Senior Manager At World Heritage Park Arrested In Deaths Of Eight Gorillas - AFP

[hatrack]

A senior manager at a world heritage African wildlife park was arrested Tuesday as an investigation into the killing of 10 rare mountain gorillas gathered pace, a government minister said. Honore Mashagiro, a member of the Congolese nature conservation institute, was arrested in Goma, Nord-Kivu, Environment Minister Felicite Kalume told AFP.

He is accused of "orchestrating" the killing of the animals, in the Virunga National Park of the Democratic Republic of Congo, in 2007. Another two of them are missing. Another institute member, who requested anonymity, said six foresters would also be questioned over the coming days on suspicion of having trapped and killed the animals in the site on Mashagiro's orders.

Local environment experts told AFP that "profound internal disagreements" within the conservation institute could lie behind the massacre. "Some sector heads are involved in the trafficking of makala," said one.

Makala is a coal-like mineral illegally extracted from the forests these professional bodies are meant to protect. The same source suggested that the gorillas could have been killed to create a diversion from this illicit trade -- or even to throw suspicion heat on rival park workers.

EDIT

http://www.terradaily.com/2007/080318195306.fde65hua.html

[wordpix]

1. oh fuck