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Rodrigue, the central sector warden, reported a violent confrontation with elephant poachers early this morning near Mabenga.  We have lost three elephants in this area since the beginning of the year, and because of that launched a major operation in the area 16 days ago.  A large number of our men have been patrolling the area, carrying out surveillance, and laying ambushes.

Volunteers…prevent the slaughter of elephants — and you don’t have to be in Virunga to help!
 
 
CLICK HERE to go to the Elephant Crisis Page and see how you can help.

I’m writing to ask for your help.  Last week we suffered the loss of one or our elephants in the Mabenga area.  This is extremely worrying because it could indicate the beginning of a major poaching crisis in that area.  We have to act fast and vigorously to stop this crisis before it even begins and we really need your support for this.

This was a short film we took of one of our Mabenga elephants last year.  The event reminds us how friendly and trusting they are, but also how incredibly vulnerable they are to poachers, and nothing short of 24 hour armed protection will keep them alive.

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There are about 80 elephants in the Mabenga area; it’s one of the park’s most important populations to have survived the war.  We have received information that the people involved in the killing of the elephant are still in the area and we must deal with this problem. We will be putting together a team of ten rangers to specifically protect this area.  We also need to build proper surveillance, elephant monitoring, intelligence gathering etc.  For that reason, we want to set up an elephant protection unit as a long term solution to the poaching problem.  Their job will be to provide 24 / 7 protection to the Mabenga elephants to avoid their possible extinction.

We need your help to set up this protection unit. The park has very limited resources, but we have to respond to killing incidences like the loss of our elephants last week.  I would be very grateful for your thoughts on this and in particular if there is anyone who would be willing to volunteer their time to make this elephant anti-poaching unit a reality.  I passionately believe that anybody anywhere in the world can make a profound difference to the future of the park.  The kind of support that we need is for people to campaign on the behalf of the park, getting feedback from the rangers on the ground and raising support by communicating this to a community of supporters around the world.  It would involve a few hours of voluntary work a week, and you will be working from your home but in close collaboration with my field team that will support your efforts with web support, information and ideas on mobilizing communities.

I hate to show this picture, but it’s important to realise just how awful elephant poaching is.

If there is anybody who feels they could help us with this campaign please do send us a message on elephantcrisis@gorilla.cd, with some information about yourself.  Please don’t hesitate if you have ideas on helping the elephants of Virunga.

I received a very disturbing call this morning from Rodrigue, the Sector warden for the Rwindi area.  An elephant was killed during the night by poachers on the main road to Goma. He immediately went in with a section of rangers and launched an investigation. The elephant was shot eight time, and its head removed.  The poachers left with the Ivory.  It’s too early to give any information on the scene of the crime but unfortunately, for various reasons, we can’t even use the hounds to pursue the poachers.  It’s deeply disturbing and very worrying for the future of our small elephant populations.  We’ve taken measures to secure the area and will be stepping up a number of measures in that area and elsewhere.

Virunga National Park’s anti-poaching Bloodhound program, called “Congohounds”, is the first program of its kind in Central Africa, and we are really excited about what these amazing dogs and handlers will do in protecting the park’s wildlife and rangers. Marlene Zähner has just arrived for her 6th session of training both the dogs and handlers and says that a few of the dogs are quite close to being ready for a real job of trailing a human, be it a poacher, or search & rescue.

Bloodhounds must work with a handler. The handler’s job is to keep the bloodhound safe, focused, and always encouraging and trusting the dog, as opposed to leading it in any way. For the dog it is a game of hide and seek. Our 5 “girls” (Dodie, Lily, Sabrina, Stella, and Lila) each work with one ranger as their handler, plus a group of rangers who act as guards and trained in CSI (Crime Scene Investigation) techniques. When it comes to training, Marlene points out that the dogs are genetically born with an amazing nose and desire to sniff out scents, and it’s the handlers who usually need the most training.

Bloodhounds are often referred to as a “nose with legs” or a “nose with a dog attached”. Their legendary sense of smell is due to the fact that they can discern a single unique scent among literally millions and follow a scent that can be up to 300 hours old and sometimes more. According to Marlene, even rain isn’t an issue when a well-trained bloodhound is on a scent trail. The bloodhound’s sense of smell is so accurate that their trailing results are accepted as evidence in courts of law.

The Congohounds program desperately needs your financial support in order to succeed. A website devoted to the program is now online with more information, pictures, and ways to support the program both monthly and one-time. Please check it out by clicking HERE.

We also just started a Congohounds Facebook page. Please check it out by clicking on the picture below, and “Like” the page so you can see updates.

