Here are some observations: When reading a book about gorillas to/with a seven-year old, I was struck by the mixed messages the book sent. Here 's the book, and in the preview you can see that in the beginning when the gorilla being described is male he is referred to as "he." But what you don't see in the preview is that later on gorillas are referred to as "its," and when I was reading aloud and came upon that word I was unable to say it. MORE
virunga happy news primates mountain gorillas endangered speciesTwins born in February, a rare event! Here's the link to some cute pictures! Eerie how similar to humans they appear. MORE
And the mountain gorillas are once again vulnerable. The rebels have taken over the wildlife rangers' headquarters and the gorillas are unprotected. About 200 of the 700 remaining mountain gorillas are in this forest. Tags: virunga africa gorilla war congo Of course, there is more war in the Congo. Always, always, war. Unless they flee to the Rwandan side of the forest, they may die. They don't breed in captivity. Once they're gone, they're gone. MORE
At the London Zoo, three female gorillas gussy up for a visit from a handsome male gorilla brought in from nearby France. If the matchmaking goes well, the zoo hopes to welcome its first baby gorilla in more than 20 years. A wonderful new series on Nat Geo WILD this Tuesday, September 13th and Wednesday, September 14. MORE
Tags: africa bush meat congo gorillas endangered species cameroon MORE
Good long article in the Sydney Morning Herald about the mountain gorillas in Virunga. Tags: virunga congo gorillas endangered species MORE
Uganda is seeing a growth in tourism dollars from visits to see its mountain gorillas. There are only about 700 mountain gorillas left in the world. Tags: developing countries africa economic development ecotourism uganda gorillas This is very important. The tourism revenue creates an incentive for Uganda to protect the endangered species at the same time that it contributes to human welfare. MORE
Cameroon, with one of Africa’s highest rates of deforestation, has set up a new national park to protect gorillas, chimpanzees, elephants and a rare type of antelope called bongo. Deng Deng National Park extends 580 square kilometres (224 square miles), an area about the size of Chicago, and will help conserve some 600 western lowland gorillas, one of four sub- species of the great ape, said the New York-based Wildlife Conservation Society, which helped in the park’s creation. MORE
In this case, someone confused a baby chimp with a baby gorilla. ICCN (Congolese Wildlife Authority) rangers received a tip-off that someone in Goma was trying to sell a baby gorilla. The rangers set up a sting operation, where one of them posed as a foreigner interested in buying the gorilla. No wonder wildlife trafficking is such a problem. Even members of the army are involved. MORE
On Monday, December 2, 2008, the Year of the Gorilla was launched by the UN and Monaco's Prince Albert. The "Year of the Gorilla" was launched at a ceremony in Rome where Prince Albert II of Monaco and representatives from more than 100 governments gathered this week to discuss increasing measures for nearly 30 species endangered by pollution, climate change and overhunting. Tags: united nations gorillas MORE
A post-mortem is being conducted on Bariyanga, a mountain gorilla found dead in Virunga. Tags: virunga africa congo gorillas There are now only five members left in her group. This link takes you to a picture of her. MORE
See silverback gorillas stalking each other in Virunga. Tags: virunga congo gorillas MORE
A baby lowland gorilla was rescued from smugglers on Sunday, April 24. Tags: wildlife crime smuggling trafficking congo gorillas endangered species There has unfortunately been an increase in smuggling attempts in the Congo. MORE
the Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund "Coins for Congo" program. The mountain gorillas have a special place in my heart (awwwwww!). Tags: virunga poverty economic development congo gorillas I strongly support conservation organizations that work with and support surrounding human communities. These communities are integral to protection of the environment and its animal inhabitants. MORE
The Congolese rangers protect the wildlife in Virunga National Park, the most famous inhabitants of which are the 700 remaining mountain gorillas. Tags: virunga rwanda africa congo gorillas endangered species These rangers are very brave people with possibly the most dangerous jobs in the world. And they don't get paid very much at all. They've just launched an offensive against the militias that are destroying habitat in order to get charcoal. MORE
