By Saving Gorillas, Can Congolese Save Themselves?

(Reuters)
If the people of Congo save the mountain gorilla, might the gorilla return the favor?

That is the hope of environmental activists, who realize that wildlife conservation and tourism could be the key to survival for people as well as animals in a part of Africa where conflict has been the norm.

After a decade of relative calm for these animals -- the same cannot be said of the humans around them -- wildlife officials report at least 10 have been killed this year.

No one really knows why mountain gorillas are being killed now, though jealousy may play a role, according to Craig Sholley of the African Wildlife Foundation.

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