Who murdered the Virunga gorillas?

That's the question posed in the cover story of the latest issue of National Geographic. On July 22, 2007 five mountain gorillas (Gorilla berengei berengei) were murdered at Virunga, the population made famous by the work of Dian Fossey and her book Gorillas in the Mist. Combined with an earlier attack in the area seven gorillas were executed for unknown reasons within the space of two months, the presence of several warring Congolese militia factions in the area providing an overabundance of suspects but a shortage of answers.

It would be a mistake, however, to assume that this story is only about the gorillas. The animals were not killed for their heads, hands, or flesh but for political reasons; executions of innocent victims to make a point in a volatile political climate. The parks in which the gorillas reside have often literally been caught in the crossfire of bloody fighting between seemingly ever-changing factions, and although the gorillas are a tourist attraction it can be very risky to visit them (see Mark Ross' chilling account of when his safari group was captured during a visit in Dangerous Beauty.)

In addition to ongoing military conflict corruption and the insidious charcoal trade have raised tensions, the stress often resulting in the brutal deaths of many people. Indeed, it is discouraging that it takes the deaths of seven gorillas to bring attention to the human suffering that has been going on for so long, but in the midst of the death and corruption there are the beginnings of change. For now, though, humans and gorillas alike continue to suffer from the violent conflicts in the region, the fighting showing no signs of abating anytime soon.