Gorilla Protection

After the interviews yesterday that we did with CBS and Anderson Cooper, we cannot help but reminisce about the Rugendo family and the day of the massacre in July.

It was such a terrible moment in our lives. That day will never be forgotten. Yesterday really brought all of this back. We have been distracted with the latest fighting. But we want to remember Senkwekwe and his family.

We also think constantly about the survivors and how they are faring in the middle of the fighting, which continues today up at the patrol post of Bukima in the Gorilla Sector.

The boss, Senkwekwe - calm, peaceful, unaggressive and a joy to be around.

This is me, Innocent, back in April with him.

Bavukahe, an infant female, survived the attack. But today she is the only female in the group and is not of reproductive age.

Baseka, a young blackback. We hope he is not suffering today.

Kongomani, a playful blackback, managed to escape the killers in July.

Machibiri & her infant Ntaribi. Machibiri’s bones were found 3 weeks after the massacre, and Ntaribi is presumed dead. She would have been too young to survive alone.

Mukunda, a Blackback, also a survivor and last time we knew he was leading the group. We hope he is doing a good job.

Neza, shot and killed for no reason.

Noel - a male infant, is still alive and escaped with a gash on his arm that was treated by the Gorilla Doctors.

Mburanumwe, an adult female, shot and killed.

And finally, Safari and Ndeze. Safari was also murdered. Ndeze is now orphaned in Goma. This photo was taken shortly after Ndeze’s birth in February. You can see more of Ndeze here and here.

Go here to read about the history of the Rugendo family. The family used to be 12 and is now 5: 6 dead, 1 orphaned.

Thank you for your support and donations. It is truly amazing.

Diddy & Innocent

Technorati : congo, drc, mikeno, rugendo, wildlifedirect

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I just got back in from spending the day with Director Mushenzi, Diddy, Innocent, Augustin Kambale (from Bukima patrol post) and… CBS 60 Minutes.

Anderson Cooper and his team have come for a few days to Goma to cover the plight of the Mountain Gorillas following the July massacre and the current fighting that is preventing the Rangers from protecting this imperiled species.

Filming was done up at Kibati, at the foot of the Nyragongo volcano just outside of Goma.

Because of fighting we were not able to take the crew to Rumangabo. But the setting was beautiful. Diddy looks on…

Emmanuel from WildlifeDirect interviewed first. He has been working here since 1993.

Director Norbert Mushenzi was also asked for his perspective on what is happening at the moment.

Innocent, Augustin and Diddy spoke at length about their experiences with the gorillas, and what it was like on that terrible day in July when the Rugendo family was massacred.

Other Rangers were also filmed.

I have no idea when this program will air, but I will let you know when I do. Anderson Cooper is interviewing Rob Muir from FZS tomorrow and Paulin if he can make it here from Kinshasa. He was also in Rwanda yesterday, and met with the Gorilla Doctors and DFGF(I).

It is a significant opportunity for the Rangers to make their voices heard. This blog is excellent for that - but CBS 60 Minutes is quite frankly huge for them. These brave men have worked in total isolation for so many years, and it is them that we must support if we are to prevent the Mountain Gorillas of DR Congo from disappearing forever.

I just dropped Diddy off at the clinic and met his wife. She was up and about and looking well so that is excellent news.

Fighting is still going on. Yesterday it was 5 miles from Rumangabo park station. Today I think it is a little calmer. But tomorrow it will probably start again. Who knows.

Samantha

Technorati : anderson cooper, cbs, congo, drc, iccn, wildlifedirect

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This is Samantha.

A Ranger was killed and another was wounded in an attack yesterday near Kabaraza carried out by the Mai Mai rebels.

I learned this late yesterday. The Rangers were on patrol and were ambushed by the Mai Mai rebels, who are fairly dominant in this area just north of Rutshuru. (See map.)

During these tense times anything can happen. And this just goes to show it.

We have talked about the Mai Mai before - they are Congolese rebels, born as a nationalist movement initially to counter the invasions from neighboring states. They have deteriorated however into yet another militia group, that among other things seek the destruction of the park. They often forge relationships with illegal villagers within the park, and encourage them to poach.

