LCA'S "SAVE THE MOUNTAIN GORILLAS" CAMPAIGN SUPPORTS VIRUNGA NATIONAL PARK'S AIRWING PROGRAM
Since 2016, LCA has been the major supporter of the AirWing program in Congo's Virunga National Park, providing support to the Rangers' anti-poaching efforts through an "eye in the sky" which is the backbone of the park and the best line of defense. Virunga extends over an area measuring over 3,000 square miles. With a varied terrain and limited capacity to deploy Rangers to every corner of the Park on short notice. The Park authority has stated the availability of a functional and modern AirWing provides the best possible tool to secure the Park, protect the Rangers, and reduce threats to Virunga’s wildlife populations, including the majestic mountain gorilla.
Hundreds of Rangers in Congo’s Virunga National Park have tragically lost their lives while defending the Park. Watch the Netflix documentary, "Virunga", to understand the story of Virunga and the fight to save the gorillas.
Thanks to conservation efforts, which LCA has helped support, mountain gorillas have been lifted from the edge of extinction and their population has now surpassed 1,000. In 2018, the International Union for Conservation of Nature's Red List of Threatened Species (IUCN) downlisted the mountain gorilla from "critically endangered" to "endangered" for the first time since 1994.
MAY 5, 2022: THE FIRST RANGERS TO BECOME PILOTS IN VIRUNGA NATIONAL PARK
2021: LCA'S SUPPORT SUPPLIES NEW HANGAR, RANGER QUARTERS, AND SECOND BATHAWK IN VIRUNGA
The construction of a new fortified hangar and ranger quarters were completed near Virunga's headquarters at the Katale/LCA airfield. The new barracks will house 12 hardworking rangers, complete with showers and bathroom facilities. A second, critical BatHawk aircraft, donated by LCA, also joined the AirWing fleet.
LCA provides ongoing support to Virunga National Park's AirWing program.
PAST SUPPORT ENABLED LCA TO HELP THE AIRWING PROGRAM PURCHASE THE KATALE/LCA AIRFIELD
The AirWing program was previously forced to rent under constant threats of being evicted. LCA also helped support the building of a protective bastion wall around the perimeter of the airfield measuring six feet, six inches tall and more than 1500 feet long. Virunga's AirWing program is vital to Virunga National Park.
The instability of the area around Virunga National Park cannot be overstated. Poachers and rebel militia roam the vast expanse of the Park to plunder and kill. The political climate is often unstable. Mercenaries and members of the illegal charcoal trade consider the mountain gorillas a direct threat to their criminal activities. In 2007, charcoal mafia members brutally murdered a family of gorillas so there would no longer be a reason to protect the park.
In addition, the economic fallout from COVID-19 in the Democratic Republic of the Congo has created a deadly surge in bush meat poaching. There has been a giant spike in the number of poacher's snares set to slaughter the mountain gorillas for bush meat.
Because the Park is so massive and foot patrols working alone would have little hope of surveilling the area, the AirWing program is the "eye in the sky" and the best line of defense that gorillas and ground Rangers have. The AirWing increases the efficiency of ground patrols and helps to keep the rangers and animals safe, along with providing emergency evacuations for injured animals and rangers.
HOW YOU CAN HELP
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Donate Online Here: Please enter “Gorilla” in the comment box on the online form.
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Donate by Phone: Call 310-271-6096 x28 or email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
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Donate by Mail: Last Chance for Animals, 8033 Sunset Blvd #835, Los Angeles, CA 90046. Make sure to write “Gorilla” on your check or money order.
2017: THE CINDY & MICHAEL LANDON FOUNDATION AND LCA DONATE A CESSNA 206 TO THE VIRUNGA AIRWING
FOLLOW THE JOURNEY
LCA and the Cindy & Michael Landon Foundation's donated Cessna 206 aircraft took off from Alamosa, Colorado on Monday, March 20, 2017, and safely reached its destination of Virunga National Park in the Congo. The Cessna will help protect the land, the local population, the Park Rangers, and the wildlife, including the endangered mountain gorillas.
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After previously providing Virunga's Air Wing Program with airplane bush wheels, mobile LED airstrip lighting, and tool chests, LCA has now -- together with the Cindy & Michael Landon Foundation -- donated an anti-poaching plane, which will greatly expand Air Wing capabilities.
