Wildlife conservationists and World Wide Fund for nature have condemned the inhuman nature in which a fully grown gorilla known as ‘Rafiki’, a silverback of the famous Nkuringo group was killed by four poachers in the Southern Sector of Bwindi Impenetrable National Park.
The four poachers were later arrested by a counter wildlife police force after a postmortem report, part of the results from investigations into Rafik’s death revealed that the gorilla sustained an injury by a sharp device/object that penetrated its left upper part of the abdomen a clear indication of an attack.
According to Wildlife authorities, police sniffer dogs tracked the poachers’ scent from the scene and were arrested in a nearby town. Evidence collected in the suspects’ homes further implicates them in the incident, officials said. Part of the evidence collected included injured hunting dogs spotted by trackers near the gorilla’s body which were discovered in the homes of the suspects.
David Duli, the Country Director of WWF said such news is very devastating to the country and tourism sector.
“Gorillas, like all wild animals, play an important role in their environment. Without these large-scale grazers eating lots of vegetation, the natural balance in the food chain would be disrupted. This could negatively affect other wildlife in the area, and ultimately the people who depend on that environment for food, water and other resources” he further said.
The dead goriller was a silverback among the Nkuringo gorilla group. It was reported missing in the group and on June 2nd, 2020. A search was later mounted and the body was found in Hakato area inside Bwindi Impenetrable National Park boundaries.
Nkuringo Gorilla group was the first gorilla group to be habituated in the southern sector of BINP in 1997. At the time of Rafiki’s death, the group had 17 members; 1 Silverback, 3 Blackbacks, 8 Adult females, 2 Juveniles, and 3 infants. Although habituated, wild gorillas can still come into conflict with humans when they feel threatened.
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