A Cameroonian ranger was ambushed and killed by ivory poachers on Wednesday while patrolling to protect elephants and gorillas. During the last morning of a 10-day patrol in Lobéké National Park, Bruce Danny Ngongo was shot three times, once in the thigh and twice in the hip.
“[Ngongo fell after] an ambush by a gang of poachers heavily armed with Kalachnikov [sic] who immediately opened fire on the surveillance staff,” said Lobéké National Park director Achille Mengamenya Goue, in a letter sent on the evening of the incident to Cameroon’s forestry and wildlife minister, Philip Ngole Ngwese.
“The ranger lost an enormous amount of blood, he could not hold and succumbed to his wounds in the forest,” said Goue. “Such is, Mr Minister, the current situation in the conservation service of the Lobéké National Park.”
The Guardian understands Ngongo leaves behind a family, although it was unclear how many children he had.
Ngongo was with three other park rangers and two soldiers from Cameroon’s 132nd motorised infantry unit of Moloundou, which has been mobilised to defend the park from poachers.
Ngongo’s colleagues fought off the attack. Private Martin Ngozo was also wounded. At the time of writing, Ngozo was being stabilised at a nearby hospital before being airlifted to a larger population centre.
The unit captured the poachers’ loot – nine elephant tusks – and arrested a local trapper thought to be associated with the gang.
Lobéké National Park is home to some of the last forest elephant herds in Cameroon. The smaller of Africa’s two elephant species is perched closer to extinction than its larger savannah cousin. The park is also home to lowland gorillas.
The park is close to the border of the Central African Republic and Republic of the Congo, allowing gangs to slip in and out of the country after raiding the wildlife. In 2011, a ranger and two gorillas were shot and killed by poachers hunting for bushmeat.
In an opinion piece for the Guardian , the president of the International Ranger Federation, Sean Willmore, said that two to three wildlife rangers die each week in the line of duty, the majority at the hands of poachers.
“These tireless warriors put their lives on the line to defend this planet every day. It is about time that we stood with them and gave them the full support, recognition and respect that they deserve. They fight on behalf of us all,” he said.
Last week, a Thai wildlife ranger survived after being shot in the stomach by a poacher using a home-made muzzle loading rifle. The poacher was caught.
To support rangers and their families, visit the Thin Green Line Foundation website.