The killing occurred in the Bikenge sector of the park, which is close to the Rwandan border and the Kabara Research Center, where DFGFI and ICCN (Congolese national park authority) staff are monitoring research groups of mountain gorillas. This death follows the slaughtering of hundreds of hippos in the park last year, raising considerable concerns about the security of wildlife in the Congolese portion of the Virungas. Claims about the killing of a second gorilla are unconfirmed at this time.
From a conservation biology perspective, the fact that the population is so small—only 380 individuals in the Virunga region—makes the loss of an individual a grave concern. And, since gorillas recognize no national boundaries, the situation in Congo also has considerable implications for the Karisoke gorilla groups, who often travel into the Congolese sectors of the park to forage. A few months ago, one of the mountain gorilla groups we monitor from Karisoke foraged into Congo and fled back in panic, with a young female gorilla dying as a result.
Our staff in both Rwanda and Congo, in conjunction with the national park authorities, are continuing their daily anti-poaching patrols to protect the gorilla population, but while the situation is stable in Rwanda, much remains to be done in the Congolese sector. In the last 10 years, nearly 100 park rangers have been killed while protecting the gorillas and other wildlife in the park.
The loss of any individual is a tragedy, although the loss of a single lone silverback is likely to have less of an impact on the overall growth of the population than, for example, the loss of an adult female. Research conducted at Karisoke suggests that only 20 percent of lone silverbacks are successful at attracting females and reproducing (Robbins, 1995). However, the sample size for this study was quite small, and more research is needed to fully understand the long-term population effects of the loss of lone silverbacks. The Karisoke Research Center team is currently focusing on this question by following a number of males who have recently dispersed from the research groups to become lone silverbacks.
All of us at DFGFI, but particularly our staff in Rwanda and DRC, who have dedicated and risked their lives to protect gorillas, have been deeply affected by this loss.
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The red circle roughly indicates the area (Bikenge sector) where the silverback male was killed. It appears to be in an area between the volcanoes, not far from the Rwandan border or from Kabara, where DFGFI and ICCN are monitoring research gorilla groups. |
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From Karisoke Research Center, Rwanda. Habituated and unhabituated gorilla groups in the Virunga Massif. |
