Home to the famed mountain gorillas, Africa's oldestnational park in the Democratic Republic of Congo has been overrun by armedgroups who have slaughtered wildlife and scared off much-needed tourists. ForBelgian park director Emmanuel de Merode and his staff it is a time of greatuncertainty and anxiety. Last month, they were forced to spend an entire daysheltering in a cellar while the army and rebels battled nearby. "They letme know that we were not part of their conflict," said Merode, a42-year-old white African, adding that the park's new luxury tourist lodge wasnevertheless standing empty as a result of the fighting.
Straddling DR Congo, Rwanda and Uganda, the Virungavolcanoes conservation area is home to 480 of the world's 790 remainingmountain gorillas made famous by US zoologist Dian Fossey, who was murdered in1985. But in recent months, dozens of animals have been killed by armed groupsincluding the DR Congo army, whom an environmental group has accused ofpoaching under orders from officers who charge a fee to local poachers in aprotection racket. "It takes a few months to kill everything and 40 yearsto put things back the way they were," Merode said.
Hippopotami, chimpanzees, elephants, antelopes, birds and alion have all been slaughtered since the fighting began. Created in 1925,Virunga National Park is home to Lake Edward, which in 1980 was the world'smost important hippopotamus sanctuary with 27,000 of the animals. There are nowfewer than 300, according to Merode. In July, during a lull in fighting,rangers began searching rebel-held jungle for six families of the criticallyendangered mountain gorillas that had not been spotted since fighting eruptedin April between the regular army and the M-23 militia led by a renegadegeneral. In order to begin the search for the missing primates, Merode had tosecure agreement from both the army and the M23 rebels.
More than half the gorillas were found and two births wererecorded, although rangers' fears were far from allayed. The fighting has wipedout tourism in the area, depriving the park of a vital source of donationsneeded to help keep the rangers working. "Even in the best of times,keeping Virunga's rangers fully funded is a challenge, but with tourism closedbecause of the war, it has become nearly impossible," Merode wrote in hisblog. "Periods of conflict are when the rangers' jobs are most dangerous-- and most necessary. At times like these, opportunists abound and poaching,illegal animal trafficking, and habitat destruction become especially difficultto control," he added.
Visitor numbers had risen from 550 in 2009 to 3,300 in 2011,with tourist dollars helping to fund schools and hospitals for local people. Fornow, however, the tree-top terrace at the newly opened tourist lodge remainsdeserted.