There is also a website and Facebook page in German. Click HERE to see the German website, and HERE for the German Facebook page.

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Ihirwe means “luck.” You might think there’s some irony in calling a baby mountain gorilla “lucky” who was taken from her family by poachers, probably watched her mother die, and may never live wild in the forest again. But when Ihirwe was rescued from poachers as she was smuggled across the border from Congo to Rwanda, this little gorilla experienced her first string of good luck.

The best gorilla doctors have watched over her health needs.

The best caretakers have showered her with affection and attention.

And the best center for mountain gorillas…in fact, the only facility for mountain gorillas in the world…will be her new home when she moves to Senkwekwe Center at Virunga National Park headquarters in January. She will join a new family of four mountain gorillas and will be loved and cared for the rest of her life.

She is a lucky girl.

You can help support the orphan mountain gorillas and this new baby by giving a holiday gift to a friend or relative of $10 a month. Click HERE to see how. Baby Ihirwe is staying at a gorilla care facility in Rwanda with MGVP gorilla vets watching over her until her move to Virunga National Park, hopefully in January if all the permits go through in a timely manner. Here are some photos from last Saturday when I met her for the first time. She clearly adores her caretakers DFGFI’s Jean De Dieu and MGVP’s Fabien.

Ihirwe seemed to like holding hands with her caretakers, and would often pull their hand over to her chest and hold it.

Jean De Dieu and Ihirwe played a little game where she would knock the hat off of his head and he would put it back on, again and again. Then he put the hat on her head and it would flop over covering her face. She seemed to enjoy that.

Ihirwe clearly adores her caretakers Jean De Dieu and Fabien, and it’s mutual.

The Australian film crew gave Fabien a small video camera to use inside the enclosure because we were not allowed in and had to shoot from the gate. Ihirwe was curious about the camera at first…then…

….she decided she didn’t like that thing at all, and not only pulled away, but even threw a little tantrum until he took it away, jumping up and down and waving her arms.

Jean De Dieu plays with Ihirwe like a father would play with his little toddler.

Video by Katya

Here is a video of the health check for baby gorilla Shamavu. He will be going to GRACE gorilla sanctuary for lowland gorillas very soon, as long as he is healthy, and will do his 30-day required quarantine there. It is somethings hard to watch the vets from MGVP work, but they are all professionals and have saved many mountain and lowland gorillas over the years.

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Christian Shamavu’s story of the under-cover operation

Christian Shamavu holds the baby gorilla following the rescue. The gorilla is named Shamavu after his rescuer.

There was a moment during the undercover operation when ranger Christian Shamavu suddenly realized that he was in danger, that one false move could cost him everything. Surprisingly, prior to this, he wasn’t afraid. He was simply moving along with the plan, doing his job.

The plan was 1) to pose as the middleman for a foreigner who wanted to buy a baby gorilla, 2) get the baby gorilla, 3) arrest the poachers. Simple? A lot could go wrong. The most important part to the success required getting everyone – rangers, gorilla, poachers – into the car at the same time.

The whole story began with a phone call from a contact in Goma who told Christian there were two baby gorillas for sale in Lubero territory west of Virunga National Park. The word had passed through several people before reaching the Goma contact and Christian. A plan was made…an 8-hour road-trip in a rented car…a long wait…but the poachers didn’t show up. Christian decided to abort the operation.

Two weeks later, the poachers again got in contact, saying they had one gorilla. No one knows if there were originally two or if it was a misunderstanding, but this one had to be rescued. Once again, a car was rented, four rangers dressed in civilian clothes drove 8 hours to Kayna, and this time the poachers showed up, but without the baby. They were being cautious.

Christian is a calm, even-tempered man with a big warm smile. He finds it easy and fun to act. He’s a natural. This part of the plan was no problem for him. They discussed the deal, talked about the “muzungu” (white foreigner) who wanted to buy the gorilla, and he convinced the poachers he had money. They all got in the car and drove north 10 km to the next town where the baby gorilla was being kept in a house. Two poachers and two rangers went together to the house while the others remained at the car.

When Christian reached the house, that was the moment of fear. Four men were stationed outside and four inside to protect the poachers. He didn’t see guns, but this was clearly a military-like tactical move and he was seriously outnumbered now with no weapon. He couldn’t afford to make a single mistake now.

The men brought out a small backpack and opened it. Inside sat a small baby gorilla, arms tightly wrapped around his body. The poachers then led Christian over to the nearby church to make the deal. They started high, Christian low, and after some haggling, they agreed upon a price and insisted they get paid before turning over the gorilla. Christian refused, arguing that he couldn’t pay for something he didn’t have, and that they should be smart and not make the transaction in the open. It would be safest inside the car.