Surprisingly, the mountain gorillas have prospered under the rule of the Congo rebels. In contrast, the 2007 murders of 10 gorillas occurred under the Congolese government's control. That the mountain gorilla population has increased in this environment is quite spectacular," said Emmanuel de Merode, head of the 680-strong Virunga ranger force. The new tally brings the Virunga mountain gorillas to an estimated 211—including 10 babies born during the rangers' absence. MORE
Here's a video of the gorillas and the babies (be patient, it tends to start and stop). Tags: virunga congo gorillas endangered species Now, don't get too excited, because this is not an indication of how the Virunga population is doing as a whole. MORE
I've read of the mountain gorillas in Virunga grieving over the loss of a silverback. A couple of studies imply that chimpanzees may mourn their dead. I believe they do. I believe that great apes do have that capacity. Heck, even my cats visibly missed old Charlotte who died last August. If you jump to the comments at the bottom, people took issue with the implication at the end of the article that Jane Goodall would somehow question this grieving behavior. MORE
This situation sounds a lot like the the mountain gorillas, the Congo and Virunga National Park. Elephants in Zakouma National Park, the last stronghold for the savannah elephants of Central Africa's Sahel region, have crashed to just 1,000 animals from an estimated 3,000 in 2006. Ivory poachers using automatic weapons have decimated elephant populations - particularly when herds migrate seasonally outside of the park. Civil unrest in has made conservation exceedingly difficult in Chad. MORE
Now that the rangers have been allowed back into Virunga, they are going to conduct a census to determine what's happened to the mountain gorillas living there. Another nagging worry remains: the gorillas simply won't be there any more. Over the next month he and his staff will conduct a census of the mountain gorillas, hoping to find the population of roughly 200 unaffected by the tempest that has raged around them in the past 18 months. MORE
The imprisonment of the Rangers comes after a lengthy trial in the North Kivu province courts initiated after the July 2007 massacre of 5 mountain gorillas that was met with outrage around the globe. Not guilty of gorilla killings - guilty of illegal charcoaling The Wildlife Officers were charged by the Congolese Wildlife Authority with the "destruction of flora and fauna" under Wildlife Law OL 069-41 of August 1969. And these particular guys deserve it. MORE
To the editor: The gorilla Harambe’s killing at the Cincinnati Zoo surely calls our society to ask if it is moral or just to keep animals in a prison to be used, at worst, as objects of entertainment or, at best, under the guise of “education.” (“ Harambe the gorilla dies, meat-eaters grieve ,” Opinion, June 5) Is there no accountability on the part of the parents of the child who found himself in the gorilla exhibit? MORE
Habitat destruction is a very serious threat to the mountain gorilla. The 2009 Year of the Gorilla (YoG) partnership is supporting a project enabling local residents in areas endangered by increasing demands for fuel – not least the Virunga National Park, in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) – to buy low-cost, fuel-efficient stoves. Tags: virunga africa united nations environment gorillas Desperately poor people are devastating Virunga National Park in search of wood. MORE
The gorilla rangers have returned to Virunga after more than a year's exile. Tags: virunga congo gorillas You can see how happy they are in this video. MORE
This from the Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund website. Tags: obituary africa gorilla Shinda had been observed to be unwell for about two weeks when, on Nov. 22, our trackers could not find him within his group, probably because he was too weak to catch up with them. The field team began patrolling the area around the group and finally found him on the morning of Nov. 24, but he had already died. MORE
The Gorilla Sector of Virunga National Park is inhabited by 200 of the last remaining 700 critically endangered mountain gorillas in the world. It is a huge step that all sides have agreed that the protection of Virunga as a World Heritage Site and its mountain gorillas is of sufficient priority to transcend political differences," said Virunga Park Director Emmanuel de Merode. Tags: virunga africa gorilla congo endangered species MORE
Alex Halperin sent a link to this essay (of his) about Rwandan gorillas MORE
We've got to get the gorilla rangers back into Virunga. Tags: virunga congo gorillas endangered species I hope so. According to the AP. The U.N. Security Council agreed Thursday to send 3,100 more peacekeeping troops to Congo, while rebels said they remained committed to a pullback from the front lines despite an army attack. There are currently 17,000 peacekeepers in the vast Central African nation — the world's largest U.N. MORE
