Looking Towards Virunga’s Future
Category: Out on Patrol | Date: Apr 26 2007 | By: admin
A breakfast of porridge before heading off into the bush.
If you remember, the other week Aloma Major was on patrol in the same area around Djuma and found traces of okapi, we were excited about this news as okapi were not known to be in this area. They are extremely rare and before now only known to be around Epulu, and so we were once more thrilled when we again came across some okapi traces.
Here I am with Matembele discussing with him whether it really was okapi dung. We were both quite certain that it was, but for a true answer we needed to get someone who knows well about the okapi, a scientific Conservationist who can have the last word.
At the end of the patrol, back at the Djuma Patrol Post, I had a conversation with the chief of the nearby Bantu pygmy tribe.
We talked for a long time and I asked him what he thought about working alongside with the Advance Force. They are the first occupants of the region and know the area very well, and so would help us enormously with the information they could provide.
I told him that there were already pygmies who work alongside conservationists at Epulu and so why not here in Djuma. He was very happy to hear this because his people are marginalised by society and he could not quite believe that I thought that they would be useful to our work.
I also told him about the pygmy people who were trained as guards at Park National Kahuzi-Biega and that it is very possible for us to work together in the future. It was just a discussion, but hopefully the first steps towards helping integrate the pygmies with the work done to preserve the forest in this part of the park.
Technorati : Congo Rangers, DRC, Okapi, Pygmies, Virunga, WildlifeDirect, World Picture News
Patrol in Djuma with Paul from World Picture News
Category: In the Press, Out on Patrol | Date: Apr 25 2007 | By: admin
After just a couple of days in Mutsora, it was time to go back out on patrol again, with Paul from World Picture News joining us for a couple of days.
Above you can see the Djuma Patrol Post with a palm tree grove in the background.
It’s no longer a suitable PP for the area, and we really need to take this one down and build a stronger one which is good enough for the guards and their families.This is a very valuable area with the recent finding of okapi here, as well as the new road being built by Soderu which connects Uganda with Congo.
I believe that ICCN should put road blocks on this road where it enters and exits the park, so that we can monitor the traffic and make sure that illegal activities such as logging and poaching do not go on within our borders. We could also even use the road blocks as a small income for the park or pay for the upkeep of the road, but to monitor poaching is essential as although these new roads can provide much hope to an area, the increased accessibility of the park to outsiders can see dramatic rises in the traffic of bush meat.
Technorati : Congo, Virunga, WildlifeDirect, World Picture News
Gripolo the Tracker and the Crocodile Trap
Category: Out on Patrol | Date: Apr 06 2007 | By: admin
I would like you to meet one of our trackers, his name is Gripolo. He has worked for over 35 years with the Congo Rangers, and has helped us with providing vital information as well as joining us on many expeditions and patrols.
Gripolo joined the Troop on all of the patrols for every day of the ten that they were there. Below you can see the Troop briefing before entering the forest.
Below, they found this crocodile trap next to the Semliki River. As bait, poachers have used a colobus monkey whith they have trapped previously.
At the entrance of the trap is a circular piece of metal wire, which gets caught around the neck of the crocodile and tightens with movement. On the left of the picture, hanging down, is the branch which is released with movement and pulls the wire taut.
With caution, my men took down this trap, and below you can see just the colobus monkey hanging as bait.
After a full day of patrolling the troop returned to the camp at the Juma Patrol Post.
And the next day they took the vehicle for their return trip to our main base at Mutsora.
I am pleased with the work of my men, but we need to do many more patrols in the future to secure the area and can only do this with the funds and support from all of you reading this blog.
Thank you so much for your help already, with each day our presence here in Virunga National Park grows stronger, which in turn makes this a safer place for the wildlife here.
Technorati : Colobus, Congo, Congo Rangers, Crocodile, Virunga, WildlifeDirect
Poachers’ Shelters Found in the Park
Category: Out on Patrol | Date: Apr 05 2007 | By: admin
When we make our way through the jungle we walk along in a line, side-by-side, with a distance between each man so that we can cover a larger area more easily. Occasionally, due to the terrain or if something is found, we group together, but then afterwards we’ll spread out again.