The poachers hold the small backpack that they kept the baby gorilla in.

Christian and the other rangers knew exactly what they would do once they got everyone in the car, plus the baby gorilla. Once inside the car, the poachers looked inside a bag where Christian had stacks of money – but only the top and bottom of the stacks had real US dollars. Everything in between was Congolese francs, but the poachers were nervous and in a hurry, so they called over their third man holding the bag with the gorilla and motioned him to get in the car.

As soon as he was in the car, the clearly planned operation went into effect. The ranger at the wheel locked the doors, rolled up the windows, cranked the radio music up high, and took off down the road. Two rangers in the back pulled out their guns. Almost immediately, friends of the poachers took chase on motorcycles. The car flew down the bumpy dirt road at 90 kph, very fast for these roads, leaving the motorcycles behind in their dust.

Christian and his three companions brought the poachers and baby gorilla back to Rumangabo park headquarters where the poachers were detained for questioning and then taken to the jail in Goma where they will be tried in court. The punishment can range from one to ten years.

The baby is now living at the Senkwekwe Center with two experienced and loving caretakers. Hopefully he will be sent to live at GRACE sanctuary with other orphaned Grauer’s gorillas of all ages and feel part of a family again.

Thank you to everyone who has contributed to the financial support of this little baby gorilla. We’re deeply grateful.

Each day, Shamavu seems more comfortable with his surroundings at Senkwekwe Center, and more secure with his caretakers. He’s become quite fond of the milk bottle the caretakers give him.

Shamavu, the baby gorilla that was rescued in an undercover operation by a team of rangers last Friday, is now under the watchful eye of two expert caretakers, Foster and Janvier. Both have experience in looking after baby gorillas, and when I checked in on Shamavu yesterday, he seemed clearly comfortable with his two humans. At one point, Foster set the baby down on the ground, and within 30 seconds, he was reaching up, asking to be picked up again. He clearly did not feel the same about me. When I came near, he let out little coughs (apparently not a sign of affection), and leaned away from my direction or hugged his caretaker tighter. Oh well…

Two caretakers are necessary at this point because the gorilla is too young and vulnerable to be left alone, so 24 hour care is needed. The two caretakers will trade off on the hours spent with the baby, but at this stage, they will even sleep with him at night on the same bed. If you can imagine a human one-and-a-half year old, this baby is in a similar stage of life, and he needs some consistency in care in order to bond and feel safe. He’s lost his entire gorilla family and the world that he knew in the forest. It will take some time to adjust.

The cost of caring for the baby is not enormous, but it is still an added expense for the park in care, food, medicine, fixing up the building (as it has not been in use since January), and a flight at the end of his quarantine and adjustment period to take him to the orphan Grauer’s gorilla facility called GRACE. If you would like to help with the care expenses for this baby gorilla, click on the donate button of the barometer on this page. Think of yourself as one of Shamavu’s caretakers, which in a way you will be.

Here is a video from Friday when the baby arrived at Rumangabo:

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Christian Shamavu, the ranger who led the team in the undercover operation to rescue the baby gorilla, opens the cage door and greets the baby when they arrive at the park headquarters of Rumangabo.

A small team of Virunga rangers played undercover cops this week when they posed as buyers for a poached baby gorilla.

It all started two weeks ago when Christian Shamavu, our dog unit team leader, received a call from some of his contacts about a baby gorilla trafficking ring.  Sadly, we’ve now had several such incidences, and a system has been set up to track down the offenders, bring them to justice and recover the baby gorilla.

A first undercover team was sent in to Kaina in the Lubero territory at the beginning of last week. This is a dangerous area with a strong militia presence. Shamavu led a team concealed as potential buyers.  They were dressed in civilian dress but with their weapons at hand.  Contact was made with the suspects, but unfortunately they were unable to see the gorilla, so they were forced to pull out.  It was a tense and frustrating moment.

The three poachers who were arrested in the operation hold the small backpack that they had stuffed the gorilla into.

On Thursday, he received a second message that a baby gorilla was in town, so we relaunched the operation. Christian Shamavu and his team of four rangers and one court officer once again drove for eight hours to the remote town in a hired vehicle to avoid being recognized. This time, it all went like clockwork.  He called in at six thirty last night, announcing that they had made three arrests and recovered the baby gorilla.

Shamavu arrived at Rumangabo with the baby this morning, and the vets arrived an hour or so later. After an examination of the baby’s teeth and size, the Gorilla Doctors guessed the age at about a year and a half and said he appears healthy except for a possible skin fungus and lice. He will stay at the Senkwekwe Center at Rumangabo for a 30-day quarantine, separate from the other orphan gorillas, and then hopefully move to the Grauer’s gorilla sanctuary in Congo called Grace.

