Poacher who killed mountain gorilla ‘Rafiki’ in Uganda imprisoned for 11 years
A court in Uganda has sentenced a man to 11 years in prison for, among other things, killing a 25-year-old, rare mountain gorilla.
Mountain Gorilla Rafiki was found lifeless in June in the Bwindi rainforest, in the southwest of the African country. The killed ape, who led a group of seventeen gorillas and is very popular with tourists in Uganda, had deep wounds from a spear.
Four suspected poachers were arrested shortly after, according to local wildlife conservation UWA (Uganda Wildlife Authority). The four probably also killed a bush pig and an antelope. One of them confessed the other three did not. The case against the three is still pending.
According to experts, poaching in Uganda and other African countries has increased since the onset of the corona pandemic. Because there are no tourists, there is no income for wildlife protection.
Mountain gorillas are endangered in their existence. About a thousand live worldwide. The last time a human killed a mountain gorilla was in 2011, National Geographic, previously reported.
