WWF Bonobo Stamp

In early 1997, as Zaire was preparing for the takeover of an invading army (yes, we in the capital knew that it was inevitable, months ahead of time. Most of the people were tired of Mobutu's dictatorship, and were warily looking forward to the change under another regime), the World Wildlife Fund issued a bonobo first day cover.

In Zaire (it became the Democratic Republic of the Congo in 1997), I lived through three uprisings -- in 1991, 1993, and 1997, not to count the spillover in 1994 in the east, from "ethnic cleansing in Rwanda." Many other nations in central Africa have been drawn into the fracas and millions have died. The people continue to suffer to this day.

The bonobo, as other wildlife in the country, has not fared well under a land in conflict. Gorillas, elephants, rhinos, hippos, primates, and antelopes have been hunted for food by hungry populations, where there are no longer any rules except that of survival. Some conservationists claim that peace and political stability are the key to saving Congolese wild animal populations.