Wildlife workers mourn deaths of Virunga National Park protectors

WWF is mourning the deaths of three Virunga National Park rangers and five Democratic Republic of Congo soldiers who were working with them last week, after a rocket propelled grenade attack on their vehicle near Mabenga.

Three others were critically injured in the ambush attack, which occurred during an early morning patrol aimed at securing a road through the park, famed as the leading remaining refuge of the critically endangered mountain gorilla. The attackers are believed to have been FDLR Rwandan militia, an illegal movement believed to include perpetrators of the Rwandan genocide of 1994.

Park rangers and regular army units have been working together to secure the area within the national park known to be heavily frequented by FDLR militia and had recently destroyed two FDLR camps that were also centres for the illegal and destructive charcoal trade.

“The events of this week have left us all deeply saddened,” wrote Virunga Park Director Emmanuel de Merode on the park’s website this week. “Virunga National Park has suffered more service deaths amongst its rangers than any protected area on earth.

“ Despite this sobering fact, Virunga’s dedicated rangers still get up every morning ready to risk everything to protect the mountain gorillas and other beautiful flora and fauna of the park. And, during the long civil war, many rangers did so for little or no pay.”

A fund has been set up to help support the widows and children of rangers killed protecting the park.

“Although one might think a ranger’s biggest fear is death, what most rangers fear most is that their widows and orphaned children will be abandoned and left destitute in a society that cannot care for them,” wrote de Merode.

“This ever-present fear has a profound impact on ranger morale and exacts a terrible burden on their families as well. With over 140 rangers having now been killed in the line of duty since 1996, we must find a way to care for those left behind.”

The Virunga Widows’ Fund can be found at www.gorilla.cd

WWF is a long term supporter of the management of the park through the Congolese Wildlife Authority (Institut Congolais pour la Conservation de la Nature, ICCN).