Jul 04 2007
Humba the Silverback enjoying life at 2,000 meters
On Saturday the Rangers at Bukima - Jean-Marie, Frederic, Gerome and others - went to track the Humba family. The family were about 2 hours from the patrol post, up at about 2,000 meters (that is about 6,000 feet). The favorite food of Mountain Gorillas is bamboo, and this is found at high altitude. A Silverback eats about 30 kilos a day - but this food has a very high water content.
Humba is always a very calm family. I have mentioned before that Humba means Placid or Calm. Humba is a large Silverback as you can see. He is the brother of Rugendo, but is much bigger. He was enjoying the sunshine and his family and seemed not to even notice the presence of the Rangers, let alone the little one sitting on top of him!
Daily news from the conservation frontline by Innocent and Diddy, and other Congolese rangers risking their lives to save mountain gorillas of the Virunga National Park in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo
Reminds me of Rodin’s, The Thinker.
Woah, 6000 feet? I think my head would explode! Are only the Silverbacks allowed to father children in their groups like in Lion Prides? I saw a segment about Humba’s group on CNN with Anderson Cooper.
Hello Faye. Yes, generally it is the Silverback of the family, ie the dominant male, that fathers the babies. However, you sometimes get a naughty blackback trying to do something on the sly! We witnessed this a couple of months ago in the Kabirizi family… Kabirizi’s back was turned and the blackback was up to no good. Best, Paulin