You know why we identify as Silverbacks and live in our imaginary jungle? Because Silverbacks are better than humans, and the jungle is a better place to be than so-called civilization.
Virunga National Park is a UNESCO World Heritage site in the Albertine Rift Valley in the eastern part of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. It was created in 1925 and is among the first protected areas in Africa. In elevation, it ranges from 680 m in the Semliki River valley to 5,109 m in the Rwenzori Mountains. It is also home to approximately one-third of the planets remaining mountain gorillas.
Virunga is also the title of a documentary film made in 2014 and available on Netflix. It is an alternately inspiring and heartbreaking account of the park rangers who risk their lives to protect this beautiful place and the creatures who live there from the poachers, greedy conglomerates, and corrupt local officials think that the park’s natural resources are there for their personal financial benefit.
Last Sunday six park rangers were killed in an ambush set by poachers.
You may not want to subject yourself to an hour and forty minutes of emotional roller coaster at this time. I get it. Watching Virunga is like watching the evening news. You find yourself shaking your head in disbelief that a single species, homo sapiens, can simultaneously be capable of such good and such evil.