Rwandan conservationists return a gorilla to Congo

Conservationists in Rwanda safely returned an orphan gorilla from Kinigi back home in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) early this week after rescuing it from poachers in August 2011. From the time of its rescue from captivity, this endangered female gorilla from the Grauer family of Congo which are classified as “endangered” by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) and has been living in a facility in Kinigi, Northern Province, being nursed by veterinary doctors.

Basing on the information from the Rwanda Development Board, the transfer of this gorilla back to Congo was organized through a joint support of the board including Diane Fossey Gorilla Fund International, the Rwandan immigration officials, the Rwanda National Police, as well as the cross-border conservation mechanism of the Greater Virunga Tran boundary Collaboration.

The gorilla was named Ihirwe which means chance, was taken to the Gorilla Rehabilitation and Conservation Education (GRACE) centre in North-eastern Congo where she will join 13 other orphaned gorillas.

Taking Ihirwe back home to the DRC shows the strong commitment that both Rwanda and the DRC have in reinforcing the conservation, not only in their countries, but also with neighboring countries through transboundary collaboration so said Dr. Mwamba Tshibasu who is the Executive Secretary of Greater Virunga Transboundary Collaboration.

Dr. Jean Felix Kinani from the Mountain Gorilla Veterinary Project has been taking good care of the gorilla since 2011, she watched it recover after her rescue from the poachers and hopefully she will integrate easily at GRACE sanctuary.

Meanwhile, Sonya Kahlenberg, GRACE’s Executive Director said that they are honored to be part of these conservation efforts and looks forward to helping Ihirwe adjust to her new life from where it has been taken.

The Grauer’s gorillas are found only in eastern DRC where they are seriously threatened by habitat loss, human encroachment, illegal trade, disease, and regional instability and according to the conservationists, there are only about 5,000 Grauer’s gorillas that are remaining in the wild and they were about 17,000 of them in the mid-1990s thus a huge decline.

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