I often write about the threat of poachers in Ishango - which of course applies to the whole of Virunga National Park. Poaching - after the presence of armed militias - remains the single most important threat to Ishango’s wildlife. We are all working hard to protect the animals that are here - so that they can reproduce and multiply.

We also hope that more animals - especially predators - continue to come over the border from Uganda’s Queen Elizabeth National Park. It is ironic that when Uganda was enduring its civil war, the wildlife came to Congo for protection, and Uganda relied on the animals returning to repopulate its parks. Now the situation is reversed.

Virunga National Park is not an isolated protected area in Africa - it is part of a vast ecosystem that extends through to Kenya and the Albertine Rift. So it is vitally important to protect its flora and fauna to the best of our ability.

Sometimes animals die naturally, or for mysterious reasons. Here are some photos below. One is an antelope that we found not far from Ishango, decomposing. The other is a hippo carcass. There was no evidence of poaching in either case (no snares etc).

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