After PTA’s March trip to the Democratic Republic of Congo and more specifically experiencing the extraordinary Virunga National Park, we were incredibly touched by this video from the Chief Warden of the Virunga National Park, Emmanuel de Merode.
Virunga is truly the crown jewel of Africa’s national parks, containing over 50% of sub-Saharan Africa’s biodiversity and home to about 200 of the world’s last 720 critically endangered mountain gorillas. Virunga is the oldest national park in the Africa and despite conservation efforts the forests and their amazing resident animals, most notably the mountain gorilla, are in a desperate fight for their survival.
During our trip we were fortunate enough to visit the Virunga National Park Headquarters and meet the brave individuals willing to risk their lives in an attempt to protect this incredible place.
Recent events have thrown the Democratic Republic of Congo into the news headlines and as such we felt it pertinent to share this video with you.
http://Gorillacd.org and http://Virungacrisis.org are sponsored by Virunga Fund Inc, and African Conservation Fund (ACF), both non-profit charities designed specifically to support and fund the work of the park. Warden Emmanuel de Merode holds a position on the board of directors for both.
For more information about the relationship between Virunga National Park and these charities, please see: http://gorillacd.org/who-we-are/
