Protecting the Silverback mountain Gorillas of Congo has reached a critical stage as more and more of them are being killed. The gorillas, which are an endangered spieces live in family communities led by a "chief" male of up to 30 members. Presently it is estimated that there are about 71 gorillas left in the Virunga National Park.

29^th October 2007 – 1200hrs

“A Ranger was killed and another was wounded in an attack yesterday near Kabaraza carried out by the Mai Mai rebels. I learned this late yesterday. The Rangers were on patrol and were ambushed by the Mai Mai rebels, who are fairly dominant in this area just north of Rutshuru. During these tense times anything can happen. And this just goes to show it.”

"We planned to go to Bukima today but at the last moment, Monuc asked to delay a joint mission. This is important because rebels still keep there positions and we heard that there are some “releve” (change) of troops from Rwanda. We have an appointment tomorrow with Monuc at the catholic parish of Rugari, at 8h00 we will be climbing to Bukima. The aim is to do an assessment on the ground and to ensure that rebels will not attack us and our rangers as we do our work.