Archive for April, 2007
You will recall that last week I wrote about a 2 1/2 year old Mountain Gorilla infant of the 33-member Kabirizi family that was rumored to be sick with a discoloration of the hair. The infant’s name is Ntibahanana, and is the child of the adult female Ngashangi. Unfortunately Dr Jacques of the Mountain Gorilla Vet Program has been unable to attend to the unwell Gorilla yet due to the security situation in the area. The Kabirizi family are currently some distance from the Bukima patrol post, and the further from a patrol post you get the more insecurity there is. Again… this just goes to show what the Mountain Gorillas continue to go through. The Mountain Gorilla Vet Program is there to help Mountain Gorillas when there is a human-induced problem - for example an injury from a snare that was set by locals to trap antelope, or when the Gorilla’s life is threatened. You should check out their website. I will keep you updated on this situation, and in the meantime here are some photos of the Kabirizi family.
What are you looking at?
Hanging out…
The UN peacekeeping mission in Congo, MONUC, has an article on their website saying that UNESCO has called for urgent measures to end the poaching and killing of endangered species in world heritage sites in Congo. “The initiative comes amid reports that several hundred hippopotamus and two mountain gorillas have been killed in the past few months in the Virunga National Park, which was registered in the world heritage list in 1979, and in the list of endangered heritages in 1994. … In his letters, the UNESCO director general is asking for the expansion of the United Nations’ mission in the DRC (MONUC) in order for it to cover the protection of world heritage sites in that country, as well as in other protected zones. The DRC’s world heritage sites have an exceptional importance in the preservation of biodiversity, as they constitute the natural habitat for several rare and remarkable species of the world, among them the bonobo pygmy chimpanzee, considered as the human being’s closest living cousin, the mountain gorilla and the very rare okapi species.” This could mean good news for us and additional support. Check out the article for more information.
I am in Garamba National Park in the northern part of eastern Congo at the moment doing a training course up here. This park was created in 1938 (13 years after Virunga!) and declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1980. It is managed by African Parks Foundation. Here there are savannahs, grassland and woodland - which are home to It is a beautiful place - lush forests and home to many species including elephants, giraffes, hippos and most importantly the Northern white rhino. This is larger than the black rhino and is one of the world’s most critically endangered species with only 10 individuals remaining in the wild. I will post photos soon - in the meantime I wanted to share this video of the Rugendo Mountain Gorilla family that was taken recently. It shows Congomani, a blackback, playing with (or rather being annoyed by!) Noela, a 2 1/2 year old female born on Christmas day!
Check out the link below to a story in Times Online (just click on the picture) about the Mountain Gorilla population in Uganda - it says there are 12 percent more Mountain Gorillas in Uganda now compared to 10 years ago. This is very positive news. The article also talks about the problems in Congo and the killings of the Gorillas in January this year. Marc Languy of World Wildlife Fund is also quoted. He co-authored an amazing book on Virunga National Park with Dr Emmanuel de Merode, the Director of WildlifeDirect. All the proceeds from the sale of the book go to the Virunga Widows Fund, a fund for the widows of the Congo Rangers who have died in active service in Virunga.
I would also like to point you all to another interesting blog called primatology.org. It talks about primates in general around the globe and has some very interesting information not only about Mountain Gorillas but also Chimps etc. Take a look!
Rangers at Camp Karema in Bukima have just told me that a 2 1/2 year old infant of the 33-member Kabirizi family is ill. Apparently the infant is losing hair on the upper thigh and the rest of the hair is turning orange. I have called Dr Jacques Iyanya of Mountain Gorilla Vet and asked him to come and take a look as soon as possible. I will keep you posted. Here are two photos given to WildlifeDirect by Paul Taggart of World Picture News - Paul visited the Kabirizi family last week and kindly gave us all the photos and said we could use them in our blogs. Thank you Paul. He said hopefully Outside Magazine or National Geographic Adventure may pick up the photos and do a story on the Congo Rangers and Gorilla Protection.
Isn’t Kabirizi just magnificent?
We have obtained a short video of the 2-day old Mountain Gorilla born into the Kabirizi family! A tourist who lives in Kinshasa, called Monique, kindly gave it to WildlifeDirect so that I could share this with you. She was lucky to see the baby during a visit on Sunday.The baby has yet to be named but I will keep you posted! This now means there are 33 members in the Kabirizi family!Just so you know we have more videos also on YouTube. You just need to search for WildlifeDirect.Kwa Heri, Paulin
Yesterday a group of Congo Rangers, Rob Muir and Emmanuel de Merode, the Director of WildlifeDirect, set out to find the Kabirizi family near Bikenge after hearing reports that a newborn had been sighted in the group. They were also accompanied by Paul Taggart, a photographer with World Picture News. They set off early from Camp Karema, heading toward the Mikeno volcano from where the sector gets its name.
They walked along the edge of the park, following the dry stone wall, and then into the forest.
Jean Marie, currently head of the Bukima patrol post, here in the foreground, led the group.
They crossed streams and climbed hills…
And spotted Mountain Gorilla prints…
And eventually sighted a member of the Kabarizi family…
And then another…
And then a mother with her baby (look to the right of the picture)
The Kabirizi family has only been habituated for 2 years, so can be quite shy. But yesterday they weren’t.
And were curious to see the Rangers and our visitors.
Jean Marie was able to get up close…
Unfortunately there was no sighting of the newborn… but my Rangers will return in coming days and try and get pictures for you. You do have to be careful not to offend the Silverback or scare the mother… so we are careful.
The Humba Gorilla family of 9 members is heading towards Rwanda from Bukima. Trackers go out every day and follow the families, from the different patrol posts. This is Humba the Silverback below, last Tuesday.
Gorilla families move around quite a lot, and often cross international borders. They of course do not realize that this is what they are doing - they don’t have passports! So they come and go sometimes between Congo and Rwanda for example.
The family members all travel together - at the instruction of the Silverback, the leader. In the morning he beats his chest to wake the family and tell them they are on the move to forage for food. And he is also the instigator of making a nest at night where they all sleep together. Of course we don’t know yet whether the Humba family will actually cross the border. Humba may well turn back… we shall have to wait and see.
Here in Goma people use the Tchukudu to transport goods. This is a wooden bicycle with rubber tires that is virtually unique to Goma and the surroundings.
People use them to transport up to half a ton of produce - this can be wood, coal, vegetables, construction materials… anything.
Even crates of soft drink or beer… People use the Tchukudu for all sorts of things. It costs anywhere between $30 and $50, depending on the size - which is a lot more than a second hand AK47. The reason why it is so practical in Goma is that people live outside the town in the hills, and therefore just need to coast down the hill to bring their produce to market. If it was the other way around it would be too much hard work.
Benjamin Ndakasi Lola, Chief of Gorilla Monitoring in the Mikeno Sector, died on Saturday. He was 50 years old and had been a Congo Ranger for 20 years.
Ndakasi, as he was called by his friends and colleagues, had been Chief of Monitoring since 1999 and was known for his brave and upright nature. He not only worked protecting Mountain Gorillas, but also in the conservation of other wildlife in Virunga National Park such as elephants and buffaloe.
He died from diabetes. His funeral was held on Monday at Rumangabo. He leaves behind his wife Jacqueline Kavira Kaposo, to whom he had been married since 1981 and 8 children.
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