The Mai Mai of course were those responsible for the hippo slaughter last year in Lake Edward, that left the lake red and virtually devoid of hippos. You can get $300 for the hippo meat apparently, and then there is ivory in the canine teeth.

These rebels also carried out the fatal attack on the Tshiaberimu sector in Virunga last May. There are still Mai Mai rebels in Muramba, a stone’s throw from Ishango.

I have just been with Diddy. His wife is in the clinic just down the road from me. She will be operated on tomorrow morning, early. She is in a lot of pain and does not want to wait any longer.

Samantha

Technorati : congo, drc, iccn, rebel, virunga, wildlifedirect

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Thank you for your comments. I am glad you like Kadogo too! He really is a wonderful gorilla.

Today I found a house for my wife, 5 children and I at $30 per month. The owner also wants 4 months deposit. This will all be covered for by WildlifeDirect donations. So thank you everyone, very very much. I can tell you also that Diddy will come to Goma with his wife today or tomorrow for her operation. This will cost about $200. I am looking forward to seeing him.

I have also taken pictures of my family and will be posting them soon so you can meet them all.

I keep being asked the same question by lots of different people: What are the threats at the moment to the Mountain Gorillas as a result of the conflict between the army and the rebels?

This is how I see it, right now. Please bear in mind that in times of peace the threats are completely different.

1. Gorillas can get caught in the crossfire between rebels and the army. It is chaos during these times of conflict. And let us not forget that this is how Rugendo and Ndungutse died in 2001 and 1997 respectively.

2. Snares. If a baby Mountain Gorilla is caught in a snare there is no one to save him. So we run a risk of losing the baby. The snares are mainly for antelope, but traps also get baby gorillas. Karema for example, killed in January, had only one hand after being caught in a snare as a baby.

Mambo & Dunia, Mapuwa Family, taken in August. Their fate is unknown.

3. Loss of control. Because we have no control over our Gorilla Sector, we do not know how the gorillas are faring, or if their numbers have changed. There can be births or deaths, that we just don’t know about. With only 700 of this critically endangered species remaining in the world we need to know what is happening.

4. By the same token there can be interactions between Silverbacks. These need to be recorded, and how they have affected the families.

5. Mufabure. We still don’t know where this dead infant found with suspected traffickers came from. Was she taken from a habituated or non-habituated family in the Gorilla Sector? Were any other gorillas killed when she was taken? What of the fate of the other gorilla that we hear has also been taken by the same traffickers?

Kanepo, Dunia & Sebagabo, also from the Mapuwa family, in August

6. Some of the fighters involved in the conflict are not from eastern DR Congo. So they don’t necessarily know what gorillas are. So they can get scared and just shoot because they don’t know what else to do. The Mapuwa family suffered from this about 5 years ago. The army mistook the family for the enemy and shot and killed two gorillas.

7. Finally, people from eastern DR Congo tend not to eat Mountain Gorillas. But some fighters like I said are not from here. So they may think you can eat Mountain Gorillas. And with what happened in January with Karema we don’t know what to think. Judging by the remains we found, it looked like he had been eaten.

Innocent

Technorati : congo, drc, iccn, mikeno, virunga, wildlifedirect

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No change here. Still waiting. I am in Goma with my family. Thank you for supporting me during this time. And thank you Jim for the $25 donation towards my accommodation during this evacuation with my family. I hope to find the house today as I am staying still with my brother-in-law and there are many of us!

I want to tell you about Kadogo. He is my favorite Mountain Gorilla. He is different from the others because he was born bald. I always wonder why this is. I have never seen a gorilla born without hair, and I have never seen a gorilla become bald.

Kadogo, a Blackback, is part of the Munyaga family

The Munyaga family as Diddy and I have mentioned is unusual in that it is composed of 3 Silverbacks, Kadogo and Bilali, an adult female. It was Bilali who gave birth in August, only to have the baby killed during an interaction between the Silverbacks.

Kadogo means “very small” in Swahili. He was named this because he was very small when he was born.

