Another Mountain gorilla shot dead by rebels in the DRC

The Kabirizi group, the biggest group of mountain gorillas in the area, was attacked by an armed group on 8th June. After hearing three gunshots, rangers of the Gatovu Patrol Post searched the forest for many hours and found the body of a breast feeding mother.

The rangers recovered a two month old baby who was still attempting to suckle from the mother’s breast, the baby was brought to Goma. The Congo Rangers have launched a major operation in the area.

Rubiga, the murdered adult female from the Kabirizi family, was buried on Monday in Virunga National Park, alongside other gorillas.

The photos are brutal. But this is the reality of what the Gorillas and the Congo Rangers have to deal with.

 

The rest of the family fled the area and as yet, the Congo Rangers have located only 24 members of the Kabirizi family - out of 32.

 

An exceptional team of Rangers in Congo

The Congo rangers have continued their work without interruption throughout the war, and during that time the gorilla have increased by over 14%. But this has come at a cost. 97 of Virunga’s rangers have died protecting the park’s wildlife against poachers since 1996.

YOU CAN HELP THE CONGO RANGERS WITH THEIR DESPERATE EFFORTS TO KEEP THE GORILLAS ALIVE BY DONATING HERE.