Regular readers will know that I am a fan of the Wildlife Direct blogs which belong to rangers working to protect endangered animals in Congo.

One blog in particular – that of Atamato, in Ishango, who works to protect hippos and other wildlife in eastern Congo – has some troubling news. Just yesterday, a group of rebels attacked the patrol post, killing one park ranger, seriously injuring four others, and kidnapping yet another. This group of rebels – the Mai Mai – has engaged in poaching before, and the Advance Force is doing its best to overcome adverse conditions to keep the situation under control. I won’t pretend that I’m up to date with the political situation in Congo, but I think it’s fair to say that it is a complex one. See this post of Atamato’s for some background information on the Mai Mai.

Wildlife Direct has reported a great deal of generosity on the part of donors in response to these events. But given the nature of the situation, they are in need of as much help as possible – not only for supplies but for medical care for the injured rangers. They provide this link for donations. Note that any funds donated go directly to the cause in question (conservation, basic supplies for the park rangers), because Wildlife Direct (the team of volunteers coordinating the blogs and other field work) is funded separately.

While we all can theoretically understand that the rangers and other conservationists are real three-dimensional people, I think that the blogs are one basic way of putting names and faces and families on them; it’s startling to realize that one day I can, from my living room, be watching a You Tube video of two elephants crossing a river, and then next day reading about an attack at the post of the ranger who made that video.

As I’ve mentioned before concerning the work of these rangers, aside from the obvious benefits of the main task at hand, protecting animals who cannot defend themselves against the guns and traps and other weapons of poachers, the work has very clear benefits for the human population; namely that their national parks will retain the rare wildlife they support and provide jobs and income for local residents in connection with ecotourism in the near future.