Gorilla Killing Virunga National Park Congo

In 2007, ten endangered mountain gorillas were found executed in Congo's Virunga National Park. The director of the park, Honore Mashagiro, was arrested on charges that he masterminded the executions to deter conservationists from trying to save the gorillas' habitat from charcoal harvesters. Six other rangers in the park are under investigation in conjunction with the crime. Virunga National Park is Africa's oldest national park, established in 1925. Virunga is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

1. No. of mountain gorillas believed remaining in wild: 600
2. Lifespan of the mountain gorilla: 25-30 years
3. Weight of females: 250-300 lbs.
4. Weight of males: 450-500 lbs.
5. Gorillas killed: Three female, one male
6. No. of people believed living in the park, as a result of civil war and unrest in the Congo and neighboring Rwanda: 10,000
7. No. of park rangers killed 1997-2007: 150

• Smithsonian Magazine: Guerrillas in Their Midst (October 2007)
• The Gorilla Organization: Planting trees for the future of the national park (November 19, 2007)
  • Mashagiro was present at a tree-planting ceremony in Virunga National Park in November: "The ceremony was launched by the environment minister for South Kivu Province, in the presence of the regional director of the Congolese Wildlife Authority, Honore Mashagiro and Henry Chiruza, the Gorilla Organization's DRC programme Manager."
• TerraDaily: Rebels And Rangers Kill Conservationists And Poachers... (May 20, 2007)
  • Mashagiro, on the murder of a conservationist inside Virunga in May of 2007: "They went straight to the house of the head of the post, who was absent... They killed the conservationist who was inside the dwelling at the time."

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