UN Helicopter Returns Gorilla Orphan To DR Congo

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An endangered female Grauer’s gorilla, confiscated from poachers in Rwanda three years ago, was airlifted home to the Democratic Republic of Congo (DR Congo) by United Nations peacekeepers on May 18 in a transfer coordinated by a coalition of conservation partners that included the Congolese Wildlife Authority (ICCN), Rwanda Development Board (RDB), Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund International (Fossey Fund), Gorilla Doctors, Gorilla Rehabilitation and Conservation Education (GRACE) Center, Great Apes Survival Partnership (GRASP), and Greater Virunga Transboundary Collaboration (GVTC).


Gorilla Doctors drove the orphaned gorilla from Kinigi, Rwanda to the Congolese border town of Goma early in the day, with logistical support from Fossey Fund, RDB, and local law enforcement. From there, UN helicopters transported the 4-year-old gorilla – named “Ihirwe,” which means “luck” in the local Kinyarwanda language – to the GRACE Center in Kasugho, a remote region of northeastern DR Congo.
At GRACE, Ihirwe will join 13 other orphaned gorillas in the world’s only sanctuary dedicated to Grauer’s gorillas. This will be her first chance to live with other gorillas after she was illegally captured from the wild by poachers in 2011.

The MI 8 helicopter rescue was part of the UN’s regularly scheduled air traffic within the region and part of the UN Organization Stabilization Mission in DRC’s (MONUSCO) efforts, who arranged to transport the gorilla through GRASP. The flight reduced what would have been a grueling 150-mile (250 kilometers) trip overland to less than two hours.