What happens to wildlife living in a national park when the country dissolves into war?
In the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), formerly Zaire, civil war and ethnic strife have claimed an estimated 2.5 million lives since fighting began in the eastern part of the country in August 1998. But soldiers and rebels, many of them from surrounding countries, have also destroyed thousands of animals who live in the DRC's magnificent national parks, including the Parc National de Kahuzi-Biega, which was established to protect the 200 to 300 critically endangered eastern lowland gorillas who live in the rainforest on the border near Rwanda. Elephants, chimpanzees, and other wildlife also make this United Nations World Heritage Site their home.
Enter the Poachers
Since warring factions took over most of the park in 1998, poachers have targeted elephants and gorillas with their guns, snares, and hunting dogs. Gorilla meat is either consumed by the fighters or brought to city markets where it commands high prices as bushmeat; ivory from the elephants is exported illegally to foreign markets; and infant gorillas are sold as pets.
It is estimated that more than half of the park's gorillas have been poached in the past few years. In the old section of the park, the number of gorillas dropped from 258 to 70 between 1996 and 2000. For elephants, the situation is even more dire—their number has been reduced from 350 to 5.
Park rangers remain committed to protecting the land despite the threat to their lives. They have been disarmed by their own government and by the insurgents, and they have been run out of the park by well-supplied poachers. Many times park rangers have been left without the means to protect either the animals or themselves.
Relief Efforts
In response, The HSUS has joined with organizations and individuals from all over the world to provide financial support to the Emergency Relief Mission for Congo's National Parks. To date, the mission has provided rain gear, rubber boots, tents, clothes, blankets, backpacks, water canteens, and medicines to the rangers.
The mission's efforts have helped draw others to the cause; the United Nations recently allocated $3 million to support conservation in five DRC parks. The UN has approved a plan for the withdrawal of various fighting factions and to the location of UN peacekeepers throughout the country.
Posted June 2002.
