This is the reality of the pandemic… less people in the parks (tourists, guides, rangers and researchers) means more opportunities for poachers. Poaching is real, and this is the first mountain gorilla to have been killed by poachers for many years.
With no tourism, there is no ‘trickle-down effect’ to the boda boda [motorbike] drivers and rolex-makers who are – let’s be honest – the key workers of Ugandan society.
We cannot reopen primate tourism for a long time (not until 2021 in my view) but we need more vigilance than ever in Bwindi, Queen Elizabeth (where poaching is also on the increase) and all the National Parks, Wildlife and Forest Reserves. (Do not buy or consume bushmeat).
Can our wildlife survive this pandemic? Can our trees outlive it? Here in the village adjacent to Kibale National Park, our neighbours cut their mango tree last week to make charcoal! The tree would have been at least twenty years old. Mango trees are famous for the dark shade they offer. Mature trees are a whole ecosystem for numerous species.
We have to think long-term. This pandemic is here indefinitely and things are going to get even tighter, especially for wildlife and the environment, the cornerstones of our tourism and of our very futures.
Friends – we must think of tomorrow!