An infant mountain gorilla from the Munyaga family, which ranges near the area that was shelled on May 13.
RUHENGERI, RWANDA — The Gorilla Doctors fear for the health and safety of the critically endangered mountain gorillas of Virunga National Park in the Democratic Republic of Congo as rebels clash with the Congolese army in the park’s gorilla sector. Virunga National Park is home to about 200 of the world’s remaining 783 mountain gorillas.
On May 8, a reported 1,500 troops loyal to Bosco Ntaganda, the military chief of staff of the CNDP rebel group who has been indicted by the International Criminal Court for war crimes, entered the gorilla sector of the park. Virunga National Park, which employs 275 rangers for the entire park, was forced to withdraw its staff from three of the five patrol posts located in the gorilla sector. Fighting between the rebels and the Congolese army broke out on May 10, culminating on May 13 with the Congolese army shelling rebel positions within the park.
This diagram shows the movement of rebels through Virunga National Park, which culminated on May 13 (position 3) with shelling inside the park. (Diagram by Virunga National Park)
“We are worried about the mountain gorilla population from direct exposure to war and trauma as well as unregulated exposure to troop encampments which could harbor infectious diseases that could be fatal to the gorillas,” said Gorilla Doctors Co-Director Dr. Mike Cranfield. “The secondary effect of the conflict is the inability of our veterinary team and the Virunga National Park staff to monitor the health of the gorillas and perform medical interventions if necessary. We are all hoping for a quick resolution to the problem.”
Chief Park Warden Emmanuel de Merode has been posting regular updates about the situation on the Gorilla.cd blog. Rumangabo, the Virunga National Park headquarters and site of the Senkwekwe Center for orphaned mountain gorillas, remains secure. The Gorilla Doctors Congolese staff is safe in the Congolese city of Goma, which is 1.5 hours’ drive from Rumangabo.
You can follow the Gorilla Doctors health monitoring efforts on our Facebook page, where we post photos and notes from our monthly visits.
Please consider supporting MGVP by making a secure online donation. Every dollar you give goes to directly supporting our gorilla health programs and One Health initiative. Thank you for your generosity.
RUHENGERI, RWANDA — On May 1, I observed Kwitonda group. Three infants were born into the group within the last year and were photographed for the Kwita Izina ceremony to be held in June. The ceremony of giving a name to a new born baby commonly known as “Kwita Izina” has been part of the Rwandan tradition for centuries. This ceremony has also been used for past 3 decades now to give names to new born gorillas. The ceremony’s main goal is in helping monitor each individual gorilla and their groups in their natural habitat. It was created as a means of bringing attention both locally and internationally about the importance of protecting the mountain gorillas and their habitats in the Virunga Mountains in the north of the country.
All 24 gorillas in the Kwitonda group were observed and appeared in good general health. Here are some photos and videos of this growing family:
Sulabika’s male infant to be named in June.
Nchiri's infant to be named in June.
Sulubika holding her infant's foot with her foot.
Silverback Kwitonda.
Umoja
You can follow the Gorilla Doctors health monitoring efforts on our Facebook page, where we post photos and notes from our monthly visits.
Please consider supporting MGVP by making a secure online donation. Every dollar you give goes to directly supporting our gorilla health programs and One Health initiative. Thank you for your generosity.
RUHENGERI, RWANDA — At times, we are reminded of the risk that can be involved in caring for mountain gorillas. Perhaps none know this better than our colleagues working in the Democratic Republic of Congo. This was evident just a few weeks ago starting with an email from Linda Nunn, the chair of Gearing up for Gorillas (G4G), a nonprofit organization that provides gear to those that protect and monitor the gorillas. Linda had been staying with us in Musanze, Rwanda, before heading to DRC to deliver some equipment to the staff of Virunga National Park at the Rumangabo park headquarters.
Linda Nunn, chair of Gearing up for Gorillas
The last time Linda was in Rumangabo was in October of 2008, when she was evacuated as Laurent Nkunda’s troops, a political armed militia faction called the National Congress for the Defense of the People (CNDP), advanced and captured Rumangabo from the Congolese army. She described the evacuation as a pretty frightening experience, but said many of the rangers and their families faired far worse, some walking the 45 km back to Goma through the dangerous bush, only to reach a city in chaos with tens of thousands of frightened people displaced from the rural areas.
Rumangabo headquarters in Virunga National Park, DRC
This April, Linda returned to Rumangabo and within 14 hours of arriving, she was once again evacuated due to potential military activity. The precautionary evacuation was calm and quiet, but deemed necessary as troops from the remaining CNDP splinter faction, led by warlord Bosco Ntaganda, were gathering north of Rumangabo after rumors of his imminent arrest. Ntaganda is wanted by the International Criminal Court (ICC) for alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity. First indicted in 2006, the ICC has accused Ntaganda of using child soldiers for fighting in northeastern Congo from 2002 to 2003, the end of the Second Congo War that saw some of the worst violence and killed millions. In March, Ntaganda’s co-accused, Thomas Lubanga, was the first person found guilty by the ICC of recruiting child soldiers.
