Mountain Gorillas Birth 10 New Babies While War Wages in the Congo

In an inspiring testament to the resiliency of life even amidst war and conflict, the Congo’s critically endangered population of Mountain Gorillas increased over the last 16 months, including 10 new births.

The new babies were part of an overall population increase of 12.5% in UNESCO-listed Virunga National Park, where habituated Mountain Gorilla numbers jumped from 72 to 81 since the region’s last census in 2007. The report brings hope to the troubled nation, which has been wrought with bloodshed and political turmoil for decades.

But despite the encouraging news, serious threats still remain. In the months leading up to the last census, 10 of the Park’s apes were slaughtered by unidentified poachers during a violent insurgency. Some of the dead were discovered shot execution-style in the back of the head. It was the bloodiest year on record for the gorillas since famed primatologist Dian Fossey first began her efforts to save them in the 1960’s.

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The region’s uncertain future and ongoing civil war means a perilous outlook for the new infants. Researchers found and removed 536 snares which had been laid by poachers in the Park, and hundreds more are likely to remain hidden. Although the Park is protected by over 1,100 rangers, 150 of them have been killed in the last 10 years fighting to protect gorillas throughout the Congo’s devastated, war torn parks.

There are 211 remaining Mountain Gorillas in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and only around 720 left worldwide. They are critically endangered, and their survival depends on the unpredictable outcome of political strife which continues to escalate in the region.

Image Credit: YoungRobV on Flickr under a Creative Commons License

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