The baby will be named Shamavu after the ranger who rescued him.

To see more photos on our Facebook page, click here.

Christian Shamavu takes the infant out of the cage to take him to the Gorilla Orphan Senkwekwe Center.

Baby Grauer’s gorilla.

The infant gorilla seems to feel secure in the arms of his rescuer, Christian Shamavu.

Christian Shamavu carries the baby down to the Senkwekwe Center where the baby will live for the next month.

Christian Shamavu and the infant gorilla.

Infant gorilla

Christian Shamavu plays with the baby while he waits for the vets to arrive.

Two gorilla vets with MGVP arrived from Goma to check on the baby. The teeth were checked first, which tells the age of the gorilla. They estimated the age at about one and a half years old.

Dr. Jan and Dr. Jacques examine the gorilla’s back and under his arms. They found what might be a fungus on his skin, and lice.

Dr. Jan examines the baby while Christian-Shamavu holds it. At first, the baby didn’t want anyone else to hold him.

The infant gorilla appeared to warm up to Dr. Jan Ramer and feel comfortable.

Dr. Jan Ramer set the baby down after he had been held constantly for the previous hour. The baby wasn’t sure if he wanted to be picked up again, but finally gave in.

Warden Emmanuel de Merode holds the baby gorilla.

It’s been a rough week where security is concerned in the central and northern sectors. On the positive side, the program for rangers’ widows, the lodge construction, and the anti-poaching bloodhound program are all successfully moving forward.

Ranger Michel’s widow Valeri (back row right), with 3 of her 6 children.

Rangers

• After years of planning and effort, most of the key pieces are finally coming together for our program to support the widows and orphans of rangers who have died while protecting the park. This involves setting up the Fallen Rangers Fund (which we have previously called the Widows Fund), raising monthly support for the widows from individuals like you, and getting support from larger donors to fund other important long-term parts of the program. Probably the most important piece before anything can be implemented properly is to register all the widows so we can set up bank accounts and monitor everything efficiently. Our new Human Resources manager, Fantassin, has just completed the first step of registering all but three of the widows from 2005 to now, from all sections of this large park. This is the first step in setting up bank accounts and regular payments. Keep in mind that none of these widows have email and most don’t have mobile phones, or can’t afford to buy credit for them. Communication in Congo is a bit more complicated, so this is a big step.
• Thanks to an extremely generous grant from the Swiss organization Zurich Animal Protection, our anti-poaching bloodhounds will get a new kennel. Construction began this week, and is moving swiftly. The dogs and all of us who live in the nearby camp will be happy when it’s completed. Hopefully the early morning wake-up call of barking bloodhounds will subside a bit when they are fed in their kennel in the morning. Thank you Zürcher Tierschutz!

The new dog kennel under-construction. You can see the small wooden houses in the background where the dogs are currently living.

Security

• Although the southern sector has been quiet and safe, it has been a week of immense tension around Lake Edward with some serious security incidents in the north and central part of the park. One incident involved a shootout between our rangers and poachers on the shores of Lake Edward in which one poacher was killed. This of course has led to an inquiry because of the loss of life.
• Thirteen Mai Mai militia were reported near the area of Muramba, all armed with AK 47s. We have received intelligence that suggests this group may target our rangers.
• Some poachers with bushmeat were arrested near Mutsora. The recovered meat was primarily from Thomas’ Kob and waterbuck. One of the three poachers was Ugandan and so handed over to the Ugandan Wildlife Authorities at Queen Elizabeth National Park across the border.
• We had two serious attacks on two different patrol posts, one in the central sector and one in the north. In the second attack near Vitshumbi, one attacker was accidentally killed by his own men.
• The insecurity has hit the local population as well. Sixteen fishermen were kidnapped by FDLR militia who are asking $3000 in ransom. There is a report that the men are buried up to their waist to prevent escape.

A beautiful bungalow interior of Mikeno Lodge - just waiting to be furnished. A small lounge area will circle the fireplace.

Tourism

• The lodge is nearing completion. I know we’ve said this before, but we are clearly nearing the end with electric and water lines going in, water tanks installed, bathroom fixtures nearly finished, kitchen completed, and landscaping taking place. The final step will be furnishing and decorating, which is a couple of weeks away. This lodge is a milestone for the park, the first of this kind, and hopefully one that will bring income to help finance some projects and operating costs of the park.

Kitchen for Mikeno Lodge