Virunga, Congo
Wildlife workers killed: Five park rangers and their driver were killed in an ambush this week in Congo’s Virunga National Park, a vast wildlife preserve that is home to one of the world’s largest populations of endangered mountain gorillas. More than 170 rangers have been killed in the park over the past 20 years, including five who were killed when a local militia attacked their post last August. The rangers face many threats, including poachers, who slaughter gorillas for meat and to sell body parts as trophies; the lucrative charcoal industry; and rebel groups left over from Congo’s 1998–2003 civil war. The park’s chief warden, Emmanuel de Merode, said, “It is unacceptable that Virunga’s rangers continue to pay the highest price in defense of our common heritage.”