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Second Infant Grauer’s Gorilla Confiscated from Poachers

September 24, 2012

Second Infant Grauer's Gorilla Confiscated from Poachers

Grauer's gorilla infant confiscated Sept. 20A second infant gorilla, presumed to be a female Grauer’s gorilla, has been confiscated recently in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). She was recovered on Sept. 20 by Virunga National Park law enforcement. Law enforcement agencies and the Congolese parks authority, ICCN, have since placed the second gorilla in the Fossey Fund’s care at the ICCN’s Senkwekwe Sanctuary for mountain gorillas in Rumungabo, where the first is also in our care (see previous post).

The new infant is younger than the first; veterinarians estimate her to be less than 6 months old — an incredibly delicate age for a gorilla to be without her mother. The tiny gorilla was being held in Goma by a man who was trying to sell her. After she was confiscated, Fossey Fund Grauer’s Gorilla Conservation and Research Program Manager Urbain Ngobobo-as-Ibungu, along with others involved in the confiscation, went to the courthouse to make an official statement regarding the confiscation and obtain documents placing the infant in the Fossey Fund’s care for the time being.

We are honored to be charged with this gorilla’s care, and will do everything we can to help her adjust to her new life. See the full story on our Web news page.