Uganda Looses a Star

courtesy: Uganda Wildlife Authority

Four poachers who killed the Uganda silverback, Rifiki, with a "sharp object" that penetrated his internal organs--probably a spear--were arrested by authorities after the famous twenty-five year old went missing on June 1st. His body was found a day later. The perpetrators of this crime against Nature face up to life imprisonment if convicted of killing an endangered animal. Rifiki lived with his family of seventeen in Uganda's Bwindi Impenetrable National Park. The family was habituated to humans, making Rifiki an easier target. He was one of only about 1000 wild gorillas. Without its leader, his mountain gorilla family is unstable, subject to aggression and take over by another silverback.

The primary suspect, Byamukama Felix, was tracked to a local village, where he admitted unlawfully hunting small animals in the park. He claims he killed the gorilla in self-defense when he was attacked. Take over of his family by a wild silverback would dissuade the group from proximity to humans, thus affecting tourism which supports Uganda's park system and conservation efforts. Uganda lost an estimated $1.6 billion in revenue due to its pandemic shut down. The ICUN took mountain gorillas, Gorilla beringei beringei, off the critically endangered list in 2018 after intensive conservation efforts increased their number in the wild. They are now listed as endangered.