In the 1980s, I was the Head Ranger at the Bukima patrol post in the gorilla sector. During this period, we worked hard to habituate the mountain gorillas to humans so we could monitor them and so we could conduct gorilla tours for tourists. In 2001, I was transferred to the Kibati patrol post at the foot of the Nyiragongo volcano. It was there that I had the greatest fright of my life as a ranger. We were on patrol when we heard gunfire coming from our patrol post. We proceeded carefully and quietly back to our post, but all of a sudden I felt the barrel of a gun in my back. It was the gun of one of the rebels who had just attacked our post. He and the other rebels surprised us on our return. They took our guns and forced us to sit on the ground. One of the rebels was left behind to watch over us while the others went back to pillage our patrol post. When the rebel wasn't looking, I grabbed a piece of wood and hit him on the head.
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