Kadogo is very calm and constantly curious. When I see him he always sits down, folds his arms to rest his chin on his hands, and keep an eye on me. I never know why he does this.

Innocent

Technorati : congo, drc, gorilla, iccn, ranger, wildlifedirect

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This is Samantha. I just got back from 2 days in Mutsora and Ishango (in the north) to Goma.

Unfortunately there has been no improvement here, as you can all see in the international media. I have just spoken to Director Mushenzi, Diddy and Innocent. Diddy is in Kiwanja and Innocent and the Director in Goma, just feeling frustrated.

Fighting has intensified east of Rumangabo toward the Gorilla Sector and around it. There has been severe conflict at Rugari, which touches on the Goma-Rumangabo road. This road is now not considered that safe, and the humanitarian organizations trying to access the displaced people are using UN escorts.

Rangers are still at Rumangabo, but constantly worried that the military base east of the park station will get hit.

Diddy said there are lots of refugees at Kiwanja (near Rutshuru).

I read and hear that the national army is bringing in reinforcements. I also hear the rebels are. It could get a whole lot worse before it gets better. The Mountain Gorillas and the other wildlife in the Mikeno Sector of the park are totally and utterly unprotected. I am hoping that they are just oblivious to all that is going on around them. It is nearly 2 months since all of this began.

Samantha

Technorati : congo, drc, iccn, mikeno, wildlifedirect

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This is Samantha. I have again spoken to Director Mushenzi, Diddy and Innocent.

Diddy traveled this morning to Rumangabo from his house in Kiwanja (near Rutshuru). He wanted to check up on the Rangers at the station. He told me the situation has calmed a little. The national army have returned to their base 4km east of the park headquarters, with reinforcements.

Vehicles can now travel between Goma and Rutshuru, and the rebels have been pushed back into the Gorilla Sector.

Director Mushenzi and Innocent are in Goma. Innocent wants to go to Rumangabo to evacuate more equipment today. He told me that yesterday the rebels briefly took control of the park corridor. This is the area on the map posted yesterday between the Gorilla Sector and the Nyamulagira Sector (the larger sector west of Rumangabo). It is a corridor of park, and the road from Goma going north goes through it. You can also see it here, between the green and orange areas.

Samantha

Technorati : congo, drc, gorilla, iccn, virunga, wildlifedirect

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This is Samantha. It is 11h00 DR Congo time. I have just spoken to Director Mushenzi and Diddy.

Yesterday the rebels advanced down to Rugari. This is the community that lies on the main road next to the Gorilla Sector, west of Bukima. What does this mean? It means that the road between Goma and Rumangabo park station is not secure. This is one of Goma’s main arteries.

In addition, the national army at the military camp 4km east of Rumangabo have fled fearing attack by the rebels. This is the military camp that is always considered to be a target for the rebels. Some Rangers have gone up to Rutshuru - mainly the Advance Force rangers who were still at Rumangabo. Other Rangers are still at Rumangabo.

Virunga National Park, DRC

Innocent and his family are in Goma after evacuating yesterday.

Yesterday Rangers managed to make one trip from Rumangabo to Goma and evacuate tents and batteries.

I will keep you posted.

Samantha

Technorati : congo, drc, iccn, rumangabo, virunga, wildlifedirect

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This is Samantha at WildlifeDirect.

I have just spent the morning in Goma with Diddy, Innocent and Jean Bosco, the head of community liaison for the Rangers at Rumangabo. We were talking over several issues - security, current work, frustrations etc.

This is basically a summary so you can all understand what is going on:

Fighting has started again at Bukima. Augustin Kambale, the Bukima patrol post chief who is at Rumangabo station, called in about an hour ago and said he could hear gunfire. This does not bode well as we are all meant to be waiting to see if the rebels will integrate into the national army. I explained this concept here. It is my impression that often announcements made to the press or by the leaders are not interpreted on the ground by those actually engaged in combat.

The Rangers are fearful that the rebels have had time in recent days to get more supplies. They fear that the rebels will target the military base 4km from Rumangabo and that the park station itself will get taken.

