Gorillas: Kings Of Congo

(CBS)  This segment was originally broadcast on Dec. 9, 2007. It was updated on July 3, 2008.

The mountain gorilla may just be the world's most magnificent animal. But there are only about 700 of them left, and conservationists genuinely fear the entire species might become extinct.

Last year, when 60 Minutes first broadcast this report, at least ten mountain gorillas had been shot to death. This year there's no telling how many have been killed, because a civil war in Congo has kept park rangers from getting to most of Congo's gorillas.

Mountain gorillas live in central Africa in a forest that straddles Rwanda, Uganda, and the Democratic Republic of Congo, where a family of gorillas was massacred last summer. CNN's Anderson Cooper and 60 Minutes went to Congo, a desperately poor country, to see why those gorillas were slaughtered, why the surviving gorillas are in jeopardy, and what can be done to save them.

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They act tough, but mountain gorillas are really gentle giants. They are playful, peaceful, highly intelligent, and one of our closest animal relatives. The gorillas live in families, each headed by an adult male called a "silverback" because of its distinctive coloring. Over the years, they've been gradually introduced to people, so scientists can study them, and taught that people won't hurt them. But this year, in Congo, humans have betrayed them. Mountain gorillas are under attack.

"They're extremely threatened in Congo. Threatened to the extent that we're worried about the survival of the whole population," Dr. Emmanuel de Merode, head of the non-profit group WildlifeDirect, explains. "The whole population could be destroyed. Could be wiped out."

WildlifeDirect helps pay the salaries of Congo's park rangers, who protect the gorillas. Dr. de Merode was with the rangers in July when they made their most gruesome discovery, finding the bodies of four gorillas who had been slaughtered in the dead of night.

"It was a terrible, terrible scene to witness," de Merode recalls. "It was our whole lives. Everything we were working for-that was shattered in front of us."

The dead gorillas were part of the Rugendo family. They were the first gorilla group introduced to humans. "We had spent time with that group. And it was, in many ways, a strong sense of trust," de Merode tells Cooper.

The first victim de Merode found was a female named "Safari."

"She was quite famous in many ways because she had just had a baby," he says. "And we had taken a photo in the days after she was born and that photo had been you know a real symbol of hope for us. And then to find her dead. And her baby nowhere to be seen, was gutting and for all of us."

Safari, de Merode says, had been shot twice through the chest. Her killers then poured fuel on her and set her on fire.

What was the scene like?

"There was a very, very strong smell," de Merode remembers. "Which for all of us will always remain. It went right through your clothes. Went to the back of your throat. It was everywhere. And it stayed with us physically for days afterwards."

The next day they found the body of the family's leader, a giant silverback named "Senkwekwe."

"We think he may have been shot and then chased into the forest. He had several bullet wounds through his chest," de Merode explains.

Asked if he'd ever seen anything like this, de Merode tells Cooper, "No, I hadn't thankfully. Nothing prepares you for the horror of a whole group that's been that's been massacred."

He calls it the worst day of his life, and so do park rangers.

Augustin Kambale couldn't believe his eyes. "I was thinking that I'm in dream," Kambale tells Cooper. "And still now, it continue to move in my head."

Kambale says he still thinks about the killing. "Still now I don't understand why people can kill gorillas," he tells Cooper.

In silence, rangers and villagers made stretchers and hoisted the gorillas up on their shoulders. They wanted, they say, to carry them out like kings. "It's to show people that you see how this animal is very, very important," Kambale explains.

So why were these kings assassinated? Simply, it seems, for charcoal. More than a million people in this area, practically everyone, use charcoal to cook their food. It's made by burning the trees in the gorillas' forest. They cover mounds of wood with mud and set it on fire, turning the ancient trees into brittle bricks of charcoal.

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[huntley42]

Couldn''t the same governments that fund study of mountain gorrilas also fund a project to remove the remaining Gorillas and put them in a safer park to give them a chance to survive in the wild. After the area stablizes within it''s human population and they realize what they have lost maybe retransplant them back into the area.

[ansall-2009]

Re the Congo gorillas - my heart breaks when I watch a story about innocent, defenseless creatures (child or animal)who are destroyed by the cruelties of man. But we have also done these magnificent creatures a disservice by allowing humans so close to them so often that the gorillas no long fear them. These gentle giants can''t tell the difference between a 2 legged creature with a camera and one with a gun. We are as much to blame for their deaths as the horrible people who pulled the triggers.

[pdinoia]

Get the UN large corporations and our government eradicate poverty and ignorance. That will be the day!
There is so much coal in other countries not exploited, France for example, put people back to work produce wealth and jobs and export to our human brothers in need such as the Congolese who will stop burning trees for charcoal and consequently kill innocent Gorillas. I see that many citizens found so many common sense solutions to these serious problems , I do not think our leaders or emerging countries are interested at all at a better human management and earth preserving policies. It seems so obvious for the rest of us maybe what we need is a revolution of the mind where the entire humanity is taking out of ignorance and brought back to light.

