학급 수업 자료 · Virunga National Park · 🇨🇩 DR Congo

Virunga National Park

Africa's oldest national park - home to mountain gorillas and volcanoes

Misty green mountains of Virunga National Park with jungle in the foreground

Photo · Wikimedia Commons

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Virunga National Park is the oldest national park in all of Africa. It was created in 1925 and is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, which means the whole world agrees it is very special and worth protecting. It sits in the east of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, next to giant volcanoes and cloud-covered mountains.

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Virunga covers about 7,800 square kilometres - roughly the size of the whole of Luxembourg! Inside you will find snow-capped volcanoes, active lava lakes, steaming hot springs, grasslands, swamps and thick rainforest all in one park. No other park in Africa packs in so many different landscapes.

The park is famous above all for its mountain gorillas. These gentle giants live only in the Virunga mountains and a small area of Uganda, and Virunga is one of the best places on Earth to see them. Rangers work every single day to look after the gorillas and make sure they are safe and healthy.

Alongside gorillas, Virunga shelters forest elephants, hippos, lions, chimpanzees and more than 700 species of bird. Scientists sometimes discover brand-new species here - it is a living treasure chest of wildlife.

The park also contains two active volcanoes: Nyiragongo and Nyamulagira. When you stand on their slopes, you can hear the Earth rumbling beneath your feet. Virunga feels like a place where nature is still very much in charge.

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토론 질문

  1. 01Why do you think it is important to protect a park like Virunga for the animals that live there?
  2. 02Virunga has volcanoes, rainforest, swamps and snow all in one place. What would you most like to explore?
  3. 03Rangers in Virunga look after the gorillas every day. What qualities do you think a park ranger needs?
  4. 04Virunga was made a protected park in 1925. How has the world changed since then, and why might that make protecting nature even more important today?
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학급 활동

Create a 'Virunga Map' on A3 paper. Draw the outline of the park and mark the two volcanoes, the rainforest, the swamps and the mountains. Add drawings of at least four animals that live there, with one fun fact beside each animal.