"Mufabure-Killed without Reason”10” x 10” x .75"
Acrylics on Stretched Canvas
10/06/2007
This painting is a tribute to Mufabure. Her name in Swahili means killed without reason. She was named after her badly decomposed body was found by the rangers of Virunga Park. The rangers had arrested two men who were reported trying to sell two baby gorillas for $8,000.00 a piece. She was an infant, probably 3 to 4 years old. Her face was so badly decomposed that I had to paint this portrait from a composite of photos of young mountain gorillas and by looking at her bone structure.
It is unknown whether she was from one of the habituated families or if she was from a wild family. The rangers have not been able to go into the park to check. There is now fighting between the Rwandan rebels and the Congolese army. The only thing the rangers can do is wait. Meanwhile the poachers have free reign of the park. Just yesterday, 7 of the rangers who were able to track two of the families had to flee for their lives across the Ugandan border. There are now no rangers in the gorilla sector.
Director Norbert Mushenzi asked today in the Gorilla Protection blog for everyone to lobby their government to help end this horrible situation. I will be posting more on how you can do this tomorrow.
Just this year 10 mountain gorillas have been murdered. That's 10 out of a meager 700 mountain gorillas left worldwide. I will be posting this picture on this blog once a week until the rangers are allowed into the park to protect these majestic giants of the forests.
The artwork is acrylics on stretched canvas (staples on the sides). It measures 10" x 10" x .75". It is signed and dated on the back . The painting comes with a Certificate of Authenticity. Please feel free to email me with any questions that you may have. All artwork is copyright protected and may not be copied or reproduced in any way. © R.J.Andreae 2007.
75% of the proceeds from tis painting will benefit WildlifeDirect
This sale does not include the frame.
Please put this auction on your watch list so we can create a buzz and gain more attention about this crisis.
Thank You!
1 comment:
Hi it is sad what is happening to the mountain gorillas in Bwindi, Virunga and the Congo. To raise awareness about these creatures, we carry out mountain gorilla tracking tours to these places so people and the surrounding communities and get to know and better appreciate these gentle but majestic creatures. Our mountain gorilla blog is www.safari-gorilla.com
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