The plane underwent bodywork and painting, which were completed in October and November 2016 in Corona, California, before traveling to Alamosa for the finishing touches. It was safely ferried to Entebbe, Uganda by Captain Joe Drury, and then flown to Virunga National Park on Tuesday, April 11, 2017.
Africa’s mountain gorilla (Gorilla beringei beringei), one of man’s closest relatives, is in peril. In recent years, their plight has become more precarious due to poaching, political instability, and deforestation. They are listed as endangered on the 2015-14 Red List of the IUCN - the world's most respected authority on the plight of Earth's plants and animals. They are one of the world’s rarest animals, with only about 900 remaining in the wild.
About 480 gorillas live in the Virunga Volcanoes Massif, which combines Rwanda’s Volcanoes National Park, Democratic Republic of Congo’s Virunga National Park, and Uganda’s Mgahinga National Park. About 420 gorillas also live in Bwindi’s Impenetrable National Park in Uganda. Rangers in Rwanda, Uganda, and the Congo risk their lives to protect the animals and the park. LCA is committed to keeping Africa's mountain gorillas safe by continuing to provide much needed equipment and support to help in the conservation and protection of the gorillas and the safety of the rangers.
2016: VIRUNGA NATIONAL PARK - EMERGENCY FUNDRAISING GOAL REACHED
LCA is now providing critical support and equipment to the rangers in the Congo's Virunga National Park - in their anti-poaching efforts through their Air Wing program. Due to political instability, poaching, and illegal oil exploration, over 150 rangers in Congo's Virunga National Park have been killed in the last decade. The rangers live and work in life-threatening conditions protecting the mountain gorillas and all other wildlife in the park. Measuring over 3,000 square miles, Virunga extends over varied terrain and has limited capacity to deploy rangers to every corner of the park on short notice. Virunga's park authority believes the availability of a functional and modern Air Wing program provides the best possible tool to secure the park and reduce threats to Virunga's wildlife populations. Virunga National Park is a UNESCO World Heritage site and Africa's oldest park founded in 1925. Watch the true story of the valiant rangers in the Netflix Academy Award-nominated Documentary - Virunga.
At the Rumangabo military base of the Congo is a gorilla orphanage called Senwekwe Center. The center takes in and cares for gorillas who have lost their families to poachers or animal traffickers; most of the orphans have witnessed their family members killed right in front of them. In March 2016, a baby gorilla "LULINGU" of barely three months old was saved by Virunga's Air Wing Support and brought to the orphanage where she will be raised with the best care. Her parents were killed by poachers that were trying to steal her for sale to a private zoo.
In 2016, LCA provided the Air Wing Program with airplane bush wheels, mobile LED airstrip lighting and tool chests. In conjunction with the Michael & Cindy Landon Foundation, LCA has provided a Cessna 206 aircraft, which will greatly expand Air Wing capabilities. The plane underwent bodywork and painting, which were completed in October and November 2016 in Corona, California. The plane is due in Virunga National Park in late March 2017.
October 2016 – Alamosa, Colorado: Cessna 206 before rebuild.
November 3, 2016 – Corona, California: Acid wash and bodywork complete. Plane now masked for paint; the following day, the primer and beige base coat were sprayed.
November 7, 2016 – Corona, California: Beige paint has been applied and is now dry. Next, inspection plates will be attached, and the plane will be masked again for green paint. Once the green paint has been added and dried, black lettering will be applied, including the new number N161VP.
November 18, 2016 – Corona, California: Painting is complete! On this afternoon, the plane took off from Corona Airport and flew back to Alamosa for the final touches before the long and perilous trip to Virunga.
MORE EQUIPMENT DONATED BY LCA TO VIRUNGA NATIONAL PARK
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YOU CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE BY DONATING TODAY!
YOUR CONTRIBUTION WILL HELP SAVE AN ENTIRE SPECIES!
LEARN ABOUT OUR PRIOR GORILLA CAMPAIGNS IN RWANDA & UGANDA.
READ OUR PAGE IN HONOR OF THE FALLEN RANGERS OF VIRUNGA NATIONAL PARK.
