CONSTRUCTION has begun on the first centre in eastern Africa designed to rescue, rehabilitate and reintroduce orphaned gorillas back into the wild.
The centre, which is located on 370 acres of land near the Tanya Nature Reserve in the North Kivu district of the Democratic Republic of Congo, will hold up to 30 eastern lowland and mountain gorillas that are victims of poaching and other illegal activities.
The centre will also include a conservation education and public information programme.
The project is an initiative of the Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund International, which will operate the facility in partnership with the Congolese conservation authority ICCN (Institut Congolais pour la Conservation de la Nature) and the Pan African Sanctuary Alliance (PASA).
