One of Uganda’s best known mountain gorillas, Rafiki, has been killed. Four men have been arrested, and they face a life sentence or a fine of $5.4m (£4.3m) if found guilty of killing an endangered species. Investigations showed that Rafiki was killed by a sharp object that penetrated his internal organs. There are just over […]
Tag: democratic republic of congo
Mountain gorilla census reveals further increase in numbers
The outlook for eastern Africa’s mountain gorillas is growing brighter, as a recent census released on Dec. 16 shows that the subspecies’ numbers have risen since 2011. Scientists believe there are now at least 1,063 mountain gorillas living in the wild. Tara Stoinski, the CEO and chief scientific officer of the Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund, […]
POLL: Should African Grey Parrots be protected from illegal trafficking?
African grey parrots are gorgeous birds who are well-known for their incredible intelligence that’s considered to be on the same level as a small child, and for their amazing ability to learn and mimic human speech. Unfortunately, the qualities that make us want them are also causing major problems for them. The demand for African […]
Southern Ground Hornbills in the Serengeti
After spending some time on the eastern side of the Grumeti river in the Western Corridorof the Serengeti, we decided to venture on the western side between the Grumeti river and the Kirawari range of hills. We crossed the swollen Grumeti river across the bridge near the Grumeti Tented camp. Other than a few hippo […]
Reserve with rare gorillas finally protected
The calamitous civil war in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) has killed more than five million people. It has also nearly wiped out populations of the world’s largest primate — the Grauer’s gorilla. From an estimated 17,000 individuals in 1995, Grauer’s numbers have fallen to less than 4,000 today, thanks to prolonged civil unrest, […]
Rembrandt’s monkey: good news for Africa’s newest primate
It all started with Georgette’s pet monkey. Deep in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) rainforest, in the remote village of Opala, a team of researchers noticed a little girl with a strange-looking monkey on a leash in 2007. The girl, Georgette, told the scientists it was called ‘lesula,’ but no one had heard of […]
Video: Camera traps capture rare footage of wild bonobos
Bonobos, our ape cousins, love peace. Unlike chimpanzees, also our close relatives, bonobos are known to resolve conflict through sex instead of aggression. They kiss, they caress, and females display genito-genital rubbing (also called G-G rubbing) to communicate, bond, and reconcile. But capturing these elusive and endangered apes on camera is not easy. In the […]
Huge chimpanzee population thriving in remote Congo forest
In one of the most dangerous regions of the planet, against all odds, a huge yet mysterious population of chimpanzees appears to be thriving – for now. Harboured by the remote and pristine forests in the north of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and on the border of the Central African Republic, the chimps […]
