Baraza

Category: Uncategorized | Date: Jun 18 2008 | By: admin

Those of you in USA must not don’t miss ON TV Gorilla Murders airs Tuesday, July 1, at 10 p.m. ET/PT on the National Geographic Channel.

National Geographic are doing some amazing coverage on mountain gorillas and have a 12 page article called Virunga Gorillas by Mark Jenkins about it on their online magazine. We are so proud that the work that WildlifeDirect has contributed is getting recognition. We’re especially pleased that the guys on the ground, at the front lines of conservation, whose lives are at risk every day, are correctly given the hero’s status.

“….Over the last year, the rangers have focused their efforts on stopping charcoal traffickers and have become media-savvy bloggers, photographers, videographers, and educators who reach tens of thousands of people around the world through a Web site hosted by the nonprofit conservation program WildlifeDirect, a partner of the National Geographic Society.

National Geographic News interviewed Innocent and Diddy, as they are known familiarly on their blog, about their work and passion. Both men are from Congo. Diddy has worked as a ranger at Virunga for about 18 years, and Innocent has been there for 11 years.

A ranger’s life is difficult. You work in a war zone, at times without pay or food rations. How do you get by?

Diddy: There have been many moments when we worked without getting paid, without food.

When there aren’t problems associated with the war, some people, including some guards, maintain small farms near the park border. From the harvest we could borrow food and make ends meet as we waited for a paycheck.

Innocent: We are assigned to protect nature, and as such we cannot abandon this work.”

Doesn’t it make you want to hug them? Imagine if everyone was this dedicated? I love these guys and had an amazing time with them last year in Congo, and we brought them to Kenya … here are some recollections

A busy week in Nairobi included tours of parks and city, Diddy described the day he met orphaned baby elephants at the David Sheldrick Trust as the best in his life!

Innocent meets his first rhino, max - another orphan

I’m not going to be able to watch the show so please please please give us your reactions here or on their blog gorilla Protection.

My two weeks in the Congo included three days in the forest with Emmanuel, Diddy and Innocent - meeting their gorilla families -the best days in my life!

Wouldn’t it be amazing if the rebel Nkunda would leave the park and allow Congo to restart mountain gorilla tourism - enabling Diddy and Innocent to continue their work while bringing visitors to meet the amazing Mikeno gorilla families. For now enjoy them virtually on gorilla blog and you can support Diddy and Innocents work to enable them to protect these extraordinary animals and their habitats safe into the future.

Tags: Diddy Mwanaki, DR Congo, elephants, Innocent Buranumwa, Kenya, mountain gorillas, National Geograhic, wildilfedirect

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