Global News - July 2007

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Mountain gorillas found dead

Fri 27 July 2007 12:30 UK — Africa

Four rare mountain gorillas have been shot and killed in the Virunga National Park in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), media reports suggest.

The country's Institute for the Conservation of Nature (ICCN) confirmed that the endangered primates had been shot in the southern sector of the national park and that their bodies were discovered by park rangers.

However, the ICCN said that it remained unclear who had killed the animals and for what reason.

One of the dead gorillas is thought to be a silverback alpha male and experts are now worried that his death could compromise the survival of the remaining members of the group.

Two gorillas - a female and an infant - are also thought to be missing.

According to a Reuters report, two silverback male gorillas and a female gorilla were shot in the same park earlier this year. These deaths have been attributed to rebels who killed the animals for food.

The agency quotes a wildlife and conservation expert as having said: "Seven gorillas killed in seven months is a horrifying statistic and a trend that cannot continue."

There are only around 700 mountain gorillas left in the world and experts are concerned that threats from habitat loss, poaching and human activity will cause further problems for the species in the future.

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