(CNN) -- Protected wildlife are the latest victims of the military conflict in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Unless peace is restored soon in the central African rainforest, especially the northern region, much of the Congo's priceless wildlife heritage could be lost forever, conservationists say.

Protected species including gorillas, chimpanzees, elephants, and rare okapis are among the wildlife casualties in this part of the Congo.

The conflict, which has claimed untold thousands of human casualties, has brought heavily armed soldiers to a region that was once largely undisturbed. With an estimated 35,000 troops in the Okapi Wildlife Reserve, the UNESCO World Heritage Site is now reportedly a major source of meat for soldiers.

Before the conflict, local people hunted wild animals only for what they needed for themselves and poaching was limited. But according to wildlife rangers in the area, in one recent week poachers killed more than ten elephants.

Bushmeat is for sale in the markets, elephant meat and ivory are a growing commercial trade, and clandestine videos document the wildlife massacre. The traded goods are carried in boats or on bicycles across the border. While the practice is not legal, border guards allow it and collect a tax on it.

Further south in the Kahuzi-Biega National Park, poachers have now nearly wiped out all the gorillas, elephants, and antelopes that were thriving there only a few years ago.