Web charity helps save Congo's gorillas
Donations made on the Wildlife Direct website pay the salaries of the park rangers who protect the endangered apes.
from the March 9, 2007 edition
Page 2 of 4
Since 1996, an estimated 120 rangers have been killed in the line of duty.
As recently as January, five patrol stations were attacked and rangers forced to flee. Two silverback gorillas were slaughtered; the remains of one, including its decapitated head, were thrown in a pit.
"Virunga is the oldest such park in Africa and is home to the greatest number of mammal, bird, and reptile species on the continent," says Emmanuel de Merode, Wildlife Direct's Kenya-based director. "This, together with the mountain gorilla population, is a key to the economic relaunch of Congo, but after eight years of civil war the ICCN needs some help."
Thousands of tourists a year pay more than $400 a day or more to see mountain gorillas in neighboring Rwanda and Uganda, and locals would like to have them come to war-torn Congo, too.
How the plan works
The idea is simple. Wildlife Direct acts as a conduit for information, supporting conservation workers in hazardous and remote locations.
The organization, which is registered in Washington, has sent Web wizards out to Africa, where they have established a series of online blogs, written by conservationists, rangers, and bush veterinarians, detailing their daily struggle to safeguard endangered animals.
Back in the West, Web-surfing animal-lovers who read the postings can click a "donate now" link. Up pops a page with a breakdown of options.
A day's patrol rations for five rangers costs $15. A pair of boots is $35; a full uniform, $45; a dome tent, $60.
Or, like the pupils in the Colorado school, donors can become Gorilla Conservation Associates and cover a ranger's $244-a-month salary package.
When the transaction is confirmed, Wildlife Direct contacts a partner organization they are working with on the ground. On the Mara Conservancy in southern Kenya, this is The Colobus Trust. In Cameroon, it is The Last Great Ape Project.
In Congo, it is the Frankfurt Zoological Society. Rob Muir is their chief conservationist based in Goma, near the Rwanda border.
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