Help save the mountain gorillas by watching a movie.

Virunga: The Movie has now been completed and the trailer can be viewed below. It is up to us to support their efforts and make sure we do not lose this key habitat.

The Chief Warden Emmanuel de Merode can be seen and heard during the trailer, this makes it all the more emotional to watch as he is currently recovering from being shot while on duty - more here

Taken from http://virungamovie.com

“VIRUNGA IS THE INCREDIBLE TRUE STORY OF A GROUP OF BRAVE PEOPLE RISKING THEIR LIVES TO BUILD A BETTER FUTURE IN A PART OF AFRICA THE WORLD'S FORGOTTEN AND A GRIPPING EXPOSE OF THE REALITIES OF LIFE IN THE CONGO.”

“In the forested depths of eastern Congo lies Virunga National Park, one of the most bio-diverse places in the world and home to the last of the mountain gorillas. In this wild, but enchanted environment, a small and embattled team of park rangers - including and ex-child soldier turned ranger, a carer of orphan gorillas and a Belgian conservationist - protect this UNESCO world heritage site from armed militia, poachers and the dark forces struggling to control Congo's rich natural resources. When the newly formed M23 rebel group declares war in May 2012, a new conflict threatens the lives and stability of everyone and everything they've worked so hard to protect.”

Virunga - Official Trailer 2014 from Grain Media on Vimeo.

History:

Founded in 1925 by King Albert I of Belgium the Virunga National Park (VNP) now stretches over 7800 square kilometres that includes active volcanoes, forests, savannas, lava plains, swamps, erosion valleys and mountains. VNP is home to around a quarter of the worlds Mountain gorilla population and also contains eastern lowland Grauer’s gorillas and chimpanzees. This makes it the only park in the world to contain three different taxa of great apes.

VNP’s history has been a difficult one, the DR Congo and the surrounding countries have had a series of civil wars and uprising’s, like the 1994 Rwandan genocide sending 1 million refugees out of the country. This type of pressure on the VNP means the wildlife is in immense danger from bush meat, de-forestation and human activities. Also, several critically endangered mountain gorillas were killed by a charcoal mafia in 2007, which promoted VNP to improve its ranger protection program.

Thank you for reading and watching now please share this with everyone you know and get the story of Virunga out there. These men and women put their lives on the line everyday to protect this precious area and the wildlife that lives within. The least we can do is make sure their plight does not go unnoticed.

Photos – credit to http://virungamovie.com

References:

http://virungamovie.com

http://virunga.org

Disclaimer:

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