By Kudra Maliro
The death of an exceptional gorilla has left conservationists in Congo-Brazzaville and beyond devastated.
Kingo, was found dead on December 26. It was about 45 years old, Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) said adding that the cause of its death is thought to be age-related complications.
Kingo was ''one of the world's most iconic plains gorillas'' and had ''inspired three decades of conservation,'' Ben Evans, WCS's Nouabalé-Ndoki National Park director, tells TRT Afrika.
''Lowland gorillas are classified by the IUCN as Critically Endangered,'' he added.
Gorillas like Kingo are among the endangered western plains gorillas. Kingo took its name from a common expression in the local Ba'aka language - "kingo ya bolé" loosely translated as "the one with the loud voice."
International fame
This iconic mammal had inspired tourists and researchers for more than three decades in the sanctuary of the Nouabalé-Ndoki national park in Congo-Brazzaville.
Some from the US researchers were able to locate Kingo's group in the 1990's at the start of their investigations due to its distinctive barking. They started studying it to better understand Western Lowland gorillas.
In 2006, their conservation work was taken up by the Wildlife Conservation Society. Kingo has gained international fame after major international including National Geographic covered its stories.
Conservationists have called Kingo a ''symbol of nature'' whose life inspired the protection of Congo's Nouabalé-Ndoki National Park and all its wildlife, and whose legacy could inspire more conservation work around the world for generations to come.
Immense legacy
More than a dozen documentaries and nearly 50 scientific articles have been devoted to Kingo's life.
Its imposing yet gentle presence has captured the hearts of researchers, local communities and tourists for decades and its death elicited a sombre mood.
"Kingo's legacy is immense," said Jancy Boungou, WCS's Mondika gorilla research assistant, who followed Kingo until its final days.
"He always inspired me and my colleagues to protect the gorillas and the Nouabalé-Ndoki National Park,'' she says.
The Nouabalé-Ndoki National Park is a 4,238 km² protected area that WCS manages in collaboration with the country's government. It is home not only to gorillas, but also forest elephants, chimpanzees, bongos, sitatungas and other spectacular wildlife.
"Over the years, the work with Kingo and the launch of ecotourism has improved the protection of Nouabalé-Ndoki National Park, culminating in the official addition of Kingo's home - the Triangle Forest - to the park in 2022,'' Ben Evans says.
"Kingo has increased our understanding of the ecology and behaviour of the Western Lowland Gorillas and, through tourism, created a pathway to sustainable livelihoods for the indigenous peoples and local communities of the region," he concludes.
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