Virunga National Park Chief Park Warden Emmanuel de Merode with the orphan Shamavu
As the troops advanced near Rumangabo, Virunga National Park, Chief Park Warden Emmanuel de Merode was concerned for the safety of his staff and wards, including the only captive mountain gorillas in the world housed at Senkwekwe Centre: 5-year-olds Ndeze and Ndakasi (survivors of the 2007 gorilla massacres), 8-year-old Kaboko (the only male) and 10-year-old Maisha. Though these orphans live in a large natural forest enclosure, they rely on their caretakers for their daily needs such as food supplementation and emotional security.
Dr. Eddy with Ndeze and Ndakasi
As the reports came in, it became apparent that the orphans should be evacuated due to security uncertainty. Virunga National Park and Gorilla Doctors’ staff rallied to quickly plan the emergency evacuation before the troops converged north of Rumangabo. Virunga National Park staff started organizing the logistics such as transportation and inspecting the potential holding facility in Goma, while Dr. Eddy and Dr. Noel organized a transfer of crates from Kinigi, Rwanda to Goma, DRC, while I wrote out an anesthetic and transfer protocol.
Virunga National Park rangers on the road to Rumangabo
On the drive to Goma, Dr. Noel and I were stopped three times by military to search our vehicle. We later learned that hundreds of soldiers had arrived in Goma that day mainly as a presence to restore calm. It was actually quite calming that the Congolese army was so quick to respond, and that the border patrol was so understanding of our situation and allowed a quick transfer of the crates and emergency veterinary supplies across the border. Unfortunately, it was too dangerous for us to travel the road to Rumangabo, and it was uncertain whether we could get the gorillas out in time before fighting broke out around the region. We anxiously awaited reports from Virunga National Park staff on whether Rumangabo had remained secure. Luckily, within 2 days, tensions calmed and the troops retreated to Masisi, a region west of Rumangabo. The gorilla evacuation was called off.
Ndakasi safe at the Senkwekwe Center after the troops left the area.
We are happy to have the orphans and their caretakers safe, and are only better prepared for any future security concerns involving Rumangabo. An evacuation is difficult physically, mentally and logistically with each situation being different; therefore, preparation and organization are paramount. For now, the gorilla crates will stay at Senkwekwe Centre and the emergency evacuation protocol has been refined to include priorities under time limitations, such as the training of ICCN staff and caretakers in options of evacuation under extreme emergency situations. We are glad to have such dedicated partners committed to the safety of these four very important gorillas, in hopes that they will grow up strong and healthy and one day be returned as a family group to the forest.
You can follow the Gorilla Doctors health monitoring efforts on our Facebook page, where we post photos and notes from our monthly visits.
Please consider supporting MGVP by making a secure online donation. Every dollar you give goes to directly supporting our gorilla health programs and One Health initiative. Thank you for your generosity.
RUHENGERI, RWANDA — From July 23 to 27, 2011, all Gorilla Doctors veterinarians were involved in the huge and exciting event of moving the six Grauer’s gorillas that had been in the Gorilla Doctors care for years from out interim orphan quarantine facility in Kinigi, Rwanda to the GRACE sanctuary in DRC. However, only two weeks later on the night of August 7, we got a call from the Volcanoes National Park Chief Warden, Prosper Uwingeli, reporting the confiscation of a baby gorilla in Gisenyi, Rwanda, on the border with DRC. Prosper asked for veterinary assistance, so a team of two Gorillas Doctors and one experienced gorilla caretaker packed up and drove to the police station where the gorilla was being held. They found the poor baby gorilla very stressed and coughing with a nasal discharge and poor body conditions.
Ihirwe the night of her confiscation.
After a preliminary exam, the baby was brought to our quarantine facility for care and treatment. Two more caretakers were hired and I was appointed to be the gorilla’s chief veterinarian. After only two days, the baby started improving and exploring the new area.
The next day after the confiscation, we asked the caretakers to choose a name for her and they named her “Ihirwe”. This is a Kinyarwanda name and means “luck” or “chance”. We used this name to express how lucky she was to be saved from the poachers.
Ihirwe with her bottle.
Before her confiscation the poachers who had her said she was kept in their house in a sack and fed potatoes and sugar cane for two weeks. In our facility we introduced her to new food including baby formula, fruits and vegetables from the market and also forest food like wild celery. For the first couple days we had trouble with the baby formula because Ihirwe refused the formula, but we kept trying to feed it to her through a syringe and surprisingly this become her favorite food.
