Press Releases and Updates

Meet Sidonie Asseme, Female Ranger in Cameroon

Meet Sidonie, a female ranger who works to fight poaching in Africa.

Forest Brigade Fights Wildlife Poaching

Because of international cooperation, an armed antipoaching brigade from three nations patrols forests to protect wildlife.

Loss of Heroic African Conservationist

WWF is saddened by the loss of Wangari Maathai, 2004 Nobel Peace Prize winner and tireless advocate for conservation in the Congo Basin.  

Baby Gorilla Poaching Attempt Thwarted

An infant mountain gorilla was rescued from poachers in Rwanda.

Leaders Work Together to Protect the World’s Precious Forests

Leaders from 30 countries met at the Brazzaville Tropical Forest Summit to find shared solutions to save their forests and support the fight against the devastating consequences of climate change.

WWF Mourns Death of Virunga National Park Ranger

WWF is saddened by the death of Magayane Bazirushaka, a Virunga National Park ranger in the Democratic Republic of Congo, who was killed when a foot patrol was ambushed on Friday, April 8.

WWF Welcomes Decision to Suspend Oil Exploration in Virunga World Heritage Site

The government of the Democratic Republic of Congo has decided to withdraw permission to drill for oil in Africa’s oldest park, Virunga National Park.

WWF Condolences to ICCN and Families of Virunga Rangers

Centenarian supporter of WWF attests to disappearance of wildlife

David Ankoh has what it takes to have his name entered into the Guinness Book of Records. He is 109 years old living in the sub Saharan country of Cameroon where life expectancy for men is about 50, is a father of 88 children, lives in a village at the periphery of the Boumba-Bek National Park and is not only a witness to a disappearing abundance of wildlife, but is also a strong supporter of WWF work in the area.

Village fishpond saves forest wildlife

Mario Malomo is excited and anxious as he joins more than a dozen of his committee members who have taken up positions around the Tembe Piste community fishpond.

Music with a Message

It is no exaggeration to say that the Virunga Landscape is known as much for its famed mountain gorillas as it is for a long and bloody conflict that has taken a toll on millions of people. The challenge is inspiring people to save an irreplaceable natural treasure when they face hunger, desperation and even death.

Congo Basin Heads of State and Conservation Groups Celebrate 10 Years of Success in Saving World’s Second Largest Rainforest

Leaders of the Congo Basin countries and conservation groups are pressing for more attention, funds and technical support to save the world’s second largest rainforest and benefit its population during a Congo Basin Forest Forum and Congressional Hearing today.

International Conservation Caucus Foundation Hosts Heads of State Forum on Congo Basin Forest Partnership

Leaders of Congo Basin countries, members of Congress and leading conservation organizations are gathering in Washington to recognize 10 years of the Congo Basin Forest Partnership. At a Congressional hearing the future of the world’s second largest rainforest will be discussed, including how those forests can help solve the climate crisis and contribute to regional security, effective governance and sustainable development.

Cameroon Officials Stage Successful Bushmeat, Poaching Raid

More than a ton of illegal bushmeat – including primate and elephant meat – was seized in the Congo Basin last week and 15 wildlife poachers arrested in an unprecedented police operation.

WWF’s Richard Carroll Appearing Live on Today Show

Illegal Tiger Trade Conviction Sets Important Precedent

Eating the Wild: Bushmeat crisis global, pervasive and still a threat

Mountain Gorilla Population Increases Despite War

The number of mountain gorillas in Virunga National Park has increased despite the war being waged in and around the area, according to the first count in 16 months.  

Mountain Gorillas Reported Safe in Virunga National Park

For the first time in more than a year, mountain gorillas in the Democratic Republic of Congo’s (DRC) Virunga National Park have been seen by park rangers, and are reported to be doing well.

Virunga Conflict Escalates, Gorillas at Risk

The ongoing conflict in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo has recently intensified. As a result more than 50 Congolese park rangers fled to safety from Virunga National Park and more than 800,000 people have been displaced. There are also reports that the rebels have advanced to just outside of Goma – the regional capital – threatening the stability of the entire country.

Congo Basin Unveils World's Largest Protected Wetland

World Wildlife Fund Confirms Attack On WWF Vehicle In Congo

World Wildlife Fund (WWF) officials said today they have received confirmation that two people were killed and three injured in an attack on a WWF vehicle in Virunga National Park in the Democratic Republic of Congo on July 7. A WWF staff member was among those injured.

