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Protecting the Mountain Gorillas of Virunga
FINALLY! A Team Will Search for our Gorilla Families Tomorrow
We are excited to report that after four months of no access whatsoever to Virunga National Park’s gorilla sector, we’ve negotiated entrance to Bukima for one small team to check on our mountain gorillas.
I have just heard from Emmanuel that they reached Bukima safely and will be setting up camp there tonight. Tomorrow they will enter the forest to begin a search for our habituated gorilla families. They are anticipating it could take some time as these gorillas have not been found since the end of July, but we have excellent trackers so are hoping for the best.
You may remember at the end of July that eight ranger teams managed to find four of our seven gorilla families in one day: Humba, Rugendo, Munyaga, and half of the Kabirizi family. It was the last time that our rangers saw any of our habituated gorilla groups.
Here’s to hoping for the beginning of an opportunity to monitor the gorillas on a regular basis, to check their numbers and health, and clear the forest of snares.
Check back here, as we will report on the progress of this trek as soon as we have news.
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14 Responses to “FINALLY! A Team Will Search for our Gorilla Families Tomorrow”
Wow, I didn’t realize it had been four months since any monitoring had happened! Here’s hoping that all are alive and well and make themselves easy to find…
Yes, it’s been a long time. We’re hoping for no trouble, and that they are easy to find. In this environment, anything can happen.
Hoping for the best, good luck on your patrol and keep us posted.
That’s an exciting development! Best of wishes for the team!! It is heartbreaking to think how much progress has been put in jeopardy.
Great news ! Hope to hear more very soon
WONDERFUL NEWS!!!!!!
I am so happy to hear this.
Thank you
Good luck for your team…and the gorillas!
Fabulous. Good luck to all. Let’s hope for good news all round.
Oh nice! Great news. It is a relief to hear that you guys are on the move to actively monitor the gorillas once again. Can’t believe it’s been 4 months! Best of luck and safety!
I so hope they`ll be succesful. I remember the picture when a silver-back (I think it was) recognized the ranger approaching him first on a similar occasion. there´s no way after all to explain the madness of the situation to the gorillas (there´s hardly one for humans)
Brilliant -take great care guys & fingers crossed it’s good news from the forest. Thinking of you all.
Good luck. I love the beautiful gorillas and I hope all is well.
[...] In the Democratic Republic of Congo side of the Virunga Massif, in Virunga National Park’s gorilla sector, M23 rebels have occupied large portions of the gorilla sector since May of this year. However, recently, the park was able to negotiate to get a small team of specialized rangers into the gorilla sector to che…. [...]
Best of luck. Wishing a lot of success. I appreciate the work all there are doing with that majestic species. They are so worthy of being saved and taken care of.