brent stirton
andy rouse
shaadi faris
shaadi faris
david yarrow
shaadi faris
david creatura
with only seven hundred and eighty mountain gorillas left in the wild – including those photographed here in virunga volcano park, which is located in the borders of democratic republic of congo, rwanda and uganda – these animals, which share ninety seven percent of their dna with us, are on the verge of extinction.
they are “gentle, peace loving, highly intelligent, family orientated animals that have long been the subject of appalling persecution and misinformation,“ writes photographer andy rouse. but thanks to the efforts of a dedicated group of conservationist, their numbers, while still a fraction of the original population, are slowly increasing.
but virunga, which contains a greater diversity of plants and animals than any other park in africa, currently suffers from land invasions and intense poaching due to the congolese civil war, and faces new threats of exploitation from the british oil company soco international.
photos by (click pic) shaadi faris, david creatura, brent stirton, andy rouse, david yarrow. see this post for more by brent stirton on gorilla conservation efforts in virunga, and park rangers who defend the animals from waring factions in the region.
brent was featued in a national geographic documentary, “gorilla murders: the lost gorillas of virunga”. see also this trailer for “virunga,” a 2014 award winning documentary now streaming on netflix.
Sig Nordal 