Dear Stratton Elementary!

Here are the answers to some of the questions you all asked me:

Sydney - Mountain Gorillas are critically endangered, with only 700 individuals in the world. There are about 380 in the Virunga Volcanoes Conservation Area - which is shared by Congo, Rwanda and Uganda. Despite conflict in the region, their decline has been reversed thanks to international support from people like you and brave conservationists.

Xavier - the Gorillas are doing well… despite the war in my country and neighboring countries we have managed to protect the Gorillas from poachers. There are actually 14 percent more Gorillas now than there were in 1998 which is pretty amazing. But we still have a big job to do. Gorillas are easy to track and easy to harm… and we must prevent that.

Allison - No I have never held hands with a Gorilla! You can get very close, within about 1 meter, but you have to be very careful not to transmit diseases. Also, the big male Silverback of the family can get very jealous and he is very big!

Seth - we don’t really watch TV here. We have a few channels, but certainly not as many as you. The main issue is electricity. We have to get electricity from generators, which need fuel, which costs money. So mostly we don’t watch television unless there is one in a public place. But where we live in the forest people do not watch TV. It is isolated… but beautiful. So we can watch our surroundings and chat amongst ourselves for entertainment.

Brianna - the weather varies enormously in Congo, but generally it is wet and warm. Where i live in Mutsora has the highest rainfall in Congo! We are in the foothills of the Ruwenzori mountains (this means Mountains of the Moon). You can see glaciers up at 5,000 meters (15,000 feet) so we do get some cooler air coming down the mountain sometimes.

Jessica - i don’t see Gorillas every day. It depends on where we go on patrol. Also, in addition to Gorillas there are other animals like okapi, hippos, buffalo, forest elephants, jackals… and we try to protect them all! So although i do see Gorillas very often, i also see other animals. Unfortunately i also see poachers but that is a good thing because it means we catch them!

I will reply to all your other questions later on in the week! I have to go on patrol now.

I would like to ask you some questions too:

What is it like where you live?

What do you like to study most?

What do you do in your free time?

Bye for now,

Aloma

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