| Gorilla warfare: The battle to save one of Africa's rarest animals |
| Wednesday, 21 October 2009 09:47 | |
 Many of the world's remaining Mountain Gorillas live in Eastern Congo's Virunga National Park. A battle is being fought between the park rangers who protect these extraordinary animals and the criminal gangs who are burning down their habitat around them.The sound of the first crack stops the patrol dead. Halfway up the 3,407 metres of the Nyiragongo volcano, the rangers fan out in the direction of the chopping noise, leaving the path of shattered lava for the dense forest, assault rifles at the ready. For a few minutes, the silence is broken only by the sharp reports of blade on wood. Then a confusion of voices, followed quickly by the sound of bodies crashing through the undergrowth towards us. The one ranger remaining on the path has no rifle so instead draws a machete. There is no way to know who or what is coming.... Read on (full article by Daniel Howden) on The Independent homepage. To vote for a YoG-supported World Challenge project which aims to reduce consumption of firewood and charcoal in Mountaun Gorilla habitat, click here. Out of nearly a thousand nominations, the project in the area surrounding the Virunga National Park has been selected as one of only twelve finalists. Voting takes only ten seconds and does not require registration. Winning the $20 000 prize money in the World Challenge competition would fund this vital project for an entire year, so PLEASE VOTE!! |
