A few months ago, we reached out for much-needed help: critically endangered gorillas in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) were at risk of being wiped out forever. Caught between warring groups, they were inching closer to doom.
With our supporters’ help, we raised half the funds we needed to provide critical monitoring tools to rangers protecting these vulnerable animals. With your help today, we can raise the remaining amount and help ensure the continued survival of these precious animals.
Here’s what you need to know.
Conflict could wipe out the last of the DRC’s already critically endangered gorillas. The DRC has endured decades of conflict and broken peace deals. This year, war erupted again, leaving millions of people displaced and thousands dead. Peace deals have stalled and fighting continues unabated.
The war has led to a surge in poaching. Driven by desperation, starving people are hunting wildlife, and this puts the region’s iconic gorillas – all of which are listed as endangered or critically endangered – at grave risk.
Amid the chaos of war, critically endangered gorillas face a terrifying fight for survival, because they are at risk of being POACHED for their meat.
We are working with The Gorilla Organization (TGO), which protects gorillas and their habitats in the Congo, Uganda and Rwanda.
Recently, gorilla rangers have battled increasingly hostile conditions, making their already dangerous work even more perilous. To protect the animals, they’ve been forced to dodge armed militia and navigate a terrifying, war-torn landscape – yet the rangers continue their vital work despite the lethal dangers all around them.
Rangers desperately need satellite communication devices if they have any hope of protecting the last of the DRC’s gorillas.
In a crisis like this, reliable communication is critical to saving animal lives. It allows teams to alert one another to situations that could put gorillas at risk, and to coordinate their efforts effectively, intercepting hunters and poachers, and protecting wild animals.
But much of the country’s telephone networks are disrupted, and communication is one of the biggest challenges for the team, leaving many helpless gorillas at grave risk of being killed.
A few months ago, with your help, we raised half the amount needed for satellite phones. Today, we are asking for your help to raise the outstanding funds.
If the gorilla rangers have any hope of protecting these vulnerable animals, we MUST equip them with satellite phones. If we can raise the outstanding $2,800 (£2,200), this is exactly what we will do.
These devices are designed to provide reliable communication even in the most extreme and remote environments, as well as offering GPS location tracking and an SOS alert button.
Some species of gorilla have declined 80% since the 1990s, placing them on the critically endangered list and on the fast-track to extinction.
The chaos has enabled poachers in the country to intensify their illegal activities, while driving people to kill gorillas for food. Unless we act, the conflict could easily undo more than 30 years of conservation work.
Without help, gorillas will be pushed closer and closer to the brink of extinction – until it’s too late to save them.
Please donate right away and help us do all we can to help protect this fragile species.
