Killings of mountain gorillas in Congo prompt U.N. probe

[Greylyn58]

I posted this story in Latest Breaking, but I'm not getting much of a response. I know that there is so much other crap going on, but this story is just heartbreaking. I can't stop the tears from flowing over the loss of these beautiful creatures. The pictures that are posted with the story....well.

Anyway, thought I would post it here in General Discussion.

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(CNN) -- The shooting deaths of four mountain gorillas -- three females and an alpha male silverback -- are prompting a United Nations agency to send a mission to the Democratic Republic of Congo.
art.gorillas.jpg

Rangers made the gruesome find in the southern sector of Virunga National Park earlier this week, said Flora and Fauna International, an organization that acts to conserve threatened species and ecosystems. The group said it is unclear who shot the gorillas or why.

"Just over 700 mountain gorillas survive in the wild today, and none exist in captivity," Flora and Fauna International said in a statement. "For such a small population, the unnecessary and indiscriminate killing of four mountain gorillas is a huge loss."

--snip--

The females, named Safari, Neeza and Mburanumwe, and the male, Rugendo, were shot Sunday night, UNESCO said. They belonged to a group that was frequently visited by tourists, providing an economic boon to the area. "The situation threatens to become an ecological and economic disaster for the neighboring local communities," the agency said in a statement.


http://www.cnn.com/2007/WORLD/africa/07/27/congo.gorillas/index.html

[hisownpetard]

1. I read this story yesterday on another site and cried when I saw

the photographs. It was shocking and horrible - and what made it even
sadder was that it wasn't even poachers who killed these awesome creatures.
It was an anti-government faction that killed them and left them there.

I still get sick when I think of it. Poor, wonderful creatures. What can
be done to protect the ones who are left?

[Greylyn58]

2. I think countries need to strengthen their laws...

against these sort of killings. Right now here in the US and elsewhere most animal abuse laws amount to little more than a slap on the wrist.

Until the US and other countries attach some real penalties against the perpetrators, they will continue to kill animals. The pictures with this story were so heartbreaking. Especially the one with the little gorilla whose mother was killed earlier this year.

Damn...I hate these bastards. :cry:

[hisownpetard]

6. I hate them, too. The area in question is too vast to be adequately

patrolled. If these people are caught, they should be killed,
I would have no problem doing it myself, and I am a very
non-violent person.

[creeksneakers2]

3. This is heart breaking

I don't understand why somebody would do something like this. And there are so few gorillas left.

[Greylyn58]

4. I don't understand it either

I remember when I read Dian Fossey's book, Gorillas in the Mist and how much it affected me, as did the movie when it came out. I can't wrap my brain around people killing these beautiful creatures to make trophies out of it's head or use its hands as ashtrays.

God!!! People are like a plague on this planet sometimes.

[entanglement]

5. I read your other thread, Greylyn58

This was such an obviously wanton, brutal, depraved and thoughtless act that I really didn't know what else to add to that discussion.

[Greylyn58]

7. I don't either

Any animal death bothers me, but when it involves the deaths of creatures that are so endangered, it just breaks my heart. :cry: