosma Wilungula. That is Norbert Mushenzi on the left.

And who is writing this post? Well it’s Samantha. I am back. I have come to work with Emmanuel and ICCN on the communications/branding of Virunga National Park.  I shall be writing posts for this blog, which will of course be kept going by Pierre.

Rather excitingly ICCN has a new logo for the park that I thought I would show you - the first time it has gone public I believe! A new website is being designed just for Virunga National Park and the Rangers. Dot cd by the way, in case you are wondering, is DRC’s url.

What do you think? This is the English version - on the ground it will be written in French.

Look forward to hearing your comments. Pierre will give you another update shortly on Tongo - the logistics of getting him to JACK are proving fairly complex but we are all on standby Look forward to reading all your comments again.

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Tongo is doing well under the care our resident chimpanzee expert Faustin. As many of you have suggested, the J.A.C.K. sanctuary is the best place for him to go and thankfully they have agreed to take him.

If you would like to contribute to the long-term care of Tongo, please visit their blog and make a donation.

Faustin and Tongo 

Proceedings are ongoing against the men who were arrested and Major X. It has emerged that Major X was probably also involved in the shipment of bushmeat that was confiscated at the Kibati barrier in April.

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This is Pierre. Yesterday morning we got a tip-off that there were people in Goma trying to sell a baby gorilla. We decided to set up a sting operation, where I would pose as a foreigner interested in buying the gorilla. We obtained the go-ahead from the local authorities and a team of ICCN Rangers was put on standby nearby to make arrests.

I arranged with a local contact to meet the men who were selling the gorilla. I was introduced to them and they told me that they were acting as middle men for the owner of a baby mountain gorilla that was being kept here in Goma.

After several hours of negotiating and discussions, the men handed me a mobile phone- on the other end of the line was the owner. The man was not in Goma, but he agreed to send someone to take us to his house to show me the animal. When I finally arrived at the house, we entered the yard and I immediately realized that it belonged to someone in the military. There was a army truck and a jeep there, and a soldier with an AK-47 was standing guard.

I was led to a small room in the house, where a man opened a basket revealing a baby chimpanzee. Clearly the men did not know the difference between a gorilla and a chimpanzee. The chimp had been in that basket for three months and came from Tongo in Virunga National Park.

After taking pictures of the chimp, I told the men that I would have to go back to my house to get the money. As we left, the team of Rangers roared up in a vehicle and raided the house. The three middle men and the soldier were arrested, and the chimp was confiscated.

We took the chimp back to our office and had the MGVP veterinarians give it a check-up. It is a male, about 9 months old, and in pretty good condition apart from some parasites. We are now taking care of him while we try to find him a good home in a sanctuary. We decided to call him Tongo.

Following the arrests, it has emerged that the man who owned the house, and with whom I spoke to on the phone, is a Major in the Congolese army. It was not a surprise that Major “X” (I can’t name him yet due to legal reasons) was involved in the trade of baby chimps. He has been implicated in poaching incidents in Rwindi and more importantly there is strong evidence that he is a ringleader in the illegal charcoal trade.

We hope that the judicial proceedings following the rescue of Tongo will finally bring Major X to justice. This would represent a massive breakthrough in our efforts to protect the gorilla sector.

Tongo already enjoys climbing the tree in our garden.

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July was great month for donations- we received $17,538 in contributions towards the protection of gorillas in Virunga National Park. Asante Sana!

A special thanks goes to Vanessa from Happy Hollow Zoo for their $2000 donation and to Kathleen B who gave $500.

Here is the full list the July donors:

Benjamin A $25; cathy s $25; DONALD M $25; Judi N $25; Judi N $25; georgia w $60; Michel T $105; richard w $165; Brenda G $85; Camille D $35; Daniel DQ $35; gerard g $35; Masako S $35; Steve T $60; Guy G $45; Mary H $45; M D’s Neighborhood $45; Sue D S $45; christine l $110; William S $180; Marco C $70; Nahja B $105; Stephen W $100; AKIHIDE R $10; DAPHNE K $10; joseph a $10; Rick L $10; Susan K $10; Cynthia U $100; Gideon M $100; Jerry H $100; Keith K $100; KENT F $100; Lechoslaw K $100; Marin R $100; Selina S $100; Vicki H $100; Marisa A $100; Robert H $100; Amanda S $100; chris n $100; Craig F $100; Hector V $100; Jason B $100; Jeanette D $100; Jill H $100; Jill P $100; Laura R $100; Mary L $100; Rae S $100; Suzy M $100; Veronica r $100; susan k $760; Lorena R $150; Marian D $105; Mary X $120; Paula B $15; Joyce L $150; Casey M $150; Chantal A $20; Maximilian H $20; Michael K $20; Briah T $20;

imelda a $20; Nicholas H $20; Robert L $20; Sandra C $20; Tina Y $20; Joe N $200; Julie M $200; Vanessa R $2000; KIM M T $25; Michael P $25; Faye T $25; Karin m $25; Laura M $25; Low Cost Lawn Care $25; Mary C $25; Rachel B $25; Nigel H $250; Bonnie S $250; Winthrop A $275; Jeff C $30; Erin M $30; Juanita G $30; Andreas C $300; Steven G $300; Heather M $35; Eric S $40; darrick u $40; Robert H $40; Eric B $100; Ann P $50; Caroline B $50; Dudley S $50; Jason G $50; Jeri F $50; Robert N $50; Sherri M $50; William H $50; Ashley E $50; Charmagne S $50; Deborah B $50; Dorothy M $50; Elizabeth R $50; Frank B $50; Jason J $50; Jennifer P $50; john w $50; juan f $50; Kate D $50; Kimberly B $50; Laura W $50; ROBERT R $50; Sandra M $50; Susan M $50; susan k $185; Kathleen B $500; Carrie J S $100; Jarett K $100; Annie Y $60;

 

 Elee C $75; Garth R $400; cynthia r $15; Dafna M $15; Gloria A $15; K E Adams $15; Kathleen W $15; Nicholas H $15; Marco C $55; Constance B $85; Sara T $85; Teva S $85; Ah K L $40; Alicia K $40; Helen S $40; Jorge G $40; Norma A $40; sarah a $40; William W $40; Silvio L M M $30; beth f $70; wild entertainment $30; William S $130; Ayako U $10; Deborah B $10; MIRIAM C $10; Pam P $10; Black Circle Technology $10; Elizabeth H $100; Sophie N $50; Brad S $15; Deanne H $15; Andy S $15; Maria B $15; Robert H $15; brad h $100; Willem v $16; Andrew B $20; Arnie S $20; Carrie J S $20; g roberts $20; Deeanna B $20; Jennifer A $20; Tresha D $20; Michael L $25; Sharon C $25; aleta W $25; lenette b $25; Sharon S $25; Kathy M $30; Steven G $300; thomas l $40;

 

Michelle W $5; Christine L $5; john z $50; Pirjo I $50; Michael G $50; Northwest Shows, Inc. $50; A BROWN $20; alberto g $0.1; Angela S $25; Anne K $20; ATV Off Road Stuff $20; Baerbel W $50; beth m $15; Brad M $40; Brenda P $50; Brian M $100; Carol H $15; Caroline N $10; Charla M $10; Claude H $50; Cynthia W $30; Daniela M $25; DARIO R $50; Daryl P $20; david b $20; David L $20; Deanne D $15; diana t $50; Donald T $35; doug b $20; elizabeth d $40; Elizabeth V $20; Eric O $10; Eric S $25; Erin M $20; Etienne B $50; Haishin O $27; Hayez V $20; Jacqueline T $200; Jana S $5; Janice G $10; Jeanie N $10; Jeffrey W $20; Jennifer K $20; Jennifer L B $15; Jesse W $20; Jessica I $20; Joseph S $20; Joy E $10; julia b $20; justin m $20; kari h $40; Karin T $55; karith c $100; Kelly M $50; Kevin C $20; Kevin F $15; Kim M $40; L Vos $30;

 

