Virunga National Park | Bush Warriors

Archive for Virunga National Park

Live From the Congo: Will A ‘Notoriously Violent’ Poacher and Rapist Hamper Elephant Ivory Project’s Efforts to Stop Poaching?

Posted in Africa: Elephants, Live From the Congo: Elephant Ivory Project with tags Africa, Andy Maser, animal blog, animal blogs, Animal Rights, Animal Trafficking, Animals, animals blog, Anti Poaching, apes, Biodiversity., bonobos, bushmeat, Center for Conservation Biology, China, CITES, Colonel Toms, Congo, Congo River, Conservation, Cosma Wilungula Balongelwa, crimes against humanity, Current Events, Democratic Republic of Congo, DNA analysis, DNA samples, Dr. Sam K. Wasser, Dr. Sam Wasser, Dr. Wasser, DRC, Education, elephant, Elephant Ivory Project, Elephant Poaching, Elephants, Endangered Species, Environment, escaped convict, Extinction, fecal samples, help elephants, ICCN, ICCN Administrative General, illegal, Illegal Animal Trade, illegal hunting, Illegal Ivory Trade, Illegal Wildlife Trade, International League of Conservation Photographers, Ivory, Ivory Trade, Joe Riis, John Hart, killing, Kinshasa, Kisangani, Kyle Dickman, Lukuru Foundation, MONUC, National Geographic, national park, Nature, News, Peace Corp, Poachers, poaching, President Kabila, rape, Rebels, Salongo National Park, Spot Messenger, stop poaching, Teresa Hart, TL2, Treksta, Trip Jennings, University of Washington, Virunga National Park, wildlife, wildlife blog, wildlife blogs, wildlife conservation, wildlife conservation blog, wildlife forensics, wildlife management on March 28, 2011 by kyledickman

It’s been a fortunate few days. We arrived in Kinshasa on Monday, exhausted from 36 hours of transit, and found the Congo just as hot as we left it two years ago. On Tuesday morning, we met with Dr. Teresa Hart, a 30-year veteran of conservation in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). Teresa first came to the country as a Peace Corp volunteer in 1974. She’s now in her tenth year studying bonobos, an ape found only in the DRC, in a 25,000-square mile block of forest known as TL2. The region is an elephant sanctuary on paper, but animals are disappearing there faster than ever.

“Research here leads to advocacy because it’s all being destroyed,” says Hart.

Continue reading →

2 Comments »

Virunga National Park at War

Posted in Africa: Elephants, Africa: Lions, Africa: Rhinos, Uncategorized with tags Africa, animal blog, animal blogs, Animal Rights, Animal Trafficking, Animals, animals blog, Announcements, Anti Poaching, bushmeat, CITES, Community, Conflict, Congo, Conservation, Culture, Current Events, Economics, Education, elephant, Elephants, Endangered Species, Environment, Ethics, Extinction, gorilla, illegal, Illegal Animal Trade, illegal hunting, Illegal Ivory Trade, Ivory, Ivory Trade, killing, Nature, poaching, Politics, Rebel Group, Rhino, Rwanda, stop poaching, Uganda, Virunga National Park, wildlife, wildlife blog, wildlife blogs, wildlife conservation blog on December 3, 2009 by kendickjerkins

Virunga is truly the crown jewel of Africa’s national parks. The park contains over 50% of sub-Saharan Africa’s biodiversity and is home to about 200 of the earth’s last 720 critically endangered mountain gorillas. Virunga is also the second oldest national park in the world, behind only Yellowstone. Despite this, the forests and amazing animals of the park, most notably the mountain gorilla, are in a desperate fight for their survival.

The park, its rangers and field team have constantly been at war with militia groups and poachers alike. In 2007 seven mountain gorillas were killed in the park, which is shared between Rwanda, the DR Congo and Uganda. Conservationists blame the militias who have also looted property from rangers. Rebel groups such as the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR) and Allied Democratic Force (ADF) guerillas from Uganda have plundered forest resources in the past. Not only that, but with the rapid increase in poaching activities compared to 2008, and the rise in demand for items such as ivory and rhino horn, Virunga Park, it’s inhabitants and rangers continue to fight an ongoing war.