Tags: virunga africa congo gorillas endangered species MORE
Back in February, a three-year-old gorilla was caught in a poacher's snare meant for antelope. Here's the story from the Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund website. Tags: rwanda africa animal rescue poaching gorilla Fortunately, wildlife staff from the Karisoke Research Center discovered it and it's okay now. MORE
Six thousand people (over 1,000 Congolese soldiers with their families) have left Virunga National Forest where so many of the remaining mountain gorillas live. Tags: virunga gorilla congo This development is the result of an agreement between the army and the Congolese Wildlife Authority. It's great news because it takes stress off the habitat and the species. Sadly, though, another ranger in the Congolese Wildlife Authority was killed by rebel guns. MORE
Protecting mountain gorillas in the Congo is dangerous work. Tags: virunga war congo gorillas endangered species Just last week, a 33-year-old ranger was killed by Mai Mai rebels. Mai Mai rebels are described as community-based militia groups frequently involved in banditry. MORE
Pretty amazing that the 7 mountain gorilla deaths recorded thus far in Virunga have all been due to natural causes. Tags: virunga gorilla congo Remember that Virunga National Park has been under Congolese rebel control since 2007 and the park rangers have only just been allowed back in. Two of the deaths were newborns killed by a silverback. The rest were adults that died from illness or age. MORE
The rebels insist the gorillas are safe. “We Tags: virunga war congo gorillas This New York Times article doesn't have much new to report. I did notice this though. Officials with Virunga National Park are urging the rebels and government troops to allow them to return to work. We are protecting them,” said Babu Amani, a rebel spokesman. In the meantime. MORE
Busch Gardens® Tampa has welcomed another endangered western lowland gorilla. The female gorilla was born on Feb. The first month will be the critical period as the … Continue reading → The post Adorable baby gorilla photos! MORE
Tags: wildlife trafficking united nations bush meat congo gorillas MORE
A Congolese minister says that "In 2007 alone, we recorded the slaughter of 15 mountain gorillas and more than 20,000 antelopes,".adding Tags: congo gorillas Things are very, very bad. It's a humanitarian and ecological disaster. The UN has got to wrap this up. adding that in the past decade the number of hippopotami had fallen from 30,000 to 1,000. 30,000 to 1,000? 20,000? I don't have the words to react anymore. MORE
The Rangers in Virunga can continue their daily routines of removing poachers snares (536 snares were found during the recent census taking), filming newborn gorillas and simply enjoying the results of their tremendous sacrifices to protect the gorillas. Rangers are able to identify individual gorillas because each animal's nose is uniquely patterned. We have finger prints, gorillas have nose prints. Tags: virunga africa congo gorillas endangered species MORE
I signed up yesterday to get email alerts from the Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund. Tags: virunga congo gorillas I called the fund and spoke to the front desk person who said this was the best way to get updates from them about the situation in the Congo. I thought things would settle down after the election, but now I'm tied up in knots again! I am so worried about these animals. MORE
The 700 remaining mountain gorillas are safe because they are out of the lava's path, but about 40 endangered chimpanzees and other animals living in the area are directly threatened. Tags: natural disaster chimpanzees virunga africa congo gorillas A volcano near Virunga National Park has erupted in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. MORE
Tags: virunga congo gorillas MORE
I suppose I've come to this pretty late and gorilla people already knew that this trouble was brewing. The rebel forces in the Congo have controlled the gorilla sector of Virunga since 2007. Tags: virunga congo gorillas Clearly, I haven't been following this as I should have been. Right now, I am frustrated with the EU and the UN. This whole mess reminds me of other similar situations.Kosovo, Bosnia, Rwanda. MORE
4 The Love Of Animals
FEBRUARY 17, 2015
Busch Gardens® Tampa has welcomed another endangered western lowland gorilla. The female gorilla was born on Feb. The first month will be the critical period as the … Continue reading → The post Adorable baby gorilla photos!
