Christian carries the baby down to the Senkwekwe Center to wait for the vets and where the baby will live for the next month.
A
small team of Virunga rangers played undercover cops this week when
they posed as buyers for a poached baby gorilla. It all started two
weeks ago when Shamavu, our dog unit team leader, received a call from
some of his contacts about a baby gorilla trafficking ring. Sadly,
we’ve now had several such incidences, and
a system has been set up to track down the offenders, bring them to
justice and recover the baby gorilla. A first undercover team was sent
in to Kaina in the Lubero territory at the beginning of last week. This
is a dangerous area with a strong militia presence. Shamavu led a team
concealed as potential buyers. They were dressed in civilian dress but
with their weapons at hand. Contact was made with the suspects, but
unfortunately they were unable to see the gorilla, so they were forced
to pull out. It was a tense and frustrating moment. On Thursday, he
received a second message that a baby gorilla was in town, so we
relaunched the operation. Shamavu and his team of four rangers and one
court officer once again drove for eight hours to the remote town in a
hired vehicle to avoid being recognized. This time, it all went like
clockwork. He called in at six thirty last night, announcing that they
had made three arrests and recovered the baby gorilla. Shamavu arrived
at Rumangabo with the baby this morning, and the vets arrived an hour or
so later. After an examination of the baby’s teeth and size, the
Gorilla Doctors guessed the age at about a year and a half and said he
appears healthy except for a possible skin fungus and lice. He will stay
at the Senkwekwe Center at Rumangabo for a 30-day quarantine, separate
from the other orphan gorillas, and then hopefully move to the Grauer’s
gorilla sanctuary in Congo called Grace. The baby will be named Shamavu
after the ranger who rescued him. http://www.facebook.com/virung
by: Naima Khacham
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