Update on Mai Mai attack - what is going on
Category: Crises, Logistics | Date: May 26 2007 | By: admin
The Mai Mai rebel situation in the north of Virunga is still tenuous. This is the situation: Ishango, on the northern shores of Lake Edward, has been reinforced with more rangers to help Atamato. More rangers have also been deployed to Tshiaberimu, where the attack took place. NGOs, including The Gorilla Organisation, WWF and WildlifeDirect, are coordinating emergency action to help the wounded and finance the additional ranger deployment.
Norbert Mushenzi, the Director of the northern sector of Virunga for ICCN (the state entity that controls the parks) has been meeting with the Mai Mai, the Congolese army, and the UN peacekeeping mission in Congo to find a solution to this mess.
A good solution would be for the Mai Mai to integrate into the Congolese army. This needs to be done. As long as they continue to sit in Muramba illegally, just a stone’s throw from Ishango and the last remaining hippos in the lake, this will be a huge threat. Political pressure is key.
The Mai Mai have political support in Kinshasa too, among members of parliament. They must be pressured into ceasing the financing of armed activities in the parks of this country. The rebels are not seeking the destruction of the park out of necessity, but out of a desire for short term financial gain. This situation must be addressed urgently.
More to come soon
Evacuation of Camp Karema after security threat
Category: Crises, Logistics, Mountain Gorillas, Rangers | Date: Apr 05 2007 | By: admin
Yesterday we had to evacuate Camp Karema up at Bukima in the Mikeno Sector. We received information that the Rwandan military could have been on their way to Bukima - Rwanda does after all only lie some 6km away. There are often rumors of security threats in this area, and all have to be taken seriously.
So we packed up our belongings, cleared away as much as possible, hid the new generator in the bush (that is a heavy piece of equipment let me tell you), and set off back down to Goma which is about a 2 hour drive.
We are continuing to monitor the situation with ICCN and the park station at Rumangabo. I think that the threat has diminished and that will go back up to Camp Karema in a few days. Let’s hope so.
The hut is now built and we are doing the finishing touches. Patrick and I are ecstatic!
The Vsat has been installed and we are just waiting for the connection.
For the Vsat to connect to the satellite the generator needs to be on all day, and of course yesterday that had to be aborted.
It sounds crazy I am guessing to outsiders when I talk about the security threats in this area - Mai Mai, Interhamwe (Rwandan Hutus), Nkunda’s men, Rwandan military - but it is after all still an unstable area. We just have to keep going. Virunga National Park is important not just to Congo, but to the whole world. I care about the park and the wildlife in it. That is why I am here.
Technorati : bukima, fzs, iccn, karema, mountain gorilla, wildlifedirect
Construction work at Camp Karema well underway
Category: Elephants, Logistics, Mountain Gorillas, Rangers | Date: Mar 29 2007 | By: admin
Things at Camp Karema are coming along really well! We have a good team of 20 guys from the local village, all working hard and fast under the direction of Patrick, a local carpenter who I first met in 2004 when I got him to build a bunch of rabbit hutches for me! He then went on to build my guard house and workshop with a machete as his only tool, but this is the first time I have worked with him in the field.
Patrick is excellent and really knows how to get the most out of his workers while keeping everybody happy! He also makes sure that everyone has a job to do, knows what it is, and gets on and does it! Sometimes even the best paid expats managing some of the largest NGOs out here don’t seem to get this right, so it is a skill that is not to be underestimated. “You must stay humble,” Patrick tells me, “that way local people will respect you and work well with you.” Makes sense…
In fact Patrick, pictured here above in the middle, is himself learning a new technique about laying roofing material. He has only ever used banana leaves before now, but they’re not really available at this altitude, so we are having to use coarse grass which requires a totally different technique.
Fortunately there are a couple of Mzees (Swahili for Old Wise Man) in the team who know exactly what to do… Fascinating watching them work and creating these giant bamboo spirals into which the grass will be fixed.
Anyway, the work was coming on so well that other than paying salaries and buying bamboo and other material, it was almost taking care of itself. This allowed me a bit of time to take in the incredible atmosphere of the camp. And this is what the hut was looking like at the end of the day.
The fallen tree in the middle of the camp was actually pushed over by an elephant just a few months ago, probably around the same time the rebels swept through the forest! Let’s hope the elephants are a little more gentle with our tents.
Technorati : bukima, congo, drc, fzs, karema, mikeno, virunga, wildlifedirect
Conrad Aveling visits Gorillas 15 years on
Category: General, Logistics, Mountain Gorillas | Date: Mar 26 2007 | By: admin
Conrad Aveling spent the night at Camp Karema and set out with us early in the morning to see the Gorillas for the first time in more than 15 years. Conrad, who was the old FZS project manager, came to Congo in 1984 to habituate Mountain Gorillas and chimpanzees for tourism. Four years later he moved on to manage a large EU project, building patrol posts and toursit lodges throughout the entire park and developing critical conservation initiatives. This was the first time he has been back, and he was able to meet up with a few old buddies
This is Conrad, me and Urbain
Just after this photo was taken we came across two Gorillas mating! It happened to be a black back who was doing it on the sly while the Silverback, Kabirizi, was out of sight. The Rangers get to see this happen about once every six months, so we felt pretty privilaged. Photo censored!
