Why are gorillas killed for charcoal?

Why are gorillas killed for charcoal?

Exclusive: Last month’s gorilla “executions” are the result of a burgeoning illicit charcoal trade that includes government officials, wildlife rangers allege. The lucrative charcoal trade is not only wreaking havoc on the park but also on its most famous inhabitants, the rare mountain gorillas.

Who attacked Virunga National Park?

Chief Brigadier Etienne Mutazimiza Kanyaruchinya, 48, was killed Saturday evening when 100 heavily armed men, presumed to be former members of the M23 rebel group, attacked a patrol post near the village of Bukima in Congo’s North Kivu Province.

How many Virunga rangers have been killed?

six rangers
NAIROBI, Kenya — At least six rangers have been ambushed and killed in the Virunga National Park in the Democratic Republic of Congo, park officials said, part of a wave of violence that has plagued Africa’s oldest park and continues to endanger the home of around a third of the world’s mountain gorillas.

What happened to Emmanuel de Merode?

His work was primarily in the parks of eastern DRC, working to sustain the national parks through the DRC’s 20-year civil war. He now lives at the park headquarters in Rumangabo, bordering the park’s mountain gorilla sector.

What has cut the Congo gorilla population in half in the last 20 years?

Rarest gorillas lose half their habitat in 20 years (10/01/2012) Cross River gorillas and eastern gorillas lost more than half their habitat since the early 1990s due to deforestation, logging, and other human activities, finds a comprehensive new assessment across great apes’ range in West and Central Africa.

What is the illegal charcoal trade?

Across Africa, men carrying tools for cutting down trees spend weeks deep inside forests. They cut down the trees to burn them in order to make fuel for fires known as charcoal.

Is Virunga a true story?

A powerful combination of investigative journalism and nature documentary, VIRUNGA is the incredible true story of a group of courageous people risking their lives to build a better future in a part of Africa the world’s forgotten, and a gripping exposé of the realities of life in the Congo.

Why are rangers being killed in Virunga?

Six park rangers have been killed after an attack at the famous Virunga National Park in the east of the Democratic Republic of Congo. Officials have blamed the attack on a militia group known as Mai-Mai, one of many that operate in the region.

How many rangers have been killed in Africa?

Media caption, Why are people in mineral-rich DR Congo among the world’s poorest? Nearly 700 armed rangers work in Virunga – Africa’s oldest nature reserve – where at least 200 have been killed in attacks going back more than a decade, AFP reports.

Who is the king of Congo?

Kingdom of Kongo

Kingdom of Kongo Wene wa Kongo or Kongo dya Ntotila Reino do Congo
Government Monarchy
King
• c. 1390–1420 (first) Lukeni lua Nimi
• 1911–1914 (last) Manuel III of Kongo

How many gorillas are there in Virunga National Park?

1,000 individuals
Despite years of civil unrest in the region where mountain gorillas live, conservation efforts have found success. Findings show populations in the Virunga Massif have grown to 604 individuals, up from 480 individuals in 2010. This puts the total global wild gorilla population over 1,000 individuals.