Critter News
JANUARY 2, 2009
See silverback gorillas stalking each other in Virunga. Tags: virunga congo gorillas
Critter News
JULY 12, 2009
A post-mortem is being conducted on Bariyanga, a mountain gorilla found dead in Virunga. Tags: virunga africa congo gorillas There are now only five members left in her group. This link takes you to a picture of her.
Animal Ethics
JANUARY 4, 2009
Alex Halperin sent a link to this essay (of his) about Rwandan gorillas
Critter News
NOVEMBER 22, 2008
The Gorilla Sector of Virunga National Park is inhabited by 200 of the last remaining 700 critically endangered mountain gorillas in the world. It is a huge step that all sides have agreed that the protection of Virunga as a World Heritage Site and its mountain gorillas is of sufficient priority to transcend political differences," said Virunga Park Director Emmanuel de Merode. Tags: virunga africa gorilla congo endangered species
Critter News
NOVEMBER 28, 2008
Now that the rangers have been allowed back into Virunga, they are going to conduct a census to determine what's happened to the mountain gorillas living there. Another nagging worry remains: the gorillas simply won't be there any more. Over the next month he and his staff will conduct a census of the mountain gorillas, hoping to find the population of roughly 200 unaffected by the tempest that has raged around them in the past 18 months.
Critter News
NOVEMBER 11, 2008
And the mountain gorillas are once again vulnerable. The rebels have taken over the wildlife rangers' headquarters and the gorillas are unprotected. About 200 of the 700 remaining mountain gorillas are in this forest. Tags: virunga africa gorilla war congo Of course, there is more war in the Congo. Always, always, war. Unless they flee to the Rwandan side of the forest, they may die. They don't breed in captivity. Once they're gone, they're gone.
Critter News
DECEMBER 4, 2008
On Monday, December 2, 2008, the Year of the Gorilla was launched by the UN and Monaco's Prince Albert. The "Year of the Gorilla" was launched at a ceremony in Rome where Prince Albert II of Monaco and representatives from more than 100 governments gathered this week to discuss increasing measures for nearly 30 species endangered by pollution, climate change and overhunting. Tags: united nations gorillas
Critter News
JANUARY 13, 2009
Protecting mountain gorillas in the Congo is dangerous work. Tags: virunga war congo gorillas endangered species Just last week, a 33-year-old ranger was killed by Mai Mai rebels. Mai Mai rebels are described as community-based militia groups frequently involved in banditry.
Critter News
MAY 29, 2009
Uganda is seeing a growth in tourism dollars from visits to see its mountain gorillas. There are only about 700 mountain gorillas left in the world. Tags: developing countries africa economic development ecotourism uganda gorillas This is very important. The tourism revenue creates an incentive for Uganda to protect the endangered species at the same time that it contributes to human welfare.
Critter News
APRIL 28, 2011
virunga happy news primates mountain gorillas endangered speciesTwins born in February, a rare event! Here's the link to some cute pictures! Eerie how similar to humans they appear.
Critter News
JANUARY 27, 2009
Surprisingly, the mountain gorillas have prospered under the rule of the Congo rebels. In contrast, the 2007 murders of 10 gorillas occurred under the Congolese government's control. That the mountain gorilla population has increased in this environment is quite spectacular," said Emmanuel de Merode, head of the 680-strong Virunga ranger force. The new tally brings the Virunga mountain gorillas to an estimated 211—including 10 babies born during the rangers' absence.
Critter News
FEBRUARY 24, 2009
Cameroon, with one of Africa’s highest rates of deforestation, has set up a new national park to protect gorillas, chimpanzees, elephants and a rare type of antelope called bongo. Deng Deng National Park extends 580 square kilometres (224 square miles), an area about the size of Chicago, and will help conserve some 600 western lowland gorillas, one of four sub- species of the great ape, said the New York-based Wildlife Conservation Society, which helped in the park’s creation.
Critter News
APRIL 30, 2010
Tags: wildlife trafficking united nations bush meat congo gorillas
Critter News
MARCH 21, 2009
the Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund "Coins for Congo" program. The mountain gorillas have a special place in my heart (awwwwww!). Tags: virunga poverty economic development congo gorillas I strongly support conservation organizations that work with and support surrounding human communities. These communities are integral to protection of the environment and its animal inhabitants.