They are more worried than they were 2 weeks ago. They sense these things from the ground - local people for example have been trying to get back to their fields to get food in recent days and weeks, and at the same time hear and report what is going on on the ground. So the Rangers are well informed.

Innocent is evacuating his family as a result, that is his wife and children. They will stay for a couple of days with family in Goma and meanwhile look for a small house on the outskirts that they can rent. WildlifeDirect donations will pay for this. It will only be about $50 a month, plus furnishings (beds, cooking pots etc) so we have this already from your generous donations as work has been paralyzed in other areas like patrols.

ICCN is also going to evacuate more equipment from Rumangabo. Lots has already come to Goma and is scattered around the various NGO offices in the city.

So tense times again. We wait, and wait, and wait. Goma in terms of security is adequate. In other words from my point of view (and most other residents) the rebels will not ever enter the city, because of the UN peacekeeping mission here.

Jean Bosco, Diddy and Innocent this morning

But one of the repercussions of this current insecurity is that it breeds more insecurity. So there is an increase in general banditry, and the activities of the other armed groups in and around the park. So the Rangers cannot go into the Gorilla Sector. But the other sector, the Nyamulagira Sector to the west of Rumangabo is also more problematic than it was a couple of months ago. This sector is shown as the orange bit on this map and as you can see is larger than the Gorilla Sector. Armed groups such as the Mai Mai and the FDLR are active here - charcoal burning and poaching.

On a positive note the legal proceedings against the 2 suspects in the gorilla trafficking incident last month will begin next week. ICCN is instigating all of this and the suspects are being held in Goma.

Diddy was looking at the Smithsonian article

Also the crisis cell of conservation NGOs - WildlifeDirect, FZS, ZSL, DFGF(I), IGCP - met yesterday to coordinate activities. This group was set up with $100,000 (contributions from all the above NGOs) in early August to manage the crisis after the July Mountain Gorilla massacre. The nature of the crisis has obviously changed: initially it was intense patrols and gorilla protection, and now it has become emergency rations and accommodation for the 34 displaced rangers (and some families), medical supplies, evacuation etc. and above all being ready to act when the Rangers can once again get into the Gorilla Sector.

Thank you for your support everyone.

Samantha

Technorati : congo, drc, gorilla, iccn, virunga, wildlifedirect

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We are still waiting for news of the talks between rebels and the government.  So I wrote this about Silverbacks and sounds.

The Silverback is always the one in charge of a Mountain Gorilla family - when gorillas wake, rest, eat or sleep it is he who gives the order. He is the dominant male.

If he hasn’t said that his family can wake and move around, they will stay in their nests or nearby. When the family is resting, moving, or fighting - it is he who makes the law.

To do this he has about 16 sounds. Each one has a meaning and each individual in the group knows what he must do in response to each sound. When gorillas are copulating it is different because there are some sounds the Silverback makes just for females.

The Silverback Kasole of the Munyaga group shows his force

Each night the gorillas can sleep where they want - either on the ground or in the trees, but the Silverback is always on the ground to ensure the safety of the group. During the day the infants and the adult females with babies prefer to stay near the Silverback for protection. The others (blackbacks, sub-adult females, sub-adult males and adult females with no baby) can stray further from the Silverback.

These 16 sounds have an enormous role in the life of Mountain Gorillas, especially when they eat and move around. Because of the dense vegetation they cannot see each other so they make particular sounds to find each other.

There are sounds for: 1. When a stranger is present; 2. To announce coming rain; 3. Copulation; 4. To find a missing individual; 5. To move; 6. An individual under attack; 7. Good food. etc

It is the Silverback that makes these sounds the most. This is his role as Chief - and because he has to warn the others in case of danger.

Mawazo, also of the Munyaga group, looks on.

Why does a Silverback charge?

He may be playing, or trying to intimidate or communicating to the group that there is something abnormal.

Or it may be the beginning of an interaction. When this happens, the adult females, juveniles and babies who are close by huddle together with their bellies to the ground and their feet and hands folded under their bodies. This is to show their submission to the Silverback.

Diddy

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