EcoWorldly

Conservationists were thrilled last month that thousands of African Western Lowland gorillas - 125,000 by head count estimates - may have found a safe haven in a mud swamp and probably escaped predators.

This could have doubled the number of the endangered primates thought to survive worldwide.

But it never dimmed the fact that the great apes are still heading toward extinction if the activities of mad rebel groups operating with abandon in the forests and mountainous regions of Africa continue unchecked.

Mountain gorillas (Gorilla gorilla beringei) are the worst hit among the three subspecies according to their habitant in different parts of Africa. Others are the Western Lowland Gorilla (Gorilla gorilla gorilla) and the Eastern Lowland Gorilla (Gorilla gorilla grauere).

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Yesterday, Congo’s government chose to withdraw more than 1,000 troops from an area in eastern Congo near Virunga National Park. Despite an ongoing conflict, the military has agreed to depart in an effort to help protect the park’s valuable natural resources, which include the endangered mountain gorilla. Last week the army engaged a rebel group led by Laurent Nkunda in communities near the park’s borders. Nkunda’s group is still residing in the park, and has been there for almost a year now. Read the rest of this entry »