According to a PASA communication, next week helicopters of Peace Force of United Nations are going to transport 10 gorillas to a new sanctuary at Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), called Grace. This sanctuary is located in a big reserve called Tayna Natural Reserve and has the approval of Congolese authorities.

The group of 10 gorillas – of the subspecies Gorilla beringei graueri ,which is threatened of extinction with less than 5000 individuals in the wild – comes from Rwanda and Congo. Seven of them were in a temporary center since 2007, managed by Mountain Gorillas Project and Fossey Foundation, in Rwanda. The other three were at private places in Congo.

According to Doug Cress, PASA executive director, “a sanctuary at east Africa dedicated to gorillas was one of the priorities of PASA in the last decade”. And added: “our affiliated sanctuaries take care of more than 100 gorillas. But none at east Africa and a lot of orphans who were confiscated in the last few years died before being rescued. We believe that Grace Sanctuary is going to have a deep impact in the efforts of conservation in the region.”

Several organizations have been colaborating to this project. Appart from PASA, Disney Foundation, Neu Family Foundation, United States Agriculture Service, among others.

Dr. Pedro A Ynterian
President, GAP Project International