[pdinoia]

After watching your story report and reflecting upon it. It seems to me that our governments can solve these problems easily if they would want to. The Congolese want Charcoal so they burn trees and kill Gorillas to do that. They basically need the basic that life requires to survive. Certain Countries in Europe such as France have stopped the coal production production. Let the governments of these various countries get in touch with each other ( The UN for example) and resolve these issues. Start the coal production again in France create Jobs and wealth, export the coal to Africa stop the killing and create decent living. Get involved or maybe it is too simple? we all know that our governments and large corporation often the same do not like simple common sense solutions but rather explotation of our natural reserve , our earth until it is too late.
But who is listening to? "we the People"

[pdinoia]

After watching your story report and reflecting upon it. It seems to me that our governments can solve these problems easily if they would want to. The Congolese want Charcoal so they burn trees and kill Gorillas to do that. They basically need the basic that life requires to survive. Certain Countries in Europe such as France have stopped the coal production production. Let the governments of these various countries get in touch with each other ( The UN for example) and resolve these issues. Start the coal production again in France create Jobs and wealth, export the coal to Africa stop the killing and create decent living. Get involved or maybe it is too simple? we all know that our governments and large corporation often the same do not like simple common sense solutions but rather explotation of our natural reserve , our earth until it is too late.
But who is listening to? "we the People"

[pdinoia]

After watching your story report and reflecting upon it. It seems to me that our governments can solve these problems easily if they would want to. The Congolese want Charcoal so they burn trees and kill Gorillas to do that. They basically need the basic that life requires to survive. Certain Countries in Europe such as France have stopped the coal production production. Let the governments of these various countries get in touch with each other ( The UN for example) and resolve these issues. Start the coal production again in France create Jobs and wealth, export the coal to Africa stop the killing and create decent living. Get involved or maybe it is too simple? we all know that our governments and large corporation often the same do not like simple common sense solutions but rather explotation of our natural reserve , our earth until it is too late.
But who is listening to? "we the People"

[wonderfulyfe]

%u201CUntil we have the courage to recognize cruelty for what it is, whether its victim is human or animal, we cannot expect things to be much better in this world. We cannot have peace among men whose hearts delight in killing any living creature. By every act that glorifies or even tolerates such moronic delight in killing we set back the progress of humanity.%u201D Rachel Carson

%u201CThe greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way its animals are treated.%u201D Mohandas Gandhi

%u201CIt ill becomes us to invoke in our daily prayers the blessings of God, the Compassionate, if we in turn will not practice elementary compassion towards our fellow creatures.%u201D Mohandas Gandhi

[wonderfulyfe]

Thank you Anderson Cooper and %u201C60 Minutes%u201D for taking your viewers on such an amazing journey. It was truly touching and amusing to observe the lovable antics of the adorable Mountain Gorillas, to behold their intelligence, sensitivity and vulnerability. And the sights and sounds of the mysterious jungles were breathtaking. Although the trek there was obviously arduous!

It is appalling to realize that a Park Ranger enlisted to protect these gorgeous creatures betrayed them. Heartbreaking, especially as the Mountain Gorillas are one of the most critically endangered creatures on our planet.

Thank you for speaking up for them and for the continued attention given to these magnificent creatures, National Treasures, so they can live in peace to be enjoyed by many. This in turn would also help the dear Congolese people, many of whom have either experienced trauma or live with grief because of the horrific violence that has ripped apart their fellow citizens lives. Many have suffered so much. And continue to suffer for so many reasons. It is beyond heartbreaking.

This outstanding report gave evidence of the possibilities for them. They desperately need hope.

We are deeply grateful for the hard work of those involved. Thank you again Anderson Cooper and %u201C60 Minutes.%u201D Wishing you all blessings. I especially prayerfully wish the dear Congolese people peace and love, along with these magnificent creatures sharing our beautiful earth.

[urbro]

Well there''s no simple answer to this issue, if you take away the demand of charcoal you open the door to other elements to be abuse

[jewishamy]

After viewing last night''s story, "Gorillas: Kings of Congo," as much as I wished, I could not delete the story and footage from my mind and heart. I continued to re-visit the horrific pictures in a nightmare last night. A hopeless and helpless feeling continues to engulf my reality given the deplorable living conditions of the people in the region, civil war, and the majestic gorillas in the middle. If everyone were given Butane and compatible stoves, how long would it take for change to occur? People are getting paid to chop down trees and burn them for fuel. My first thought was to capture and re-locate the Gorillas to a safe sanctuary. Then, call Oprah!!! "Hey Oprah, how bout funding fuel and stoves for all!" The gruesome images still invade my thoughts today. I wish I could just wish them away. I am grateful officials carried them out of the forest like kings, but really want to see Gorillas live like kings safe and sound. Soon, we will only cherish these gentle giants in books. Kings of the Congo? I think not. More like Victims of Humankind.
Heartbreaking and so very sad.