Mai Mai rebels - who killed 100s of hippos last year - are attacked and have surrendered

Mai Mai rebels - who killed 100s of hippos last year - are attacked and have surrendered

Category: General, Hippos, Rangers | Date: Feb 22 2007 | By: admin

We have just learned that the Mai Mai rebels, who were responsible for the slaughter of hundreds of hippos last year in Virunga National Park, were attacked by troops loyal to former dissident General Laurent Nkunda. The main Mai Mai camps - Cyondo and Birwa - both on the southern shores of Lake Edward, were disbanded and the Mai Mai surrendered to government troops.

Just to provide you with some background, Nkunda and his men are currently being integrated into the Congolese army as part of a huge effort to bring all rebel factions into the Congo fold and bring stability to the east of the country. This process was recently initiated and is still very much ongoing.

The Mai Mai have been around for a long time and were initially formed to resist invasion from Rwanda, or simply out of a desire for money from loot or cattle rustling. The Mai Mai - who number about 300 - have recently been known for their crude poaching methods and the hippo massacre that I have talked about on this blog. They have been another stumbling block in Congo’s long, arduous and complex peace process in the east that creates additional challenges for the Rangers.

The situation in Congo, and especially in the east, is enormously complicated… so i shan’t go into too much detail. In essence though, the disbandment of the Mai Mai is very positive for the protection of the last remaining hippos in the north of Lake Edward… but watch this space. As you know situations change very quickly here and we have yet to see if the Mai Mai surrender and disbandment last.

2 Responses to “Mai Mai rebels - who killed 100s of hippos last year - are attacked and have surrendered”

Tricia, on 22 Feb 2007

Rob - I read in the post from the 9th of February that there might perhaps be 300 hippos left. Do you feel that that number is still an accurate estimate? Knowing that hippos generally have a single calf every two years or so, but not knowing approximately how many of the hippos that are estimated to be left are female and at breeding age, how many years do you realistically think it could take for the hippos to return to a less-than-critical number?

I ask this knowing that anything less than a number in the high thousands is considered a critical number, so perhaps I should quantify that by asking for a number that you and the rangers would feel comfortable with having there and can protect?

I hope this question makes sense. I know we will not likely have hippos numbering the high thousands again anytime soon, but I hope that 300 or so can regrow to a couple thousand someday?

(please forgive my zoological ignorance if this questions seems elementary - I know the reproduction information I’ve read is not necessarily typical of breeding in the wild. I figure you probably have a better grasp of that than any textbook here.)

With the Mai Mai no longer a threat (hopefully) I am hoping the hippos will have time to rebuild their numbers. I just wonder how much time is necessary, and whether they will have the time.

Thank you, Rob, to you and Elie and all the rangers whose names I do not know.

Chris in USA, on 22 Feb 2007

That is great news. I, too, wonder if the hippos will be able to recover or are their numbers too far gone? Let’s hope they can make a comeback.

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