Rwandan authorities have rescued a baby gorilla from poachers who said they had bought it for $US15,000 in the neighbouring Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).
The baby gorilla is of the critically endangered mountain species.
Police rescued the male mountain gorilla, aged between 8 and 12 months, this week. He is now being cared for in Rwanda's Volcanoes National Park.
Last month, Rwanda handed over six orphaned gorillas to the DRC after poachers smuggled them out of the country to sell as exotic pets or for consumption as bush meat. For veterinarian Jean Felix Kinani however, putting the gorilla back in its environment - which unfortunately could also mean back into harm's way - is still a priority.
Wildlife conservation and endangered species group WWF (World Wildlife Fund) classifies mountain gorillas as critically endangered, with about 680 surviving in the wild. All are in central Africa.
However, poaching has decimated populations of the endangered primates and the Rwandan government has vowed to step up efforts to stop trafficking.
The rare mountain gorillas are found in a Ugandan national park or in the Virunga Volcano Region, which straddles the borders of Rwanda, Uganda and the DRC.
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3 News / Reuters