It's been a decade-long conservation effort to protect a subspecies of Gorilla from the brink of extinction.?However, poachers have rendered this hard work futile, yet again.?
Four men have been arrested in Uganda and face a life sentence, if found guilty of killing an endangered gorilla.
Rafiki was killed by a sharp object that penetrated his internal organs, an investigation found. There are only 1,000 of his species left in Uganda and the Uganda Wildlife Authority (UWA) described Rafiki's death as a "very big blow."
The Silverback gorilla named Rafiki was killed in the Bwindi Impenetrable National Park, after going missing on June 1. His body was found the next day.
According to reports, the great ape, a favourite of tourists, died after a poacher thrust a spear into his belly.
The park, a UNESCO world heritage site near Uganda's border with the Democratic Republic of Congo, is a 120-square-mile patch of dense tropical forest that is home to primates, elephants, antelopes and other wildlife.
Bashir Hangi from the UWA told BBC: "The death of Rafiki leaves the group unstable and there is the possibility that it could disintegrate.It has no leadership at this time and it could be taken over by a wild silverback."
In a statement, the state-run Uganda Wildlife Authority (UWA) said the four men were detained for their role in the death of Rafiki.