I need help with Mountain Gorillas?
Why and how is the current political crisis in Rwanda jeopardizing the survival of mountain gorillas? What can Rwanda, Uganda, Burundi, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), the former Zaire, do to remedy the situation?
The Mountain Gorilla (Gorilla beringei beringei) is one of two subspecies of Eastern Gorillas. There are two populations. One is found in the Virunga volcanic mountains of Central Africa, within four national parks: Mgahinga, in south-west Uganda; Volcanoes, in north-west Rwanda; and Virunga and Kahuzi-Biéga, in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). The other is found in Uganda’s Bwindi Impenetrable Forest. Some claim that the Bwindi population in Uganda is a third subspecies, although no formal taxonomic description has been published.
A census taken in 2003 has shown a 17% increase in population size since 1989. There are now a total of 380 gorillas in 30 social groups in the Virungas[3] and a total of about 320 in Bwindi. However, the Mountain Gorilla continues to be considered critically endangered on the IUCN Red List of Endangered Species. It faces an extremely high risk of extinction in the wild due to habitat loss, poaching, human disease, and war. The Virungas population became further threatened on September 3, 2007 due to an outbreak of violence in Virunga National Park between rebels loyal to Laurent Nkunda and DRC government forces. Rangers were forced to flee, leaving the gorillas undefended, and the fate of the estimated 100 gorillas on the Congo side of the border remains unknown. All in all there are only around 700 Mountain Gorillas left.
The Mountain Gorilla (Gorilla beringei beringei) is one of two subspecies of Eastern Gorillas. There are two populations. One is found in the Virunga volcanic mountains of Central Africa, within four national parks: Mgahinga, in south-west Uganda; Volcanoes, in north-west Rwanda; and Virunga and Kahuzi-Biéga, in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). The other is found in Uganda’s Bwindi Impenetrable Forest. Some claim that the Bwindi population in Uganda is a third subspecies, although no formal taxonomic description has been published.
A census taken in 2003 has shown a 17% increase in population size since 1989. There are now a total of 380 gorillas in 30 social groups in the Virungas[3] and a total of about 320 in Bwindi. However, the Mountain Gorilla continues to be considered critically endangered on the IUCN Red List of Endangered Species. It faces an extremely high risk of extinction in the wild due to habitat loss, poaching, human disease, and war. The Virungas population became further threatened on September 3, 2007 due to an outbreak of violence in Virunga National Park between rebels loyal to Laurent Nkunda and DRC government forces. Rangers were forced to flee, leaving the gorillas undefended, and the fate of the estimated 100 gorillas on the Congo side of the border remains unknown. All in all there are only around 700 Mountain Gorillas left.
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