By Saving Gorillas, Can Congolese Save Themselves?
That is the hope of environmental activists, who realize that wildlife conservation and tourism could be the key to survival for people as well as animals in a part of Africa where conflict has been the norm. Mountain gorillas are gentle giants that range across the borders of Uganda, Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo in Africa. These primates are considered extremely endangered, with fewer than 720 in existence. After a decade of relative calm for these animals — the same cannot be said of the humans around them — wildlife officials report at least 10 have been killed this year. Photographs documenting the slaughter are heartbreaking, mostly because of the peaceful, human-like expressions the dead gorillas wear. These pictures are part of the tool kit brought to the United States by Arthur Mugisha, a former game warden in Uganda and now manager of the International Gorilla Conservation Programme. In an interview, Mugisha acknowledged that the people of Congo can well survi
