Call to protect gorillas
2007-08-17 20:25
London - Conservation experts appealed on Friday for help to improve security and animal safety at a wildlife park in the Democratic Republic of Congo where four mountain gorillas were massacred in July.
The Zoological Society of London said it has worked out an emergency plan with other wildlife conservation groups to secure the endangered mountain gorillas, but that it only has enough funding to safeguard the gorillas for three months.
"We're getting quite worried," said Noelle Kumpel, who manages a conservation programme at the society. "There are only about 700 mountain gorillas left in the world and more than half of them are found in (Congo)."
Four adult gorillas were found shot dead at the Virunga National Park on July 22. Wildlife conservationists say there were similar incidents earlier in the year, and worry that the trend will continue, Kumpel said.
The three-month emergency plan provides for 24-hour security for six remaining gorilla families, care for a gorilla orphaned in the last attack and a census of those remaining in the park.
A search is also continuing for a missing female gorilla and her infant.
Officials of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation, which has the Virunga National Park in its list of world heritage sites, have arrived in the city of Goma, which is nearest to the park, to begin a formal investigation of the killings.
Donations to help protect the gorillas can be made through the website of the Zoological Society of London.
- AP