More Protection for Africa’s Rainforests

The Democratic Republic of the Congo will establish 13 to 15 million hectares of new protected areas, the country announced yesterday at the UN Environmental Summit in Bonn, Germany. These proposed protected areas make up an area of rainforests roughly the size of Greece.  WWF applauds this commitment as a step towards creating an important and expansive network for the preservation of tropical rainforests. With this commitment, the Congolese government will reach its goal to protect 15 percent of the country.

Lack of meat for Africa’s Largest Concentration of Refugees Causing Large Scale Poaching

Washington - A new report released by TRAFFIC, the wildlife trade monitoring network, and WWF finds that the lack of meat in refugee rations in East Africa is causing a flourishing illegal trade in wild meat, threatening wildlife populations and creating a food security issue for rural communities.

Virunga Conflict Driving Refugees into Gorilla Habitat

In the Democratic Republic of Congo, continued fighting has intensified the environmental and humanitarian crisis. In spite of WWF's provision of emergency fuel wood supplies for people in temporary camps, pressures on nearby Virunga National Park are increasing.

New treaty boosts protection of gorillas says World Wildlife Fund, TRAFFIC

PARIS – Today’s new agreement endorsed by nine African countries to better protect gorillas is a major conservation achievement, said World Wildlife Fund and TRAFFIC, the wildlife trade monitoring network.

New Treaty Strengthens Gorilla Protection

Another Setback for Mountain Gorillas: Rangers Again Pushed from Virunga National Park

World Wildlife Fund Applauds Senate Committee Approval of Bill to Support Tropical Forest and Coral Conservation

Washington - World Wildlife Fund officials today offered strong praise for the U.S. Senate Committee on Foreign Relations in approving S. 2020, a bill that reauthorizes the Tropical Forest Conservation Act (TFCA).

Solving problems faced by people fleeing conflict in Eastern Congo critical to saving endangered mountain gorillas, says WWF

NAIROBI, KENYA and WASHINGTON DC – With international relief organizations estimating that more than 35,000 people have fled the heavily armed conflict near Sake in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo over the past week, the World Wildlife Fund warned that the habitats of several endangered species, including mountain gorillas, could be put at serious risk. 

Bodies of four critically endangered mountain gorillas found in Congo's Virunga National Park

Washington -- World Wildlife Fund (WWF) and its partners are taking swift action to protect critically endangered mountain gorillas after three females and one male silverback were discovered shot to death in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).

First Observed Birth of a Western Lowland Gorilla in the Wild

Just last month, staff of the WWF-funded Dzanga-Sangha Primate Habituation Programme witnessed the birth of a new infant into the Makumba group of western lowland gorillas, which lives in the Central Africa Republic's Dzanga-Ndoki National Park. The newborn was named Mowane - meaning "gift of God" in the local Bantu language.

Central Africa's First Debt-for-Nature Swap Invests $25 Million for Tropical Forest Conservation in Cameroon

Washington - France and Cameroon signed the first ever Central African debt for nature swap today. This agreement will invest at least $25 million over the next five years to protect part of the world's second largest tropical forest, home to elephants, gorillas, hundreds of bird species and indigenous groups such as the Ba'Aka pygmies.

Preventing doomsday: WWF scientist shares insights on SCI FI Channel June 14

Tonight, on the SCI FI Channel, TODAY Show host Matt Lauer brings home some of the dramatic changes occurring in our natural world in Countdown to Doomsday.

Rare Okapi Sighted in Eastern Congo Park

Washington -- After nearly 50 years, the okapi -- the closest known relative to the giraffe -- has been rediscovered in Virunga National Park in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), World Wildlife Fund announced today. This is the first sign of okapi presence in Virunga National Park since August 1959 according to official records. The discovery happened during a recent survey led by WWF and its Congolese governmental partner ICCN (the Congo Institute for Nature Conservation).

New Commitments and Bold Measures Needed to Save the Congo Basin's Forests

Washington, DC - Despite extraordinary progress on conservation since the historic Yaoundé Summit in 1999, two thirds of the Congo Basin's forests remain at grave risk and could be lost within 50 years unless more is done to combat illegal logging, poaching, wildlife smuggling and the illicit bushmeat trade, World Wildlife Fund warned today.