Above, Troop 1 found this pile of wood put together in a stock pile for later retrieval. Although at this stage they were unable to find a culprit, they cut the wood into smaller pieces with machetes, and then scattered the chippings so that they could not be used or sold.
They also found this shelter put together by poachers who stay here when in the forest. It was well used and so was destroyed by being set alight. When they next come back to the area they will not only be discouraged to stay because of the lack of shelter from the heavy rainfall here, but also aware that we are in the area and will not tolerate poaching within the park’s limits.
Many more shelters were found in the area, and they were all destroyed.
They also found this camp, which until very recently was known to be used by Ugandan rebels, the NALU.
The NALU (National Army for the Liberation of Uganda) have been in Eastern Congo for many years now and although officially their last stronghold here was at the end of 2005, they still cause many problems for us here in the park, as well as the surrounding area.
Technorati : Congo, Patrol, Poaching, Virunga, WildlifeDirect
One false move and you’ll lose a finger
Category: Out on Patrol | Date: Apr 04 2007 | By: admin
On patrol, Troop 1 found this trap to catch small animals looking for shelter.
In the middle you will see a gap betwen the vertical sticks. In this gap is a circular metal wire which pulls tight when the animal pushes through the circle created by the wire.
All traps are forbidden in the park, and so it is necessary that we disarm the wire trap and take the wire with us back to camp, as well as destroying all the sticks so that it is difficult for poachers to reconstruct the trap.
Shortly afterwards a trap to catch okapi was found. You can see how the branch is pulled over tight, with a cord attached to a trap of metal wire, hidden in the ground.
The wire is concealed on a well worn path that the okapi use, and once the trap is disturbed by an okapi putting his foot inside the wire, the branch is released, and the wire tightens around the leg. The branch moves up, pulling the okapi off his feet, onto his back, and then partially lifts him into the air. Stuck in this position, unless the poacher returns soon after, the okapi will die a slow and painful death.
It takes two people to disarm this trap, with one holding the branch while the other takes apart the wire. It requires full attention by both persons otherwise one lapse in concentration and the ranger working on the wire could badly hurt himself, even lose a finger.
Below, you can see it is Hamule Kibingo who has taken the responsibility of holding the branch still.
They came across many more different kinds of traps, on average 10 a day while on patrol, all varying in type for all different types of animals. Here is just a small collection of the traps that they found:
And unfortunately, they found one which had already caught its prey.
Tomorrow, I will show you about other preventative measures taken to stop poachers from trapping in this region.
Technorati : Congo, Congo Rangers, Patrol, Traps, Virunga, WildlifeDirect
The Start of the Patrol
Category: Out on Patrol | Date: Apr 03 2007 | By: admin
It rained a lot the first night they were in Njuma, and because of all the mud and sand the vehicle they were using slid off the track at the camp and was caught on the ledge.
Luckily we are used to this, and with the help of many strong arms the vehicle was soon on its way to the first patrol point.
On route we came across this truck carrying wood. Becase we are within the park’s limits, we had to make sure that the wood came from a legitmate source by checking the details given by the men. In this case the wood came from where a road is being built, and so the truck was allowed to continue on its way.
Once they reached the drop-off point, the rest of the way was by foot through the thick forest vegetation.
At certain intervals along the patrol, Deo Kakule Sindani uses GPS to establish the coordinates and to track their progress. The arrival of GPS has helped enormously with our navigation through the dense rainforest.
Towards the end of day, our men discovered some okapi traces. Unfortunately there are a lot of poachers in the area who try and trap okapi, which we will show you more of tommorow, but for now this is a great sign as okapi are unique to the Congo and we are very pleased to see that they are still in this area.
Technorati : Advance Force, Congo, Congo Rangers, DRC, Loggers, Okapi, WildlifeDirect
Setting up Camp
Category: Out on Patrol | Date: Apr 02 2007 | By: admin
Just recently, Troop 1 and Troop 3 of the Advance Force each went out on a 10 day patrol in Virunga.
