Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) will join hands to raise two baby Gorillas orphaned by war in the volatile North Kivu province.

The two orphans, Ndeze and Ndakasi, are set to become symbols of hope in the struggle to save the endangered mountain gorillas. The pair, orphaned in 2007, is going to be an experiment to re-establish a troop in the wild.

As a result, two adult gorillas from Rwanda are reported to be heading to DRC to become adoptive parents of the two orphans, now being kept in a sanctuary in the Congolese town of Goma, with a view to returning the babies to their forest home.

In an interview with The New Times, the Director of Conservation, Fidele Ruzigandenkwe, said that the project is part of the major collaboration the two countries have been having, as part of the Gorilla conservation initiatives in the Virunga Massif.

"We collaborate with DRC in different ways in regard to Gorilla conservation and what we are doing today is to see that more Gorilla families are formed in the wild.”

"We are currently holding talks to see how we can go about it, we are weighing the possibilities,” said Ruzigandekwe without specifying when the transfer will be effected.

He however said that currently Rwanda, DRC and Uganda which are home to the only surviving Mountain Gorillas are working on plans to have more gorilla families in the wild to increase their chances of survival and multiplication.

Only 720 Mountain Gorillas exist in this area known as the Virunga Massif with Rwanda’s Volcanoes National Park, Bwindi and Mgahinga in Uganda and Volcanoes National Park in DRC serving as the homes.

Rwanda is set to host this year’s World Environment Day, which is observed annually on 5 June. The theme of this year’s Day will be "Many Species. One Planet. One Future.”

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