European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - September 13, 1994, Darmstadt, Hesse Gorillas in the chaos Rwanda s famous primates believed to be Safe by Tony Smith a the associated press hards of Glass and torn files litter the Forest floor evidence that Rwanda s deadly civil a War has reached High into the Vir Unga Forest Home to half the world s rare Mountain gorillas. In the Forest that straddles Rwanda s Border with Zaire and Uganda the Kar Soke research Center the Camp featured in the movie gorillas in the Mist stands ransacked and nearly deserted. But what has happened to the shy primates themselves Only about 600 Mountain gorillas remain on Earth. Some 320 lived in Vir Unga Forest before the civil War erupted anew in april. A group of rwandan trackers returned in Early August and have traced the base s three Gorilla groups used Lor research. But about 60 gorillas usually shown to tourists Are still missing. Quot there s no reason for major worry right now Quot said Jose Alpers of the International Gorilla conservation program which helps run Kar Soke Quot As Long As there s no disturbance in the Forest the. Gorillas have no reason to move it s not As if they re listening to the radio. A Quot but Quot he adds Quot there s no surveillance at All and the potential risks Are quite . In mid july Kar Soke s 30 employees and another 80 Vir Unga Forest rangers fled advancing rwandan patriotic front rebels and Are now refugees in Zaire. The victorious rebels now form Rwanda s government and Are camped just South of the Forest. Over the Border Rwanda s Defeated Hutu army feverishly plots revenge. The Forest is a tense no Man s land parts of which Are said to be rangers it is open to Antelope and Buffalo poachers who can kill or ensnare gorillas on purpose or by mistake. Up to 3,000 rwandan villagers and their livestock fled through the Forest in july but Alpers said gorillas probably took Refuge up the slopes Only. To return later to their Home ranges. Leonidas Munya Tarama was equally confident As he stepped through the debris at the Camp founded by Dian Fossey the american naturalist. Quot even if they fled Over the Border they la be Back. Gorillas Don t need passports Quot he said. Fossey whose Campaign to protect the gorillas was the basis for gorillas in the Mist was murdered in 1985 and buried at the Camp among the remains of some of the animals she loved. Her grave was untouched by the latest upheaval but her Cabin where her successors continued research work until july was ripped apart chairs and desks overturned files scattered on the floor windows smashed. Quot we Don t know if it was soldiers or poachers Quot said Munya Tarama who returned to Kar Soke recently the first research student Back since the staff s panicked flight. A. Quot the first thing is to get All the trackers Back so we can Start searching for All the gorillas Start research Start patrolling.�?�. Easier said than done. / an attempt by the . High commissioner for refugees to ferry the trackers Home ended in disaster last / month when thugs Loyal to Rwanda s old government attacked them As they waited for . Trucks. Tracker Leader Jean Bosco Bizu Merenyi who said at the time he wanted to return Quot because gorillas Are More peace Loving than men Quot was nearly beaten to death with rocks. The other trackers and their families fled and the repatriation plans were suspended. Rwanda s new government Hopes to generate Revenue by rebuilding the tourist Industry that had grown up around the gorillas and is urging the trackers to return. But with the country ravaged by War unstable and broke the government lacks Means to persuade tourists and rwandans alike to return. And with both armies in and around the Forest the future of the Camp is unknown. A. Quot if the ref and the sex army stay in these positions we could soon have guerrillas As Well As gorillas in the Forest a and that. Would be very dangerous Quot a Alpers said. Not Dian Fossey sits with a family of gorillas at the Kar Soke research Center in the Early 1980s. Above it a male Gorilla dines on vegetation in the Vir Unga Forest. National geographic a male Mountain Gorilla rests in the Forest straddling the Zaire Rwanda Border. Life goes on Agostino the tracker raised his Finger to his lips for silence. Pointing through the Trees he wrinkled his nose. Quot you smell that Quot he whispered. Quot gorillas Quot a pungent sweaty odor filled the Forest air As the tracker and his Awe struck followers inched on cautiously through the undergrowth. Then suddenly in a Small Clearing appeared a group of 30 Mountain gorillas a quite a few when considering there Are Only some 600 of the rare creatures left in the world. A _ Quot you must stay Calm Quot said Agostino. Quot we must communicate with the gorillas they Are very intelligent. . He began to make rumbling noises As if Clearing his. Throat Quot that tells the gorillas we Are almost within reach Lay Salama a 550-Pound r. A Silverbach or adult male. His Chin resting on a clenched fist he looked pensive As he chewed wild celery the gorillas snack of preference. Behind Salama swahili for Quot the quiet one Quot a Mother fed her baby while three bundles of Black fur romped in the Bracken and swung from Trees. Higher up the slope More females lounged and groomed next to the massive Silvery form of Ndugu tse the group s chief whose name Means Quot Winner Quot in the Kiny Arwanda language of neighbouring Rwanda. Quot Salama is not allowed to mate with any of the females Quot said Agostino. Quot he must wait until he is Strong enough to fight Ndugu tse or leave to make his own. gorillas can live up to 40 years and at 25, the though t. Of waiting years for a mate obviously frustrates Salama at times. \ letting out a bellowing Yawn Salama Rose on his haunches thumped the ground beat his Chest an charged off through the undergrowth snapping branches like Straw. A. A the associated press a tracker scans the Forest for returning Mountain gorillas As two of them Roost in a tree above him. 18 the stars and stripes the stars and stripes tuesday september 13,1994
