[Animals] DRC: Mugaruka, the famous 35-year-old gorilla from Kahuzi-Biega park, has died

[waLID.]

A 35-year-old gorilla died of illness on Friday in Kahuzi-Biega National Park in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). He was the descendant of a famous ancestor who made this protected area famous. "The lone gorilla Mugaruka died of bloody diarrhea," said Hubert Mulongoy, park communications officer. His body was found by eco-guards at a tea plantation next to its natural habitat. The gorilla lost his arm in a trap when he was three and a half years old.

Another gorilla death in neighboring region Mugaruka was the last in the line of the famous gorilla Maheshe, killed by poachers but immortalized on a banknote by former President Mobutu Sese Seko. "He came regularly, on his own, to visit us at the park headquarters, to the delight of visitors," added Hubert Mulongoy.

Spanning 600,000 hectares, Kahuzi-Biega National Park, located between two extinct volcanoes, is home to one of the last remaining po[CENSORED]tions of the eastern lowland gorillas, numbering around 250 individuals. In neighboring North Kivu province is Virunga National Park, which announced the death of another famous gorilla in early October.

https://www.20minutes.fr/planete/3151631-20211019-rdc-mugaruka-celebre-gorille-35-ans-parc-kahuzi-biega-decede