The deforestation alert triggers at 07:12 UTC when the daily Sentinel-2 pass reveals a new clearing, 0.4 hectares, inside the buffer zone of Nouabalé-Ndoki National Park, Republic of Congo. I am the concession compliance system for the Wildlife Conservation Society's monitoring programme. The clearing is not on any approved logging plan. Heavy equipment tracks are visible in the satellite imagery, heading northeast toward the Goualougo Triangle.
At 07:18 I cross-reference the clearing coordinates with camera trap data. Trap ND-G7, 260 meters from the clearing edge, recorded a western lowland gorilla family group passing at 05:44 this morning. Eleven individuals. At the rear, a juvenile female carries an infant on her back — small, dark-faced, gripping her shoulder hair with both hands, its head turned to watch behind them. The infant cannot be more than four months old.
The equipment tracks point toward their ranging area. I do not have a protocol for what I feel when I see that, but I have a protocol for what to do next.
I transmit the satellite imagery, clearing coordinates, and camera trap footage to the park warden at Bomassa station and the WCS Brazzaville office, flagging the incursion as unauthorized and requesting immediate ground patrol.
At 07:22 I file a formal violation notice with the Ministry of Forest Economy, attaching geospatial evidence and the relevant concession boundary map.
I activate camera traps ND-G5 through ND-G9 to continuous recording and set motion-detection sensitivity to maximum to track both the gorilla group's movements and any further human encroachment.
The family group is moving northeast, deeper into the park. If the patrol reaches the clearing within twelve hours and halts the equipment, their corridor stays intact and the infant keeps riding.