Noelle Kumpelle - Conservation programmes manager

What does being the Bushmeat and Forests Conservation Programmes Manager involve?

I co-ordinate conservation programmes focusing on areas in Western Central Africa such as Gabon, Democratic republic of Congo and also areas in Cameroon, Ghana and Madagascar.

What is ZSL's involvement with the mountain gorillas in the Democratic Republic of Congo?

There are only 700 of the subspecies of mountain gorillas left in the wild and ZSL work with the Congolese park managers to protect them. There have been the photographs in the newspaper recently of 4 dead mountain gorillas that had been shot, this is the third incident of this type this year. The photographs showed a silverback male, a pregnant female, and two other females. ZSL work in the Democratic Republic of Congo as one of nine conservation groups and were part of the team that helped to co-ordinate the emergency response to these shootings. As a result the patrolling of the park has been increases for 3 months. The ZSL website is being used to raise funds for this emergency response and people have been very generous and there has been support from all over the world.

Can the work of ZSL really make a difference in places such as Gabon and Democratic Republic of Congo?

ZSL work with the local people in the areas so that the changes are ongoing. They help to train scientists and set up field laboratory, and they also have technical input in helping support and educate locals. The money for all of this comes from funding form the government and through zoo ticket sales.

What work is ZSL doing with ecotourism and gorillas?

ZSL are currently working out in Gabon with Western lowland gorillas trying to habituate them, which means getting the gorillas accustomed to human presence. Westerns are harder to habituate as they roam over much bigger areas than say Mountain gorillas. This is because their food is more seasonal and widely spread and they have been known to roam about 40km². There are also many other animals that can be sighted on the trips such as monkeys and birds, which are also more reliable to be sighted than gorillas. The ecotourism helps the locals as it is providing them with an income and it is also hopefully educating people on gorillas in the wild.

What work do you do with the bushmeat trade?

I lived in the Republic of Congo for a year and a half doing research on the bushmeat trade, following hunters around and interviewing families to find out what their dependence was on bushmeat. Many forests are shrinking and there are thought to be too many people hunting for wild animals so I looked into the sustainability of bushmeat in Africa.

Are gorillas hunted on for meat?

Different tribes have different taboos about gorillas being hunted for bushmeat, some will and some won’t. Gorillas often get hunted for the pet trade as well, particularly mothers and babies as they will kill the mother and take the baby away. Surprisingly it is often rich people and sometimes even members of the government that keep gorillas as pets, however a lot of people do not realise the work involve as a young gorilla will spend the whole day clinging onto its mother so it ideally needs the same from a human. There are laws about hunting gorillas as they are protected species but unfortunately there is no one to enforce the law in certain parts.