Conrad and Gorilla of the Kabirizi family
Gorilla close up
Gorilla reaching out
I think this male black-back gorilla fancied his hand at a spot of photography. Shortly after I took this photo he made a grab for the camera.
Technorati : bukima, camp karema, congo, drc, mountain gorilla, virunga, wildlifedirect
Progress at Camp Karema and Rumangabo, Gorilla Sector HQ
Category: Logistics, Mountain Gorillas, Rangers | Date: Mar 23 2007 | By: admin
Following my post a couple of weeks ago we continue to make progress with setting up Camp Karema, at Bukima (in the Gorilla sector) and also improving facilities at Rumangabo, the HQ of the sector that is not too far from Bukima.
This is the kit we took up the other day. All we need now is power!! Hopefully we’ll get solar system installed at Rumangabo within the next couple of weeks so that the Rangers can start making use of all this and we can reclaim some of our office space!
In one week this will be an African hut, for the moment though we are just hoping it doesn’t rain!
In the meantime, let’s build a BBQ… nothing better than goat and union kebabs rubbed down with some garlic and chilli pepper…
6 o’clock in the morning. I have felt better. I think I have looked better too!
This is the view from Camp Karema of Mt. Mikeno. Conrad Aveling climed it 16 years ago and I don’t think anyone has climbed it since. Conrad was the old FZS project manager back then (ie my predecessor), and one day very soon I will have to summit the mountain, if nothing else to keep the FZS tradition alive!
Technorati : congo rangers, drc, fzs, iccn, mikeno, mountain gorilla, virunga, wildlifedirect
Thank you all for your donations since I started this blog
Category: Logistics, Mountain Gorillas, Rangers, Your Donations | Date: Mar 15 2007 | By: admin
To all my supporters: THANK YOU FOR YOUR DONATIONS since I started this blog late last year.
Donations to date are:
Patrol Boots: 36 pairs
Patrol Rations: 58
Patrol Tents: 3
Salary bonuses for Rangers: 74
Uniform for Rangers: 12 sets
I would like to thank ICCN (The Congolese Institute for the Conservation of Nature), Paulin Ngobobo - Chief Warden of the Southern Sector of Virunga and WildifeDirect. The ICCN is doing a great job in protecting the park and its wildlife, and I am privileged to be collaborating.
More posts to come soon on the development of Camp Karema in the Mikeno sector - the new Gorilla monitoring station.
Myself and Urbain, my right hand man here in Goma and in the field!
Ndakasi, one of the Gorilla Monitoring team in the Mikeno Sector
Very best, Rob
Technorati : congo rangers, fzs, hippo, mountain gorilla, rob muir, wildlifedirect
Ranger Relief
Category: Logistics | Date: Dec 04 2006 | By: admin
The Advance Force has just benefited from a donation of over 1,000USD from Ranger Relief in California.
Along with rations and salaries, Ranger Relief has chosen to provide the congo rangers with much needed uniforms, boots and patrol tents which will be purchesed from Manchester Outfitters in Nairobi and flown out to DRC on the first available flight.
Many thanks Vanessa from Happy Hollow Zoo in California, and all those at Ranger Releif who helped raise the funds!
UNESCO comes through for Virunga’s Advance Force!
Category: Logistics | Date: Oct 02 2006 | By: admin
UNESCO, who has been following with absolute horror the decimation of the park’s wildlife populations, has just agreed to fund the purchase of a new lorry for the Advance Force to help put a stop to the current poaching epidemic that is taking hold in the park like a virus.
A Scania SBA III ex-army 4×4
At the moment the Advance Force can’t move around the park fast enough or in sufficient numbers to be really effective as a rapid reaction anti-poaching unit. All this will change once the lorry arrives. It is being shipped over from Van Vliet Trucks in Holland and we expect it to arrive in the park within the next six weeks! Many thanks to UNESCO and please keep the support coming!!
Â
Inside the cabin which will provide protection against wind, rain and possible ambush when moving around the park
Â
Spotted!
Category: Logistics | Date: Oct 02 2006 | By: admin
Night vision goggles are used by the Advance Force to carry out night time anti-poaching operations or to negotiate their way safely through hostile areas without being seen. It is also possible to drive a vehicle in complete darkness to deploy rangers undetected close to a poaching camp, although this has not yet been tried by the Advance Force. The UN who are considerably more Hi-Tech fly around in helicopters during the night using night vision goggles to look for signs of rebel movement on the ground - both in the park and in nearby towns and villages.
This is me from 20 meters as seen through a pair of military spec night vision goggles.
A New Home is Planned for the Rangers
Category: Logistics | Date: Aug 15 2006 | By: admin
Having now completed their training, the anti-poaching unit will be based at Mutsora (the headquarters of the Northern Sector), which is currently under rehabilitation by the London Zoological Society, the European Union and the Africa Conservation Fund.
The Main Building at Mutsora, recently refurbished by the Zoological Society of London with EU funding
-
100% of your donation, minus a small bank fee, will go to your intended purpose.
Donations made here are safe.
