Dear Stratton Elementary,

I am in Mutsora, in Virunga National Park and I want to answer some more of your questions! I have just been with WildlifeDirect in the main house at the station and we have been talking about your school and all that you are doing for me and the park and the Mountain Gorillas. The photo below is from today. Next to me is Honore, another troop leader, and Samantha from WildlifeDirect is opposite. She is helping me write the blog and read all your questions!

Zach - yes I celebrate Christmas. We go to church and then we play with the children at home. I have three children. We all sit round and have a soda with the children, because this is a day for children.

Gina - My birthday is on 19th November. We don’t really celebrate birthdays much here… Congo is still a difficult place to live so we do our best!

Brian D - no I have never been to the United States. It is a long way from Congo! I would like to go one day, but for now I must stay here and work. We also need to get visas for the United States which is complicated. What is it like where you live? can you send me photos?

James - my favorite sport is football. I support the FC KIRWA club - in the east of Congo in Rutshuru province. I am also the President of an Orchestra that is also called KIRWA. It is a music group and we play Congolese music. There are 12 young men in the group. I also like karate, but I prefer football.

Zoey & Emma - my oldest child who is 6 and called Gulin goes to school. He is in primary school and studies lots of things. My other two children are 3 - Lydia - and 11/2 - Carine - so they do not go to school yet.

Devin - my favorite colors are blue and white because those are the colors of my football team FC Kirwa! They are also the colors of the sky.

Cassandra - after secondary school i did several diplomas to become a Congo Ranger - i actually also studied maths and physics. My father was also a Ranger and I wanted to follow in his footsteps.

Dylan - Gulin likes to play football and my two young daughters like to play with dolls.

David - i will take a picture of my house to show you!!

Hope - when i am not working i take care of my family and my personal matters. I also meet up with my neighbours and we chat about what is going on in Congo. I studied Community Conservation among other things so i like to see how it is all going where i live.

Devon - my favorite food is manioc (cassava) - we eat this a lot and it is the food that i like the best. We do not have pre-made food here where i live so you cannot buy chips or biscuits. We grow our food and we eat straight from the land.

Eric - yes, Gorillas eat a lot! 25 kilos per day of leafs and roots from the trees. They spend their whole day eating, apart from a rest at about midday. Then they carry on eating til evening.

Brittany - i love my job. It gives me satisfaction and also allows me to earn a salary to look after my family. I really enjoy being in the park too and working in nature conservation.

Hannah - i have not worked with baby Gorillas because the mother keeps her baby very closely because she is jealous. It is dangerous to get close and we do not allow it. Gorilla families need to be left in peace when a newborn comes into the family. You should look at our blog wildlifedirect.org/gorillaprotection and you will read that a Gorilla was born just recently!

Zak - yes i do have a favorite Gorilla! He is called KARATEKA and is a Silverback. He is very friendly and likes playing with people.. a bit like kung fu!

Here is a photo of a tame hippo that was taken the other day! The hippo is used to people and we were just monitoring his health to check he is okay! He is very happy!

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