Giving Thanks…..

I am in New York right now with a very, very large number of family members for US Thanksgiving (even though the US Customs guy gave me and my parents total ‘tude, like “Wasn’t your Thanksgiving LAST month and WHY do you live in Canada if you are US citizens because obviously America is the best place on earth. Must have been draft-dodgers").

Anyways. I was just watching a video from National Geographic.com about the four mountain gorillas that were shot dead in Virunga National Park, Democratic Republic of Congo in July of this year. What made this massacre particularly troubling was that it seemed to have been done for spite - not meat or poaching or fear. Experts believe they were killed by people who work in the charcoal trade, as the charcoal trade is based on wood harvested illegally from Virunga, putting it at odds with the ecotourism business that revolves around the forest and its famous ape inhabitants.

It’s a beautiful short film. Not just because of the gorillas and their misty mountain forests, but because of the rangers who love and grieve them..the rangers who give their lives to protect these majestic hairy cousins of ours. For them, I am thankful. 

But rebel forces have recently occupied the Gorilla Sector at Virunga forcing rangers to evacuate the area as fighting continues between rebels and the government. Gorillas have been unprotected and largely untracked since September 3rd.

You can read all about the rangers and their continued challenges and successes at this blog (yes, actually written by rangers in Virunga). They have updates on the investigation and trial of those suspected in perpetrating the massacre, as well as the initial report of the killings on July 28th. 

While you are at it, watch this video of a snuggling adult and juvenile from the Rugendo family (victim of the July massacre) just weeks prior to the attack.

I don’t mean to dissolve into a blubbery mass here, but just an hour ago my dad and brother were curled up on the living room floor with my baby niece, nuzzling, playing and cuddling just like those two gorillas. And..well...oh the weepiness..I have to stop now.