Rare mountain gorilla shot dead in DR Congo reserve - AFP

[Eugene]

Source: Agence France-Presse

Rare mountain gorilla shot dead in DR Congo reserve

Sun Jun 10, 1:22 PM ET

KINSHASA (AFP) - A rare protected mountain gorilla has been
found shot dead in the Democratic Republic of Congo's Virunga
nature reserve, fuelling fears that rebels are targeting
endangered species, conservationists said Sunday.

"The body of Rubiga, an adult female, was found yesterday by
guards. A two-month old baby was clinging to the mother and
was tranferred for treatment to Goma," said Paulin Ngobobo of
the Institute for Nature Conservation (ICCN).

-snip-

Conservationists say endangered gorillas are increasingly under
threat from Tutsi and Hutu rebels who have taken refuge in the
huge eastern nature reserve. Two silverback gorillas were
killed and eaten by rebels in January, they said.

-snip-

"It was an act of sabotage, against tourism, against research,"
he added, dismissing the involvement of poachers who would
not have left the body in the forest with an infant, given their
value on the black market.

-snip-

Read more: http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20070610/sc_afp/drcongoconservation_070610161434

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Source: Reuters

Congo rangers treat rare gorilla orphaned in shooting

Sun Jun 10, 6:19 PM ET

KINSHASA (Reuters) - National park rangers in the Democratic
Republic of Congo are battling to save a 2-month-old gorilla
found clinging to its dead mother, who was shot dead through
the back of the head, conservationists said on Sunday.

"She's more or less OK. It is certainly a worrying situation, but
not hopeless," Paulin Ngobobo, senior warden in eastern Congo's
Virunga National Park, told Reuters from the city of Goma where
he is looking after the female infant.

He said the young mountain gorilla, born on April 15 and named
Ndakasi by conservationists, had accepted baby formula from a
feeding bottle. Mountain gorillas usually suckle for up to three
years in the wild.

Only 700 mountain gorillas survive in the wild, more than half
of them in Virunga.

-snip-

Read more: http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20070610/sc_nm/congo_democratic_gorilla_dc

[livvy]

1. This is so sad, so very, very sad.

It breaks my heart whenever I read about something happening to these incredible creatures. I cannot understand how anyone could possibly hurt one of them. Have they never looked into their eyes? Such purity, wisdom, and intelligence. I will never forget the feeling I had, when I locked eyes with a silverback at the Toledo Zoo. The way the zoo is set up, you are very close to them, just separated by a thick sheet of plexiglass. It was an incredible experience for me, one that will be with me for the rest of my life. And their hands, just like ours, are works of art.
Since then, I have always said, only half in jest...when the last gorilla in the wild goes, I shall go, too.