Critter News
MAY 22, 2009
Habitat destruction is a very serious threat to the mountain gorilla. The 2009 Year of the Gorilla (YoG) partnership is supporting a project enabling local residents in areas endangered by increasing demands for fuel – not least the Virunga National Park, in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) – to buy low-cost, fuel-efficient stoves. Tags: virunga africa united nations environment gorillas Desperately poor people are devastating Virunga National Park in search of wood.
Critter News
JULY 24, 2009
Tags: africa bush meat congo gorillas endangered species cameroon
Critter News
NOVEMBER 30, 2008
Here's a video of the gorillas and the babies (be patient, it tends to start and stop). Tags: virunga congo gorillas endangered species Now, don't get too excited, because this is not an indication of how the Virunga population is doing as a whole.
Critter News
FEBRUARY 6, 2009
The Rangers in Virunga can continue their daily routines of removing poachers snares (536 snares were found during the recent census taking), filming newborn gorillas and simply enjoying the results of their tremendous sacrifices to protect the gorillas. Rangers are able to identify individual gorillas because each animal's nose is uniquely patterned. We have finger prints, gorillas have nose prints. Tags: virunga africa congo gorillas endangered species
Critter News
DECEMBER 15, 2008
Pretty amazing that the 7 mountain gorilla deaths recorded thus far in Virunga have all been due to natural causes. Tags: virunga gorilla congo Remember that Virunga National Park has been under Congolese rebel control since 2007 and the park rangers have only just been allowed back in. Two of the deaths were newborns killed by a silverback. The rest were adults that died from illness or age.
Critter News
NOVEMBER 12, 2008
I signed up yesterday to get email alerts from the Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund. Tags: virunga congo gorillas I called the fund and spoke to the front desk person who said this was the best way to get updates from them about the situation in the Congo. I thought things would settle down after the election, but now I'm tied up in knots again! I am so worried about these animals.
Critter News
NOVEMBER 17, 2008
The rebels insist the gorillas are safe. “We Tags: virunga war congo gorillas This New York Times article doesn't have much new to report. I did notice this though. Officials with Virunga National Park are urging the rebels and government troops to allow them to return to work. We are protecting them,” said Babu Amani, a rebel spokesman. In the meantime.
Critter News
NOVEMBER 24, 2008
The gorilla rangers have returned to Virunga after more than a year's exile. Tags: virunga congo gorillas You can see how happy they are in this video.
Critter News
JANUARY 11, 2010
The 700 remaining mountain gorillas are safe because they are out of the lava's path, but about 40 endangered chimpanzees and other animals living in the area are directly threatened. Tags: natural disaster chimpanzees virunga africa congo gorillas A volcano near Virunga National Park has erupted in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
Critter News
NOVEMBER 15, 2008
A Congolese minister says that "In 2007 alone, we recorded the slaughter of 15 mountain gorillas and more than 20,000 antelopes,".adding Tags: congo gorillas Things are very, very bad. It's a humanitarian and ecological disaster. The UN has got to wrap this up. adding that in the past decade the number of hippopotami had fallen from 30,000 to 1,000. 30,000 to 1,000? 20,000? I don't have the words to react anymore.
Critter News
SEPTEMBER 7, 2008
Six thousand people (over 1,000 Congolese soldiers with their families) have left Virunga National Forest where so many of the remaining mountain gorillas live. Tags: virunga gorilla congo This development is the result of an agreement between the army and the Congolese Wildlife Authority. It's great news because it takes stress off the habitat and the species. Sadly, though, another ranger in the Congolese Wildlife Authority was killed by rebel guns.
Critter News
APRIL 18, 2009
The imprisonment of the Rangers comes after a lengthy trial in the North Kivu province courts initiated after the July 2007 massacre of 5 mountain gorillas that was met with outrage around the globe. Not guilty of gorilla killings - guilty of illegal charcoaling The Wildlife Officers were charged by the Congolese Wildlife Authority with the "destruction of flora and fauna" under Wildlife Law OL 069-41 of August 1969. And these particular guys deserve it.
