Poaching in Volcanoes National Park

Poaching in Volcanoes National Park; Volcanoes National Park has gained popularity in the world today because it is home to the endangered mountain gorilla species that can be found on the slopes of the Virunga Mountains. Visiting Volcanoes National Park will fulfil all your desires concerning wildlife among the different National parks. There are a number of activities that can be carried out in the park or attractions that can be seen while you visit the park and some of them include the following:

Mountain gorillas: The park is famous for housing half of the world’s remaining mountain gorillas and these have increased in number because of the conservation programs that are being carried out including the anti-poaching procedures that are carried out like regular patrolling in the park to ensure that poaching is avoided in the park. Successes of the conservation programs in the park are evident with the famous Kwita Izina which is the gorilla naming ceremony which aims at celebrating every birth of a gorilla in volcanoes national park. You can carry out gorilla trekking in the park to have an insight and understand more about the gorilla species while in their natural habitats.

Golden monkeys: The golden monkeys in the park can be seen in the same area where they can find the mountain gorillas because they are all found in the bamboo trees of the different Virunga mountains in the park. The golden monkeys are also fascinating creatures that will be fascinating to look at during the golden monkey trekking activity.

Bird species: There are a number of bird species that can be seen while you visit volcanoes national park. The park is a habitat to over 250 bird species which makes it a birder’s choice because of the numerous bird species both endemic and migratory species. During the hike on the Virunga mountains, you will come across a number of bird species that can be found in the forests, the bamboo trees, where you will find their nests and uf your lucky enough you will also be able to see the monkeys swinging from the branches where you find the established nests. some of the monkey species you will get to see include the vervet monkey, the red tailed monkey, black and white colobus monkeys which will give you exceptional views.

Virunga Mountains: The Virunga Mountains can be found in three parks i.e. Virunga National Park, Mgahinga national park and in Volcanoes National Park where you will find five of the 8 volcanoes that have a lot to offer including the different gorilla families, the golden monkeys in the bamboo trees exceptional views that can be seen after hiking to the top of the mountains like you will have exceptional views of the twin lakes of Burera and Ruhondo that can be seen while at mount Muhabura, you will also have a look at coffee plantations around the neighboring communities of the park, still at the top, you enjoy the crater lakes that are habitats to a number of wildlife including the butterfly and numerous bird species, at the craters you will come across different vegetation covers which will be interesting to botanists, for the people interested in leisure they can also act as picnic grounds which will even offer magnificent views and backgrounds for photography.

Twin Lakes of Burera and Ruhondo: You cannot visit volcanoes national park and fail to take a trip to the Twin Lakes of Burera and Ruhondo which can be accessed after the hike down mount muhabura. The lakes were formed as a result of the volcanic eruption that happened years ago in the Virunga Mountains in the park which are currently dormant volcanoes.

At the lakes, you will participate in a number of activities like community encounters with the local people, sport fishing, nature walks and a number of activities. However, if you are interested in visiting active volcanoes among the Virunga mountains you can visit mount Nyamuragira and mount Nyiragongo which can be found in Virunga national park and if you’re interested in watching lava flowing from the earth’s crust then you can participate in mount Nyiragongo hike.

With a number of attractions and activities that can be seen and participated in, and carried out in the park, there are a number of problems that the park is facing which include human encroachment on the parkland to carry out their activities like cultivation, rearing of animals, settlement among others activities.

There is also a problem smuggling of the wildlife for trade in international markets. there is plenty of wildlife that has been captured illegally with the help of the park rangers who accept a bribe in exchange of the species the victims are usually primates and a number of mammal species and the birds which is a threat to conservation in the park. But among the problems the park faces, one of the biggest problem that it faces is poaching making it the hardest of the problems that have been faced in the park for a long time.

Poaching in Volcanoes National Park

Poaching in the Volcanoes National Park has been going on for a great number of years including the time when Dian Fossey was undertaking her research on the endangered mountain gorillas in the park and it is hard to talk about poaching in the park and miss mentioning Dian Fossey the American primatologist who spearheaded conservation in the park and was against poaching and because of her works, conservation in the park has yielded a number of results including the increase in the gorilla numbers in the park which can be seen in the famous Kwita Izina baby gorilla naming ceremony.

Poachers are one of the major threats to the conservation programmes in the park that are based on long-time results of restoring the wildlife in their natural habitats. The primate in the park is the major victims of poaching in the park due to the high demand for their products and meat in the black market. among the primates that are being poached in the park include the mountain gorillas the different monkey species like the black and white colobus, red tailed monkeys, vervet monkey and so many more. Other animals species that are killed in the park include the duikers, antelopes by the neighboring communities.

How Poaching Mitigated Volcanoes National Park

Poaching in Volcanoes National Park has been ongoing for a number of years however there are many ways that management of the park is trying to control it with a number of regulations and practices that are being exercised to avoid more cases.

Regular patrols, the Dian Fossey international fund has a number of staff including the researchers, guides, rangers and patrol officers that carry out regular patrols where they destroy a number of poacher’s traps, snares, that are used to hunt for small animals are dismantled and destroyed to ensure that they are not in any way of the animals to disrupt their activities.
The government has established strict laws against poaching whereby anyone who is caught is imprisoned as a fine for any person that carries out poaching.
The park shares benefits with the communities around volcanoes national park through offering employment opportunities, infrastructural development where a number of schools and hospitals have been constructed from the revenue earned from wildlife safaris.
Sensitization of the community of the benefits of tourism and the wildlife in the development of the communities around the park through foreign income that is generated from the tourism activities that are carried out in the park.