Baraza

Category: Emergencies, Gorillas, National Parks and protected areas, WildlifeDirect news, wildlife | Date: Oct 09 2008 | By: baraza

We have been following the alarming developments in Eastern Congo on the Gorilla protection blog and here we bring some of the latest reports on BBC here and from the United Nations official site

There is additional inforamation at the UNITED NATIONS Monuc website here Oct 8, 2008 - The Democratic Republic of Congo’s envoy to the United Nations called Wednesday for an urgent UN Security Council meeting to discuss what he called an “imminent” Rwandan attack on the eastern DRC city of Goma.

Speaking to AFP, Atoki Ileka said DRC authorities had “observed concentrations of Rwandan troops in the Rwandan border town of Gisenyi,” and that this suggested that an attack on Goma, located just across the frontier, was “imminent.”
In an earlier statement, the United States has responded angrily to Nkunda’s recent declarations in this statement from the US Department of State

“The United States condemns and rejects the statements made by General Nkunda, leader of the National Congress for the Defense of the People (CNDP), claiming the CNDP intends to overthrow the elected and universally recognized Government of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (GDRC). The U.S. calls on the international community to support the GDRC as it works to consolidate its democracy and capacity to govern justly its entire territory. The U.S. opposes all those who seek to foment instability in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).
The Goma Agreement and the Nairobi Communiqué remain the only true viable framework to bring stability to eastern Congo. The signatories should respect their commitments and implement them swiftly. All concerned parties should also respect the current cease fire and move quickly to disengage their forces in accordance with the UN Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo’s (MONUC) Global Disengagement Plan. The U.S. applauds MONUC for its efforts to stabilize eastern Congo and calls on all parties to cooperate with those efforts. Conflict between the CNDP and the DRC Armed Forces only detracts attention from resolving the root problem causing instability in the region posed by the ex-Rwandan Armed Forces (ex-FAR), the Interahamwe, and the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR).
The U.S. remains committed to supporting the GDRC and the people of the Congo to ensure a strong, democratic state, free from all illegal armed groups. At the October 3rd UN Security Council meeting on DRC, the U.S. condemned statements made by Nkunda and called for the improvement of MONUC capabilities to better carry out its mandate. The U.S. will continue to work with the DRC and the Great Lakes countries both bilaterally and through the Tripartite Plus process to strengthen regional cooperation and build a stable and prosperous region.
The U.S. will work to bring to justice those responsible for war crimes and crimes against humanity committed in eastern Congo and elsewhere”.

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Tags: CNDP, Gorillas, MONUC, Nkunda, rebels, Rwanda, Virunga National Park

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Category: Gorillas | Date: Oct 04 2008 | By: baraza

After spending a day with Lucy Spelman a vet with the Mountain Gorilla Veterinary Project (MGVP)  in New York and hearing her amazing stories about live as a gorilla vet I realised that I’d much rather be in the rainforest experiencing what the MGVP does first hand. Well, I may yet get to do it one day but for now I can only experience it virtually.  So can you!

The Mountain Gorilla Veterinary Project (MGVP) is an innovative gorilla health initiative first established in 1985 when Dian Fossey asked the Morris Animal Foundation for help in response to a crisis situation for these gorillas. MGVP established veterinary care and health resources in the Rwanda rainforests. To watch the video go to the Morris Animal Foundation website and watch this video about MGVP.

Dr. Lucy is currently on a promotional book tour of USA so if you don’t yet have her book “The Rhino with Glue on Shoes” then you must get it.

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Tags: Lucy Spelman, MGVP, mountain gorillas, Rwanda, Veterinarians, Virunga National Park

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Category: Gorillas, Podcasts | Date: Jun 27 2008 | By: admin

Hello everyone, Paula here and this is the moment of truth !!! Here’s my promised podcast. Listen with headphones gorillas are very quiet creatures so listen carefully, I hope you feel immersed in the jungle. Look a the photos as you listen - I’ve put them in chronological order.

The day started at 4.30am after a very long night of very loud Oliver N’goma concert!

The experience begins with a talk from our guide Francis, who was absolutely brilliant. ….he takes us on an extraordinary hike through the jungle introducing us to much more than gorillas,….

Here’s the volcano, Mt Bisoke, we had to climb it!

We first walked through farms to this wall, the “buffalo wall” demarcates the edge of the park protecting it from incursions as well as protecting the people from buffaloes.

The houses in this area are made of sticks and the walls of leaves, the soil here is not sticky enough to plaster the walls!

The trek we were told would take anything from 10 minutes to 3 hours. Every time someone asked “are we nearly there?” we were told the same thing, “just ten more minutes”. It took us nearly like 3 hours! From Left to Right these are Joe Summerhays (animator), John (assisting guide), Bill Gorth (master story teller), Craig Hatkoff (co founder of Tribeca Film Festival), and Brian Newman (Tribeca Film Foundation).

