For Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), dem don do beta work for conservation as dem release four female eastern gorillas wey dey critically endangered back to di wild for Virunga National Park. Dis na di biggest movement and population boost for eastern gorillas wey Africa don ever see.
Dis action show say DRC dey serious to protect dia wildlife and biodiversity, even as di eastern region still dey face wahala like poaching and insecurity. Even with di M23 rebels attack and di environmental wahala, dis kain reintroduction dey show di strong mind wey di local authorities and dia partners get to protect di natural heritage for di area.
Di four Grauer's gorillas, wey people sabi as eastern lowland gorillas, dem rescue dem from illegal wildlife trade. Now, dem don release dem go di wild for Virunga National Park.
Di gorillas go help add better genetic boost to di small population of just eight gorillas wey dey Mount Tshiaberimu for North Kivu province, eastern DRC. With dis release, di population for Mount Tshiaberimu don increase to twelve gorillas. To make sure di gorillas fit adapt well, dem build special facility for di remote area of di 7,800 km² park.
Dis na di first time wey gorillas from di Gorilla Rehabilitation and Conservation Education Center (GRACE) for Kasugho, eastern DRC, don enter di wild. Conservationists dey happy say dis na big milestone.
“After many years of preparation and work with Virunga Park, local communities, and experts, dis milestone na big step to strengthen di eastern gorilla population. We dey happy say di gorillas don dey adapt well to dia natural habitat,” Emmanuel de Merode, Director of Virunga National Park, tok TRT Afrika.
Di gorillas don quick adapt to dia new environment, dem dey chop and sleep well, and dia health dey okay during di transfer process. Di mountain gorilla population for DRC don grow well in recent years because of di conservation efforts wey dem dey do. By 2024, dem estimate say over 1,000 mountain gorillas dey di greater Virunga region wey cover DRC, Rwanda, and Uganda.
For Virunga National Park alone, dem get about one-third of di population—around 350 gorillas. Dis growth na because of di strong conservation strategies like monitoring di gorilla families, anti-poaching patrols, and community awareness programs. Even with di challenges like insecurity, poaching, and habitat loss, di work still dey show better result.
Di translocation na di result of over five years of work between Virunga National Park and di local communities. Di gorillas dem carry go GRACE sanctuary between 2010 and 2016. For GRACE, dem live for 16-hectare semi-wild environment, where dem learn how to find food, socialize, climb, and play—like as e dey for di wild.
“We don dey take care of dis gorillas since dem be pikin. Our main goal na to help dem recover from di trauma of illegal wildlife trade and prepare dem to go back to di wild. Dis gorillas strong well well,” Jackson Kabuyaya Mbeke, Director of GRACE Gorillas for DRC, tok TRT Afrika.
“Some of dem don spend over ten years dey learn how to find food, build nest, and make decisions for social group. Now dem ready to help di survival of dia species for di wild,” he add.
