GORILLA POACHING IN AFRICA

AFRICAN WILDLIFE POACHING - GORILLA POACHING – EATING GORILLAS
In Africa, mountain Gorillas are only found in Uganda, Rwanda and Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). In Uganda, Mountain gorillas are found in Bwindi Impenetrable National Park with 12 gorilla groups and Mgahinga National Park with a single gorilla family. In Rwanda, Volcanoes National park hosts ten gorilla groups while Democratic Republic of Congo protects more than nine gorilla families.

Gorilla killed in Virunga National park:
Due to political instabilities, mountain gorillas in Virunga national park (DRC) are greatly affected by constant wars and poaching. Constant fighting in DRC leads to death of mountain Gorillas, birds and other wildlife. Wars in DRC are aiming at overthrowing the government led Joseph Kabira (the current president) of Democratic Republic of Congo. For many years, Democratic Republic of Congo has been experiencing power struggles leading to the halting of Tourism activities.
In spite the fact that DRC is endowed with lots of tourist attraction, it has not benefited much from tourism since killing or poaching of games is the order of the days. Secondly, the wars threaten many tourists from visiting the Democratic Republic of Congo. Worst of all, some residents of DRC hunt Mountain Gorillas for food (eating them) - other primates eaten in DRC include monkeys which would have earned the country a lot of foreign exchange.
In Central African Republic, low land gorillas are also killed by rebels seeking refugee in the forest. It should be noted that gorillas are not only killed for food by also out of malice with the aim of freezing the economies of the subjected countries. Like DRC, Central African Republic has also turned a haven of rebels including Joseph Kony – the chief threat/ rebel to Ugandan government.
The Batwa pygmies known as the keepers of the forest also set traps to capture eatable animals but unfortunately also captures Mountain gorillas. It should be note that Batwa people are recognized as one of the independent tribe in Uganda through still under developed- the Batwa people dominates tropical forest in south western Uganda: Bwindi Impenetrable Forest and Mgahinga forest- the two are home for mountain Gorillas.
Not only killing gorillas but poaching also kills other animals like elephants, Buffaloes, Antelopes, Squirrels, Forest pigs among others. Most of the animals are poached for meat, tasks and so on. According to wildlife conservation law, poaching is illegal and strictly discouraged and heavy punishments are in place for who ever caught in such an offence.
Gorillas earn a lot of foreign exchange and internationally recognized as one of the chief tourist attractions in the whole world thus need much protection. Gorillas are among the world’s rare primate but the rarest are mountain Gorillas and are only found in three African countries namely Uganda, Rwanda and Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).
In Rwanda, Mountain Gorillas are only found in Volcanoes National Park but also experience death by rebels from Democratic Republic of Congo who penetrates the country through illegal means. It is noted that DRC is neighboring Rwanda in the west so; it is not a surprise for the rebels to disturb the two countries. However, mountain gorillas being the chief tourist attraction in Rwanda, the country is struggling to tighten her boarders to control Gorilla poaching.
The author’s advice and recommendation:
The Author recommends the nation’s campaign aiming at strengthening the security of Gorilla hosting countries, Mass education about conserving the wildlife, Resettling people from game reserves, Constant patrolling of game parks, Peace talks between governments and rebels aiming at creating peace, sharing profits with local people around the park and emphasizing collective conservation campaign.