Lalita S $20; Lara D $10; Lisa H $50; Madeleine P $40; mandi c $10; Maria H $30; Marilyn L $20; Mark H $20; Mark S $20; Mark T $20; Martana R $15; Martha A $30; matthew c $10; Meghan L $25; Micaela B $10; Michael D G $15; Michael S $30; Michel S $15; Michelle P $30; Michelle W $20; mr glyn c c $15; NATHANIAL W $20; Nicholas M $5; Nikki N $25; Paige W $10; Paul J $15; Paula J G $15; Petrina L $50; PRISCILLA L C $30; Ramsay B $50; Rebecca P $25; rebecca w $10; reisa v $30; Richard I $50; Robert J $10; Robin D $20; Ross W $10; ruth t $15; Salim Jamal $10; Sean H $40; Shawn M $15; Sherri S $25; Shine Web Design $25; Stephani A $25; susan r $20; Suzanne C $30; Tammie F $25; Tasha C $20; Ted W $20; Teresa E $10; Thomas T $20; Tonia W $15; Wild Mare Productions $15; william c $35

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This is Pierre. We just got word that two elephants were killed by FDLR rebels yesterday at Rwindi, in the central sector of Virunga National Park (see map). The FDLR are comprised of Hutu militia who were involved in the Rwandan genocide.

A group of Rangers had gone on patrol on the Rwindi plain from the Vitshumbi Patrol Post and encountered a group of FDLR poachers. A gunfight ensued and the Rangers were able to push the rebels back. No-one was injured on either side and the rebels escaped.

The Rangers then discovered the bodies of two elephants that the rebels had killed. The elephants still had their tusks and had clearly just been killed. In response to this, the ICCN will be deploying fifteen Rangers from the Advanced Force to Rwindi this week.

This attack follows several bad months for the elephants of Virunga, including the killings of elephants in April and May of this year. Lets hope the Advanced Force will be able to turn the tide…

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This is Pierre. Very exciting news today! We just got word from Kinshasa that Emmanuel has been appointed by the Congolese government as the new head of Virunga National Park.

Everyone here is absolutely thrilled and we are looking forward to seeing Virunga move forward under his leadership.

Below is the press release that will soon be sent out to journalists, but you saw it here first!

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CONGO’S GORILLA SECTOR GETS NEW CHIEF 1 YR AFTER MASSACRE

The Congolese wildlife authority, ICCN, has named Dr. Emmanuel de Merode as the new Director of Virunga National Park, 1 year after the worst mountain gorilla massacre on record. The appointment of the former CEO of conservation group WildlifeDirect to ICCN is a move by the Congolese authorities to strengthen the rule of law, step up anti-poaching and prevent forest destruction for charcoal in Africa’s oldest national park. De Merode’s second in command will be Norbert Mushenzi, one of the most experienced senior wardens in the region.

ICCN’s Director, Cosma Wilungula said “We are absolutely committed to taking all the necessary measures to protect the mountain gorillas and bring security to the people living around Virunga National Park. The new team that we have appointed is a major step toward achieving this goal”.

After being sworn in by the Military Tribunal in Goma, de Merode will step into the role on 13 August 2008, taking command of the 680 rangers serving within the park.

“The intensity of the conflict in and around the park makes this a daunting challenge, but it is a great privilege to be working alongside such a dedicated and courageous team of rangers. I have real confidence in our ability to secure a future for the park to ensure that it makes a positive contribution to the lives of the people of North Kivu,” said de Merode.

The appointment follows a year which has seen Laurent Nkunda’s rebels take over the Gorilla Sector of Virunga National Park, as well as the ongoing trial of the suspects charged with orchestrating the killing of 6 mountain gorillas in July 2007.

The presence of an estimated 4,000 armed militias throughout the park, and a growing demand for the park’s natural resources - including charcoal, bushmeat and other illegal products - has led to massive and sustained attacks on the park’s wildlife. In 2007 10 mountain gorillas were killed and the hippo population of Lake Edward, once the greatest in the world, has been depleted by over 95% by armed militias. Over 120 rangers in Virunga have lost their lives in the line of duty after a decade of armed conflict in the region.

With financial assistance from the European Union, ICCN will be launching an ambitious plan to re-establish the rule of law within the national park, prevent the destruction of its wildlife, and secure the park as a basis for stability and economic growth in the country.

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