Dr. Noel and Ihirwe
Since she has been under the Gorilla Doctors’ care, Ihirwe has grown very close to her caretakers and me. Whenever I enter the facility she looks happy and receptive, and runs after me and climbs up on me, although she checks to see whether I am carrying any medical equipment first to make sure she is not getting a shot or otherwise restrained for an exam. If I have nothing, then we are very good friends.
When Ihirwe came into our care, we were not able to state firmly whether she was a mountain gorilla or a Grauer’s gorilla.
There was some confusion on Ihirwe’s subspecies because the poachers said she was taken from the Bukima area of Virunga National Park, which is where mountain gorillas live. However, some people thought Ihirwe’s face appeared to look more like that of a Grauer’s gorilla than a mountain gorilla. The only way to know for sure was DNA testing. This would be very important for her future because a mountain gorilla orphan would move to the Senkwekwe Center at Virunga National Park to join Maisha, Kaboko, Ndeze and Ndakasi and a Grauer’s gorilla would move to GRACE to join the other Grauer’s gorillas.
Ihirwe and a caretaker
I really hoped Ihirwe was a mountain gorilla because then I would be able to visit her often at Senkwekwe. GRACE is difficult to reach, so I would have very little chance to see her.
We collected blood, feces and hair samples from Ihirwe and sent them to the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology in Germany for analysis. The results came back that Ihirwe is a Grauer’s gorilla. We are making plans to send her to GRACE in the next few months.
I am happy Ihirwe will soon be with other gorillas, but I am very sad to lose my friend! I will never forget how stressed she was when she was confiscated and when she fell out of a tree knocking out her teeth and how I was there to help her.
Background on Grauer’s Gorillas
Mountain and Grauer’s or Eastern Lowland gorillas are two different subspecies within the Eastern Gorilla Species. They are very similar genetically but are adapted to live in different environments. Mountain gorillas live at higher altitudes in the Virunga Massif and Bwindi Impenetrable Forest and have thick black hair coats to insulate their bodies from the cool mountain climate. Grauer’s gorillas live in lower altitude forests through Eastern DRC and have slightly larger bodies and less hair than mountain gorillas. The Gorilla Doctors provide veterinary to both Eastern Gorilla subspecies, although Grauer’s gorillas are much more difficult to monitor due to the insecurity of the regions where they live.
Historically, three quarters of the gorilla orphans that have come into the Gorilla Doctors care have been Grauer’s gorillas. Because many of the areas where Grauer’s gorillas live in Eastern DRC are not well protected due to rebel activity, it is easier for poachers to access Grauer’s gorilla groups than mountain gorilla groups. Poacher’s target infant gorillas because of the gorillas’ perceived value as exotic pets in the illegal wildlife market.
You can follow the Gorilla Doctors health monitoring efforts on our Facebook page, where we post photos and notes from our monthly visits.
Please consider supporting MGVP by making a secure online donation. Every dollar you give goes to directly supporting our gorilla health programs and One Health initiative. Thank you for your generosity.
Dr. Dawn comes to us from the Memphis Zoo, where she worked for 8 years, most recently as the senior veterinarian.
While working at the Memphis Zoo, Dr. Dawn won numerous grants to perform field work with wild animals overseas. She helped reintroduce black and white ruffed lemurs and diademed sifaka in Madagascar, collected research samples from immobilized black rhinos in South Africa, performed a biomedical survey on brown hyenas in the Namib Desert, and assisted in an educational program as a lecturer and instructor for the conservation of Siberian tigers in Russia.
“I went to veterinary school with a job like this in my mind as the ultimate goal,” says Dr. Dawn. “Working with animals in a zoo setting is amazing — they are ambassadors for their wild counterparts — but being able help a critically endangered species in the wild is, to me, the epitome of conservation medicine.”
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RUHENGERI, RWANDA — From July 23 to 27, 2011, all Gorilla Doctors veterinarians were involved in the huge and exciting event of moving the six Grauer’s gorillas that had been in the Gorilla Doctors care for years from out interim orphan quarantine facility in Kinigi, Rwanda to the GRACE sanctuary in DRC. However, only two weeks later on the night of August 7, we got a call from the Volcanoes National Park Chief Warden, Prosper Uwingeli, reporting the confiscation of a baby gorilla in Gisenyi, Rwanda, on the border with DRC. Prosper asked for veterinary assistance, so a team of two Gorillas Doctors and one experienced gorilla caretaker packed up and drove to the police station where the gorilla was being held. They found the poor baby gorilla very stressed and coughing with a nasal discharge and poor body conditions.
