Wildlife casualties add to death toll in Congo

With the presence of thousands of soldiers in the wildlife reserves of the Congo, elephants and other protected animals are under a greater threat from poaching

VIDEO CNN's Gary Strieker takes a look at the effects of war on wildlife Play video (QuickTime, Real or Windows Media)     MESSAGE BOARD Animal world

July 24, 2000
Web posted at: 4:32 PM EDT (2032 GMT)

From Gary Strieker
CNN Correspondent

(CNN) -- Protected wildlife are the latest victims of the military conflict in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Unless peace is restored soon in the central African rainforest, especially the northern region, much of the Congo's priceless wildlife heritage could be lost forever, conservationists say.

Protected species including gorillas, chimpanzees, elephants, and rare okapis are among the wildlife casualties in this part of the Congo.

The conflict, which has claimed untold thousands of human casualties, has brought heavily armed soldiers to a region that was once largely undisturbed. With an estimated 35,000 troops in the Okapi Wildlife Reserve, the UNESCO World Heritage Site is now reportedly a major source of meat for soldiers.

Before the conflict, local people hunted wild animals only for what they needed for themselves and poaching was limited. But according to wildlife rangers in the area, in one recent week poachers killed more than ten elephants.

Bushmeat is for sale in the markets, elephant meat and ivory are a growing commercial trade, and clandestine videos document the wildlife massacre. The traded goods are carried in boats or on bicycles across the border. While the practice is not legal, border guards allow it and collect a tax on it.

Further south in the Kahuzi-Biega National Park, poachers have now nearly wiped out all the gorillas, elephants, and antelopes that were thriving there only a few years ago.

Congolese rebel leader says 7 soldiers dead in clashes in north
July 15, 2000
Aid group estimates war-related death toll in east Congo at 2 million
June 21, 2000
Red Cross says more than 400 killed in Congo fighting
June 19, 2000
U.N. Security Council orders other countries' troops out of Congo
June 16, 2000
Rwanda begins withdrawal from Congo city
June 14, 2000
200,000 hungry, frightened citizens of Congo diamond town trapped amid fighting
June 9, 2000
Fighting continues in Congo diamond town past latest cease-fire
June 8, 2000
Rwandan, Ugandan forces defy cease-fire in Congolese city
June 7, 2000

Okapi Wildlife Reserve
Kahuzi-Biega National Park

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