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Over the past month we have suffered a growing number of very serious poaching incidents across the central savannas of the park. These killings have affected the elephant population (which has declined by 90% in the past twenty years) the buffaloes, and more recently lions, which are critically endangered in eastern Africa. We have had 5 elephant killings in the last four days.

A lionness killed and eaten by soldiers a few months ago

Unfortunately, we now have unquestionable proof that it is elements in the Congolese army who are largely responsible for these killings. There are eight battalions (over 5000 soldiers) stationed in and around the park, and our rangers, who number just over 500, cannot effectively protect all the wildlife all of the time.

We need much more effective surveillance to keep the national park safe, and deploy our rangers quickly and effectively when there are poachers looking for elephants. For that we desperately need an aircraft. We’ve found the perfect aircraft for our needs, which is a Cessna 182 built in 1959. It’s old but in perfect condition, and as it has high wings, it offers excellent visibility below. It also has an extended and strengthened undercarriage for the rough airstrips that we have to use.

We have support from the European Union for running costs for the next two years but we need to buy the aircraft for US$75,000. We’ve managed to raise just under $25,000, so need to raise a further $50,000 as soon as we can.

The aircraft that we need to buy for anti-poaching

All our fund raising efforts will be focused on this, and we’d be enormously grateful for any thoughts from you on how we can reach this critically important target.

One thing we’ve learned in Virunga, is that when you have a major setback, you double your effort. Nsekanabo’s killing was a catastrophic setback for us.

We were in Bukima yesterday, working to strengthen the de-snaring effort. Our main problem is that we don’t have the manpower to deploy enough patrols in the sector. We have 36 Rangers across the sector, and at the moment we can carry out 8 patrols a day, every day.   Although these patrols removed several thousand snares from the area in 2009,  Nsekanabo’s killing has shown that this isn’t enough to keep the Mountain Gorillas safe.

So we’ve made the decision to work very closely with the local community to try to resolve this problem. We have established a unit of 40 “Community Scouts” who will help with the de-snaring operations. Instead of a patrol being made up of 4 Rangers, a patrol will now be made up of 1 or 2 Rangers accompanied by 2 or 3 Community Scouts.  Their job will be surveillance and destroying snares.  This will double our patrolling effort from 8 to 17 patrols a day.  The Community Scouts are unarmed, but the security situation has improved enough to make this feasible.   These are all young men from the local community who are known to be supportive and who have volunteered their time to help us in the past.  We will pay the scouts $30 a month.   We held the meeting with the community leaders yesterday, and we’ve agreed to launch the new approach on 1 March.

30 Community Scouts with Rangers yesterday in Bukima

Over the next two weeks, we will be equipping them with new uniforms and giving them a basic training to work with the Rangers.   This is all being done with the support that you have given us.   So we are also working on a new feature on the Protect the Park page of the website, where every patrol is logged by GPS, and registered on the map. That way, you will be able to monitor their efforts. The sponsored areas will continue to be updated, but we are also trying to improve that feature as well.

As always, we really appreciate your feedback on this.

Mount Visoke is an extinct volcano in the Virunga mountains that straddles DR Congo and Rwanda. It lies at the heart of mountain gorilla habitat – and so naturally our Rangers often venture onto the flanks of this mountain for anti-poaching patrols or to rid the area of the snares that threaten the mountain gorillas and other animals.

Mount Visoke, at 3,711 meters (just over 12,000 feet). Mount Mikeno rises up behind Visoke.

Just recently a group of Rangers tracked 4 poachers over a 2-day period. The Rangers came across traps and signs of poaching, including a dead antelope.

The Rangers also found spears and snares.

The Rangers spent an uneasy night in the forest, and the next day managed to apprehend 2 of the poachers. Unfortunately the other 2 got away. But the 2 who were arrested, who come from a community not far from the patrol post of Bikenge, were brought to Rumangabo and charged.

Unfortunately these poachers are only 2 of many. This is why we must patrol the Gorilla Sector, and indeed all of Virunga, to prevent any further destruction of the wildlife. Thank you for your support, and especially to those who Protect the Park – it is with your funds that we finance the anti-poaching patrols in the Gorilla Sector.

Last week, a poachers ring had dismantled buy Rangers patrol at the East sector of Rwindi field in the center sector of Virunga National Park.

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We have received a report from our colleagues at IDPE detailing an alarming rise in poaching by FARDC government soldiers in the central sector of the park (see map). In the month of August alone soldiers killed 8 hippos and 6 elephants, as well as the female lion recently shot in Rwindi.

One of the killed elephants- its tusks had been removed and trunk cut off.

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This is Diddy. More bad news I’m afraid. I went to the Ranger Station in Kabaraza, which is about 60km north of Rumangabo. When I arrived, the Rangers there told me that another elephant had just been killed. Of course the tusks had been taken by the poachers, but so had the meat.

We are very worried because it is starting to look like there is someone in our area who is buying ivory. The elephants killings are continuing and it is clear that the demand in ivory has re-emerged.

You will remember that Ephrem posted about the elephant killing spree in April. There have also been several press reports, including on the BBC and in the Times. We still do not know if the six poachers who were caught have been successfully prosecuted…

Elephants In Better Times