Animal Lovers Web Forum

Gorillas, chimpanzees, forest elephants – the biodiversity of Itombwe Nature Reserve in DR Congo is amazing. And it’s there – of all places – that Banro, a Canadian company, is planning a gold mine.

Quote:For years, primates in the eastern Congo Basin have been retreating into a shrinking habitat. The growing human population is crowding into wilderness spaces and hunters are killing apes for the “bushmeat” trade. Protection measures are made difficult and dangerous by militias – which also deter wildlife enthusiasts who would otherwise provide a badly-needed source of revenue. The Grauer’s gorilla (Gorilla beringei ssp. Graueri), a subspecies of the eastern lowland gorilla, is on the brink of extinction.

And now, gold: as if the situation were not dire enough, Banro, a Canadian gold mining company, was discovered to be exploring the Itombwe Nature Reserve, one of the last retreats of Grauer’s gorillas in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

https://www.rainforest-rescue.org/petiti...893&t=4452

Mining the rainforests is having such a bad effect on the gorillas. I am sorry to hear that it is a Canadian company that wants to do it. We really don't need more gold. It is pretty, but it is not pretty enough to be worth a gorillas life.

I hope the petition helps.