Gorilla Murders

Gorilla Murders

For the fifth week, we watched the “Gorilla Murder” video as a focus study on endangered species.

On July 21st, 2007, in Virunga National Park in the Democratic Republic of Congo, the bodies of five mountain gorillas (a silverback and four females), belonging to a group of 12, were found dead. A few days after the attack, a baby girl gorilla was found with a gunshot wound in her leg. This baby gorilla was taken to the orphanage in Goma where she received medical attention.

It is estimated that between 700 mountain gorillas remain in the world, an estimated 380 of them in the Virunga range. Mountain gorillas reproduce slowly: Females do not become sexually mature until their tenth year and reproduce only once every four to eight years. Males are not sexually active until they are fifteen. Their slow reproduction is a disadvantage because their gene pool decreases if there are not many members of the species. As a result, mountain gorillas are faced with the common genetic problems that result from inbreeding; and are therefore considered one of the most endangered species on the planet.

UNESCO had to intervene because the government of the Congo was not doing anything about the slaughter of the gorillas. It is believed that the reason for the massacre is the illegal charcoal trade in this country, which is worth millions of dollars a year. This activity destroys extensive areas of the rainforest annually. We need to take into account that this area has been a war zone for the last decade, which makes the situation even more desperate. The Congo is not only important because of the gorillas, but also because it is considered the Earth's second “lung”, second only to the Amazon.

What caused more amazement, it that is suspected that the director of the Virunga National Park, Honore Mashagiro, was the one who promoted the destruction of the gorillas' habitat to make money out of charcoal. He is also suspected of being behind the killing of...