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You will recall that last February Emmanuel launched the Human Gorilla Protector initiative (HUGO for short) after the tragic death of Nsekanabo from a snare.

HUGOs patrol the Gorilla Sector daily with the Rangers

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Ndakasi (seen here below stealing carrots!) and Ndeze - Congo’s mountain gorilla orphans - will have a new home in just 3 weeks. You can see for yourself how far the construction has come in the last 2 weeks.

Ndakasi - very very intent on making sure she kept all the carrots!

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The young gorillas of the Kabirizi family enjoy a break from the daily grind of searching for food. You can see one of them rehearsing a mock display of aggression in the video below!

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This was all shot by the Rangers in Virunga. Enjoy!

I have just been sent this photo by the Rangers in Ishango (in the north of Virunga on the shores of Lake Edward) of a python quite literally gorging on a bushbuck. The Rangers came across the dead animals in the savannah.

Apparently the python killed the bushbuck, and then one of the bushbuck’s horns pierced the python as it tried to swallow the animal whole. This killed it. Is that poetic justice? What do you think?…

Ndeze is thriving – with Ndakasi – in the Senkwekwe Center

The Senkwekwe Center – the home of our two gorilla orphans Ndeze and Ndakasi – is almost complete. You will recall that we raised funds to finish the Senkwekwe Center to turn it from a 40mx40m facility, into a lush forest custom-built sanctuary of 1 hectare (2.5 acres).

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116 elephant tusks have been seized by authorities in Congo, near the town of Kisangani – the third largest city in the country that sits right on the edge of the vast Congo forests and is a major commercial hub. This seizure – that you can read a bit more about in the AP article below – is a sign of the times. The illegal hunting of elephants for their tusks is, by all accounts, very much on the rise.

Mapendo’s 4th child and Kabirizi’s 32nd (yes, you read correctly!) has been named Ntamuvulira, after Innocent’s father Silvestre who passed away in March. His 2 surnames were Mburanumwe and Ntamuvulira – and the Rangers chose Ntamuvulira. (There has already been a gorilla named Mburanumwe, and she was named after Innocent’s cousin. Sadly she was one of the gorillas killed during the 2007 massacre).

Ntamuvulira – soon after the birth. We have yet to know if this gorilla is a boy or a girl.

Silvestre was a Ranger for 42 years, including many stints in the Gorilla Sector. He was involved in habituation of gorillas when it first got underway in the mid 1980s.

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We have just produced this leaflet in English and in French with all the crucial information to plan your visit to Virunga’s Mountain Gorillas. Many thanks Philippa for a wonderful design. Please leave me a comment with any questions. Thanks.

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THE THREE YEAR ANNIVERSARY OF THE GORILLA MASSACRE: CONGOLESE RANGERS COMMEMORATE THE TRAGEDY

On the morning of 22 July 2007, Rangers in Virunga National Park found the bodies of four mountain gorillas. They had been murdered by gunmen; shot at point blank range in the manner of an execution. The remains of another gorilla from the same family were found three weeks later. Her infant was missing, presumed dead. Images of the tragedy were broadcast across the globe, bringing attention to the threats facing this critically endangered species.

The events of that day were described in detail on our blog at the time (click here to read)

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