Congo Rebels Agree to Halt Killing of Gorillas

Congolese rebels accused of killing and eating at least two of the world's 700 remaining mountain gorillas in recent weeks have agreed to stop killing the rare primates, a conservation group said.

Wildlife Direct accuses rebel fighters loyal to renegade Congolese army General Laurent Nkunda of butchering two silverback gorilla adult males, so called for their grey coloring, within the last month.

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Great Ape Trust Commends Efforts in Virunga

Great Ape Trust is deeply appreciative of the diplomatic efforts that resolved this situation and will hopefully end unlawful incursions into the Virunga National Park and end the killing of gorillas. The national government of the Democratic Republic of Congo, representatives of several non-governmental organizations including the Frankfurt Zoological Society, senior park warden Ngobobo, and rebel leaders are commended for negotiating a disciplined settlement in a highly emotional and calamitous atmosphere. The conservation community can now focus on less dramatic but more serious threats to gorillas and their habitats, and help the citizens of DRC to achieve the security, education, health care, housing, and nutritional assurances that they need to lead dignified lives.

We note that the nations of Rwanda, Uganda and DRC have protected the Virunga mountain gorilla population through five decades of internal military conflict and human suffering. They have taken a disproportionate share of the burden of preserving this irreplaceable icon of the world’s biological and cultural heritage. We must all acknowledge especially the selfless 24/7 protection provided by the rangers of these nations, often at great peril to themselves and their families.

Mountain Gorilla - A Juncture In Time and Space - An Essay by Dr. Duane Rumbaugh

All of those who have looked into the eyes of an ape might well have had a life-altering experience – apes look back with knowing eyes. They know whether the eyes are of friend or foe, of love or doubt – or even worse. Apes don’t need long periods of time to assess who we are and what we are about. Socially they likely are more sensitive, more intelligent than are we.

Yes, they are vulnerable to superior power – our power. If they are to die a tragic and sudden death, it is likely because of human action. True enough, natural forces, such as diseases that inhere in their range countries, can have devastating effects on their populations. From such devastation they are likely to survive – at least as reproductive groups and a viable species. But death by our power – our gunfire and traps – can, one by one, wipe them out. With their populations reduced below some critical point, they “give up” and become extinct.

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