Who Murdered the Virunga Gorillas? - Timeline

Current Issue October 2008
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Virunga Park Under Siege

Our 18-year time line lists key events that have undermined conservation efforts in Africa’s oldest national park.

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Since the beginning, the park has faced challenges to its conservation efforts. In the 1990s the strains on the park worsened as the country's infrastructure deteriorated and as political unrest in neighboring countries crossed the border. The tragic events that unfolded over the past two decades in the region often spilled over into Virunga National Park. Then in four different incidents in 2007 ten mountain gorillas died, seven of them brutally murdered within a couple months—one indication of a bigger battle being waged in and around the park.

This time line reviews key events of the past 18 years, from the Rwandan genocide to the war in the DRC, that have contributed to the park's fragile condition.

Photograph by Michael Nichols]]> View Time Line <![CDATA[<b>Credits</b>]]> Managing Editor, NGM.com: Rob Covey
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