Critter News
NOVEMBER 12, 2008
Tags: virunga congo gorillas
Critter News
NOVEMBER 20, 2008
We've got to get the gorilla rangers back into Virunga. Tags: virunga congo gorillas endangered species I hope so. According to the AP. The U.N. Security Council agreed Thursday to send 3,100 more peacekeeping troops to Congo, while rebels said they remained committed to a pullback from the front lines despite an army attack. There are currently 17,000 peacekeepers in the vast Central African nation — the world's largest U.N.
Critter News
NOVEMBER 13, 2008
I suppose I've come to this pretty late and gorilla people already knew that this trouble was brewing. The rebel forces in the Congo have controlled the gorilla sector of Virunga since 2007. Tags: virunga congo gorillas Clearly, I haven't been following this as I should have been. Right now, I am frustrated with the EU and the UN. This whole mess reminds me of other similar situations.Kosovo, Bosnia, Rwanda.
Critter News
AUGUST 4, 2009
The Congolese rangers protect the wildlife in Virunga National Park, the most famous inhabitants of which are the 700 remaining mountain gorillas. Tags: virunga rwanda africa congo gorillas endangered species These rangers are very brave people with possibly the most dangerous jobs in the world. And they don't get paid very much at all. They've just launched an offensive against the militias that are destroying habitat in order to get charcoal.
Critter News
JUNE 26, 2009
Tags: virunga africa congo gorillas endangered species
Critter News
JANUARY 21, 2009
This from the Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund website. Tags: obituary africa gorilla Shinda had been observed to be unwell for about two weeks when, on Nov. 22, our trackers could not find him within his group, probably because he was too weak to catch up with them. The field team began patrolling the area around the group and finally found him on the morning of Nov. 24, but he had already died.
4 The Love Of Animals
SEPTEMBER 13, 2011
At the London Zoo, three female gorillas gussy up for a visit from a handsome male gorilla brought in from nearby France. If the matchmaking goes well, the zoo hopes to welcome its first baby gorilla in more than 20 years. A wonderful new series on Nat Geo WILD this Tuesday, September 13th and Wednesday, September 14.
Critter News
AUGUST 25, 2008
In this case, someone confused a baby chimp with a baby gorilla. ICCN (Congolese Wildlife Authority) rangers received a tip-off that someone in Goma was trying to sell a baby gorilla. The rangers set up a sting operation, where one of them posed as a foreigner interested in buying the gorilla. No wonder wildlife trafficking is such a problem. Even members of the army are involved.
Animal Ethics
JUNE 7, 2016
To the editor: The gorilla Harambe’s killing at the Cincinnati Zoo surely calls our society to ask if it is moral or just to keep animals in a prison to be used, at worst, as objects of entertainment or, at best, under the guise of “education.” (“ Harambe the gorilla dies, meat-eaters grieve ,” Opinion, June 5) Is there no accountability on the part of the parents of the child who found himself in the gorilla exhibit?
Animal Person
MARCH 18, 2010
Here are some observations: When reading a book about gorillas to/with a seven-year old, I was struck by the mixed messages the book sent. Here 's the book, and in the preview you can see that in the beginning when the gorilla being described is male he is referred to as "he." But what you don't see in the preview is that later on gorillas are referred to as "its," and when I was reading aloud and came upon that word I was unable to say it.
Critter News
APRIL 27, 2010
I've read of the mountain gorillas in Virunga grieving over the loss of a silverback. A couple of studies imply that chimpanzees may mourn their dead. I believe they do. I believe that great apes do have that capacity. Heck, even my cats visibly missed old Charlotte who died last August. If you jump to the comments at the bottom, people took issue with the implication at the end of the article that Jane Goodall would somehow question this grieving behavior.
Critter News
DECEMBER 29, 2008
This situation sounds a lot like the the mountain gorillas, the Congo and Virunga National Park. Elephants in Zakouma National Park, the last stronghold for the savannah elephants of Central Africa's Sahel region, have crashed to just 1,000 animals from an estimated 3,000 in 2006. Ivory poachers using automatic weapons have decimated elephant populations - particularly when herds migrate seasonally outside of the park. Civil unrest in has made conservation exceedingly difficult in Chad.
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