Our first sighting, he just sat there and stared right back.

The emotion you feel when you spot Gorillas for the first time are never forgotten. From Left to Right, these are Dino (dudu diaries), Craig and Rabai Irwin.

It’s hard to keep the 10 meter rule, gorillas walk right up to you and will even grab and push you aside you if you are in the way as happened to Craig!

The experience gets better and better as the group begins to ignore you - two individuals played right in front of us then climbed a tree.

I could have watched these guys playing for hours! So entertaining.

I know why Dian Fossey fell in love with the place, the staff like Francis are super dedicated, amusing, and just a pleasure to spend time with.

The trackers wake up at about 6 am to find the group and stay with them and guide the tourists to them.

Can you see the 3 week old baby? Did you hear it coughing on the podcast?

Life as a gorilla can’t be that bad?

Apart from the mind blowing gorillas, other odd things creatures also caught our attention like this giant earthworm. They grow to about 1 foot and are about 1 inch thick!

After that full day in gorilla country and one hour with the Amohoro family  I looked at my certificate and I can’t help feeling like it was a life time experience well wort the $500 price tag. I want to stay in touch with them, monitor the progress of the new baby, hear their daily shenanigans.

What do you think? Would you pay $500 to experience this?

How was the podcast?

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Tags: Bisoke, Craig Hatkoff, Dian Fossey, Gorilla trek, karasoke, Paula Kahumbu, podcast, Rwanda

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Category: Gorillas | Date: Jun 26 2008 | By: admin

This month seems to be dedicated to Gorillas, the whole world is absorbed with them at the moment. Today the National Geographic screen Gorilla Murders in Washington DC. Everyone is talking about it. I”ll try to watch reactions to it on the news. I was sent these links to more of Ben Stirtons photos and stories which are just adding to the hype. Let us know what you hear!

I am still in Kigali, the capital of Rwanda where internet access is amazingly good. It’s one of those mornings - I know the chaos will hit me (it has been a frantic trip so far) so in these moments of calm I’ve been able to check out the latest online news. I had a wonderful surprise this morning when I read that in USA a man has walked from Seattle to Portland to support the Mountain Gorillas Veterinary Project which is run by Lucy Spelman.

Drew Nichols, a mortgage loan officer did a 10 day, 228-mile walk and raised more than $30,000 in donations and pledges. He is an amazing example of a volunteer who is making a massive contribution. Our own Robert Williams of Ending Charcoal blog is one of our own heros helping gorillas in Congo. In addition we have two other virtual volunteers working with us on specific blogs. It is hugely valuable and we all really appreciate their contribution which is making such a massive difference for us. We encourage any of you to volunteer just sign up here to help, and tell your friends! http://baraza.wildlifedirect.org/virtual-volunteering-for-wildlifedirect/

Some other gorilla news today made me even happier… in Uganda a 38-year-old veterinarian, Dr Gladys Kalema, has just won the prestigious San Diego Zoological Society conservation medal - The 2008 Conservation-In-Action Award. She is recognized for her outstanding conservation work in Uganda, at her organization the Conservation Through Public Health (CTPH), a private non-profit organisation, that promotes conservation and public health by improving people and animal primary healthcare in and around protected areas in Africa.

We fly back to Nairobi this morning - it has been absolutely amazing as you will read and hear in coming posts.

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Tags: MGVP, mountain gorillas, National Geographic, Rwanda, virtual volunteers, wildlifedirect

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Category: Gorillas | Date: Jun 23 2008 | By: admin

This is part of a series of posts about our trip in Rwanda. It has been so exciting and there is so much to tell you that I don’t know where to start….Ok, I’ll start with Saturday’s naming ceremony

When we arrived the venue for the ceremony was already packed with thousands of local people. The setting is amazing - that’s mount Karasoke behind.

We were witnessing the naming - which Craig Hatkoff one of our Dierctors of WildlifeDirect and my co-author in Owen and Mzee, and his daughter Juliana were lucky enough to actually participate and name a gorilla. The baby they named was called “Mushye” which means ‘new’. I’m going to get her to do a guest post about the experience - so watch out for that post coming soon… for now just imagine yourself emersed amongst about 4000 people and the sounds of an African celebration….

The music and fanfare was absolutely mindblowing… here are some photos to get you into the mood -you will just have to imagine the loud African beat, the energy, the celebration. It was absolutely incredible.

The dancers had so much energy it was hard to sit still while they performed

One of the key stars of the ceremony was Oliver Ngoma from Gabon after naming his gorilla he was asked to give us a taste of his music described as Afro-zouk reggae… he sang a couple of song to the entire audience, a teaser for a major concert in the evening. Everyone was dancing in their seats!

