Geo answer

For our Geo Quiz today — we’re zooming in on the plight of mountain gorillas in Africa.

Mountain gorillaMountain gorilla

The ongoing conflict in the Democratic Republic of the Congo has ravaged the forest habitat of mountain gorillas. In many cases, even park rangers have been forced to flee protected areas.

The fighting is not the only threat to these endangered great apes. Poaching and loss of habitat remain huge problems.

But before we check-in with an expert conservationist for an update we want you to name the 3 “range states”, the 3 African countries where the mountain gorilla population struggles to hang on.

Locally this region is called the Virunga Volcano Region. The dense mountain rainforests here extend across the international borders of 3 African countries.

Can you name them?

Let’s zoom in on the plight of mountain gorillas in Africa.

First off they live in Uganda (Bwindi Impenetrable National Park), as well as the Virunga Volcano Region, which lies across the international borders of Rwanda, Uganda and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).

gorillasgorillas

Some new International initiatives to ensure the long term survival of gorillas are underway. The UNEP Convention on Migratory Species (CMS), the UNEP/UNESCO Great Ape Survival Partnership (GRASP) and the World Association of Zoos and Aquariums (WAZA) have joined hands to declare 2009 the Year of the Gorilla (YoG). http://yog2009.org

Learn more about international anti-poaching pledge

Anchor Marco Werman gets details from Jamie Kemsey of the International Gorilla Conservation Program in Kigali, Rwanda. Listen to the interview:

Hear Jamie Kemsey describe his first hand encounter with gorillas in Uganda (Bwindi Impenetrable National Park):