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Wildlife Direct Volunteer Staff And Park Rangers Urgently Need Help To Protect Endangered Gorillas

No Comments | July 29th, 2007 | Trackback

Wildlife Direct provides an innovative response to critical conservation issues in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The non-profit organization facilitates the donation of funds directly to those working on the front lines in different locations in Congo; they also have helped set up and run an ever-expanding series of blogs so that the world can learn about the work that local rangers (and many others) do to protect Congo’s mountain gorillas, hippos, and bonobos to name a few.

There is obvious value in preserving the lives of the individual animals as well as the species in general; there is indirect value to local people in protecting the amazing wildlife that Congo is home to, as eco-tourism will likely play a vital role in the economic relaunch of the country following its war.

But recently, at least seven mountain gorillas have been shot; back in May, an armed group of rebels attacked a park ranger base, killing one ranger and injuring several others. Wildlife Direct is looking for help in the form of awareness-raising and donations right now in order to ensure the park rangers can monitor the park to protect the remaining gorillas.

In an email sent to supporters, Wildlife Direct Volunteer Staff Member Will said:

“We have had two very serious attacks on the mountain gorillas in the past two months. At least seven critically endangered mountain gorillas have been killed. We believe that these are the worst attacks on the mountain gorillas on record, and we are very concerned that there may be more to come. You can read the details on our website at wildlifedirect.org. We believe that public awareness is a very powerful way of getting desperately needed support to the rangers on the ground. We badly need the message to reach as many people as possible, so we would be enormously grateful for your support in getting this message to others.”