I couldn’t resist it… so I took advantage of the opportunity to get a shot with the star himself! WOW! He is seriously famous in Africa, ….

On Sunday we went on a gorilla trek …apart from it being the out-of-this-world experience that everyone who has ever met a gorilla has, something particularly unusual and special happened to Craig. I have to download photos and podcast … it’l be in my next post. Hope you can wait!

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Tags: , Craig Hatkoff, karasoke, Kwita Izina, mountain gorillas, Rwanda, Volcanoes, wildlifedirect

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Category: Uncategorized | Date: Jun 10 2008 | By: admin

I received this as an email which was based on a conversation with the Commerce Minister Monique Nsanzabaganwa (L) and ORTPN Director General Rosette Chantal Rugamba after yesterday’s talk show on the upcoming ‘Kwita Izina’ ceremony.

Rwanda’s efforts to save mountain gorillas which last year generated $7m about Frw3.1bn have yielded $0.16m (approx Frw87.3m) portion to DR Congo.

The director general of Office of Tourism and National Parks (ORTPN), Chantal Rugamba said the allotment is part of revenue sharing policy by three countries housing mountain gorillas. Rugamba, who was among the key speakers at Sunday live TV and radio talk show at Telecom House, said the money is meant to promote conservation of gorilla habitats on Congo side ravaged by civil wars. “Some gorillas fled insecurity in Congo habitats, to Rwanda side. The revenue we generate from tourists who visit them, our DRC counterparts have a portion” she promised.

Her revelation about proceeds they have allocated to Congo comes in the wake of preparations for the fourth gorilla naming ceremony (Kwita Izina) slated for June, 21. The ceremony will take place in Musanze District, Northern Province and this year 20 baby gorillas will named.

“Let us give it real value in view of the fact that it aims at conserving the natural habitats of mountain gorillas” said the Minister of Commerce and Industry, Monique Nsanzabaganwa.

Kwita Izina will be preceded with the inauguration of 3 primary schools of Nyabitsindi, Mugarama and Nyangwe; include 3 of the ten water harvest tanks and 2 bridges.

Another major event is a conservation conference expected to act as a platform to review the conservation action in Rwanda’s protected areas. Rugamba promised the conference will attract over 150 regional and international conservationists who will present their research findings on gorilla conservation.

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Tags: DR Congo, gorilla, kwa inzina, mountain gorilla, Rwanda, wildlifedirect

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Category: Gorillas | Date: Jun 08 2008 | By: admin

Its the talk of the month. On the 21st of June 20 baby gorillas will be named in special ceremony that attracts hollywood stars like Natalie Portman and Jack Hannah who made a video about gorillas. According to this article “Rwanda is now on a first name basis with their gorillas. In 2005. Rwanda Office of Tourism and National Parks (ORTPN) introduced “Kwita Izina” - a deeply emotional Rwandese cultural baby naming ceremony - to their gorilla population. Since 2005, this annual event has evolved to become the premier tourist event both locally and internationally on the tourism calendar”. The government of Rwanda promotes the event enthusiastically.

Dr Lucy from MGVP and Gorilla Doctors blog wrote about her experience at the ceremony last year and posted an amazing kaleidescope of photos here.

This ceremony came from a tradition of naming children - yes everyone names their baby, but its unique in Rwanda, where it is done in an annual event for the entire community. The Rwandan government has cleverly developed this tradition and promote it for the benefit of mountain gorillas. In his blog, Anderson Cooper believes that gorilla tourism has been central to the recovery of Rwanda’s economy. Photographs and footage for CNN’s Planet in Peril from Rwanda continue to inspire the world about these magnificent animals.

The gorilla naming event is called Kwita Izina and started in 2005 by the Rwanda Office of Tourism and National Parks (ORTPN). Over the past few years, the naming ceremony during which young gorillas get a name, has gained a lot of goodwill and support from conservationists, celebrities and others from all walks of life.

“It is a unique celebration. It is the biggest event of the year. Don’t miss the thrill of Kwita Izina,” read part of an advert in a regional daily announcing the forthcoming naming ceremony to be held on 21 June 2008.

The ceremony is coming to classrooms around the world like room 224 and is even mentioned on Name wire, the product naming blog. Last year baby Ingufu (means strength in Kiswahili) recievd much publicity, his name was in honor of Steve Irwin.

Thousands of people are expected to attend the gorilla naming ceremony, from Rwanda and other nations. Tell us if you are going, and we will let you know if we can make it as well.

Sadly, Nakuringo, a silverback from the Bwindi population of mountain gorillas in Uganda has died of old age. You can read about it here.

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Tags: goilla naming, John Hannah, mountain gorillas, Natalie Portman, ORTPN, Rwanda, Steve Irwin, wildlifedirect

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