I sent Jules, the leader of Troop 1, with a camera so that he could record what happened on his patrol, and so over the next few days I will give details of what they enountered.
Jule’s troop, comprising of 15 men, was sent to the Njuma Patrol Post, and the third troop was sent to the Makoyoba PP. Both PPs are in the north of the park, in the Equatorial Rainforest.
As soon as they arrived at Njuma, after greeting the guards who are permenantly stationed there, they immediately set up camp.
This is to be their base for the next ten days, and with not enough room in the camp for everyone, it is necessary to put up additional tents.
Above you can see Jules putting up his tent. After each day of patrolling, the men will come back to this base to eat and sleep.
With many rebels still in the area, it is important for security reasons that we come back to Njuma each night. Here around the camp, we have established a presence, but it will take many more patrols to fully secure the area. If my men were to set up camp in the middle of the forest and rebels should happen upon them at night, I cannot guarantee their safety.
Technorati : Advance Force, Congo, DRC, Patrol, Virunga, WildlifeDirect
Park Invasion near the Nyaleke Patrol Post
Category: Out on Patrol | Date: Mar 26 2007 | By: admin
If you leave the large town of Beni by heading east, you will shortly enter Virunga National Park. This area is controlled by the Nyaleke Patrol Post, where recently there was a land invasion into the park by the local people.
They had only been in place a couple of days and had already started to put up shelters.
Our Communications Officer was sent in initially to talk to the people, but when they refused to remove the Advance Force had to intervene.
This is another of those times when our job is very difficult as it is so very hard to turn the people away. Extreme poverty is a reality here in Congo and these people, most of them displaced by the war, came with the intention to cultivate the land. But if we are to ensure that the wildlife here are protected, we have to limit the number of villages and towns that are allowed to exist within the park’s boundaries.
Once we had managed to remove all the people by putting them into trucks headed back towards Beni, we then had to set about burning all that was left behind.
It is necessary to do this as we do not want any of our animals here to catch human diseases.
As a fine for entering the park we impounded all of their bicycles, which also acts as a temporary intervention to stop these people from coming back straight away.
These bikes will be taken to the Court of Justice in Beni.
Technorati : Beni, Congo, Conservation, DRC, Virunga, WildlifeDirect
A Fight for Land
Category: Out on Patrol | Date: Mar 19 2007 | By: admin
While out on patrol we found this sign put up by local people.
It reads that the work of ICCN takes away people’s rights to cultivate the land within the park.
Our job is about finding the right balance between the wildlife and the communities living here, and for the moment it is a daily struggle to protect the habitat of the animals of the park.
During the war, the population in and around Virunga National Park rocketed due to many displaced people coming to the area to try and make a living. This has put much pressure on the fishing communities along Lake Edward, and due to poor fishing methods they are now cultivating large amounts of land within the park. The same is also happening with other villages which border the park.
We had to remove this sign because it goes against the conservation efforts of all of us here working for the park.
Technorati : Congo, DRC, Virunga, WildlifeDirect
A new member to the team!
Category: Out on Patrol | Date: Mar 09 2007 | By: admin
Some of the Advanced Force and I escorted the WildlifeDirect board from Mutsora to Ishango on Tuesday evening. Not only was it necessary for us to travel with the group as their journey continued after sunset, but it was also an honour to be with them on their first day in Congo.
Early Wednesday morning while still in Ishango, Benoit Kisuki, the Second in Command of Virunga National Park, gave a talk to help boost the morale of our men.
It was a great speech, and afterwards the spirit of our men was lifted.
We then waited by the airstrip in Ishango to see the board off.
Below you can see me sharing a joke with Safari, whose wife gave birth to a daughter this Thursday.
They are both very happy and have named their newborn daughter Samantha, after Samantha Newport from the WildlifeDirect team.
Felicitations Safari!
Technorati : Congo, DRC, Ishango, Safari, Virunga, WildlifeDirect
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