Global News - September 2007

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Officials arrest gorilla poachers in the Congo

Wed 26 September 2007 14:00 UK — Africa

Park rangers from the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) have arrested two members of a gang they believe are involved in an attempt to traffic rare gorillas.

Conservation groups working in the area revealed that Congolese Institute for the Conservation of Nature (ICCN) rangers arrested the two men after a long-running investigation into a suspected trafficking ring.

So far this year at least nine mountain gorillas have been killed in the region and experts are concerned that there could be a resurgence in poaching operations.

However, the rangers were unable to save a young female gorilla, which they suspect was taken from the nearby Virunga National Park.

Samantha Newport, a local wildlife expert, told Reuters by phone: "We've had the civil war for ten years and the country is still coming out of it. The tracking and monitoring has been limited by the stability or lack of stability in the region.

Earlier this month, fears for the safety of the surviving DRC gorillas were raised after rebel forces took control of a national park. However, rebel leaders said that they would not harm the animals.

Just 700 mountain gorillas are thought to still survive in the wild.

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