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Rangers have spent all day destroying illegal charcoal kilns in the southern sector of Virunga, the area the worst hit by the illegal charcoal industry as you know.

Innocent and his men swept a large area in the park Read the full story »

There is a spot just below the northern cliff face of the magestic Mikeno volcano where animals go in search of salt. Elephants, buffalo, antelope and our mountain gorillas all go there to scrape, lick and eat the rock which is rich in salt and other minerals.

A couple of days ago the Humba group was there. Ranger Sekibibi took these pictures. You can see how acrobatic our gorillas can be! Read the full story »

In the early hours of the morning we launched Makala II, the second phase of operations to break the charcoal trafficking.   On Friday, 150 rangers arrived discretely in Rumangabo to prepare for a second offensive around the Nyiragongo volcano.  They received some training and an extensive brief before launching the operation.

The first charcoal kilns were found and destroyed before dawn Read the full story »

Two months later, was a big operation in which Rangers destroyed several hundred Kilns.

In his inspect Innocent Mburanumwe led a patrol out and back to evaluate the impact of the last anti-charcoals operation. In patrol he destroyed four Kilns and arrested two charcoal’s poachers. Read the full story »

The Mapuwa Family have split after nine months of acrimonious cohabitation.
The family had been led by the Silverbacks, Mapuwa and Nvuyekure, since December 29 2008.

Mapuwa

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In the Congo of today, the death of a husband plunges a family into poverty.

We’ve received a significant donation from the International Gorilla Conservation Programme (IGCP) to help the widows of the rangers who have died protecting the park.  Over 130 rangers have died, many of these during the war, and because of the situation, we were unable to provide them with any kind of support.

Life has been extremely hard for these women, who’s husbands made the ultimate sacrifice.  They were with us last year, when we evacuated Rumangabo during the fighting.  They remain with us, and are considered part of the Virunga “family”, but they don’t receive any financial help, and many of them are homeless, but for the makeshift accomodation that is prepared for them on the station. Read the full story »

This time of year is a period of friction between the gorilla families in Mikeno.  Bamboo shoots start sprouting because it’s the beginning of the rain season.  The shoots are in short supply and there is a bit of a scramble, which opens the scene for the occasional fight between silverbacks.

The Munyaga group usually avoids a fight, but has now drifted towards the Kabirizi and Humba group in search of bamboo shoots.

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Last month the Rangers reported a marked and alarming rise in the number of hippos killed in the Central Sector of Virunga National Park. The Rangers are almost certain that this is the work of FARDC (DRC Armed Forces).

Eight Hippos were killed in a month. Read the full story »

Briquette board advertise in Goma town

The sign has

The New Charcoal

This destroys the environment and our future

Briquettes are cheaper and cook faster

Buy a sack of briquettes and get a free stove

Read the full story »