The rangers turning the DRC’s ‘triangle of death’ back into a thriving wildlife reserve

Conflict nearly wiped out its large animals, but local determination is bringing Upemba park back from the brink

• Photographs by Hugh Kinsella Cunningham

Ranger Sylvain Musimi had just risen from his morning coffee around the campfire when the rebels opened fire. It was a chilly early morning in mid-January, during rainy season in Upemba national park. Sixteen suspected members of the Bakata Katanga militia, faces daubed in white war paint, surprised the party of four rangers only 5.5 miles (9km) from Upemba's base camp.

Musimi, 50, was shot four times in the thigh, but managed to flee into the bush. A younger colleague, who was nearer the campfire, was shot dead.

John Mopeto, a ranger section leader, walks across the Kibara plateau during a scientific survey of Upemba national park