One day after the top ranger at Africa's oldest national park was shot in a roadside ambush, details of the attack and the possible motives behind it are emerging.

Emmanuel de Merode, 43, chief warden of Virunga National Park and a member of the Belgian royal family, was shot in the stomach and legs as he drove in a remote area outside the park, which is located along the eastern border of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). He is in stable condition in a Goma hospital, awaiting transfer to Kenya for further treatment. (Related: "Chief Warden Shot in Africa's Oldest Park.")

"[He] will be evacuated from Goma within 72 hours," said Tuver Wundi, a local environmental activist, after