Gorilla Doctors

Last week we dealt with yet another snared gorilla.  The victim was Nyandwi (ne-an-dwee), a six-year-old female in Pablo Group.

Nyandwi

When the trackers found the gorilla caught in a snare, they were able to cut the rope without fear of being attacked by her family.  The rest of the group was foraging some distance way, unaware that she was in trouble.  Had Nyandwi cried out when the trackers approached, the gorillas would have answered her alarm by running to the scene.  This is dangerous for all involved.  A protective silverback can cover the length of a football field full of nettles and thorns in no time.  Fortunately, the young gorilla was so exhausted that she barely reacted—other than to run away in the direction of the group as soon as she was free.

Nyandwi’s snare

The group must have figured out about the snare when Nyandwi appeared wearing a new rope bracelet.  Soon they were extremely agitated, so much so that the trackers couldn’t even enter the group to check on her for fear of being charged by the silverbacks.

Nyandwi eating well, despite the rope snare on her arm

Pablo Group is notoriously difficult when it comes to interventions.  This is mostly because of the group’s large size—42 gorillas—and the fact that there are four silverbacks and several blackbacks.  With so many protectors, it’s almost impossible to intervene without being noticed.   There have been several instances in Pablo Group when the trackers were unable to run the group off after the patient was anesthetized.  In one case, an infant with a snare had been darted and had just fallen asleep when another gorilla picked it up and carried it off before the vets could begin the procedure.  On that day, a tracker trying to recover the infant was severely injured.

Cantsbee, the lead silverback in Pablo Group

Additionally, the group’s lead silverback, Cantsbee, has a reputation of being intolerant of anything out of the ordinary, including vets with dart guns.   Because his group is so big, there have been more than a few interventions over the years—and more opportunities for Cantsbee to learn that scary things sometimes happen when unfamiliar people do strange things.  I knew it might take us several days to get this particular snare off without upsetting him.  But unless the snare was a tight one, we could take our time.  I decided to join the trackers the next day to get a close look.

As anticipated, the gorillas had travelled a considerable distance in reaction to the snare incident the day before.  It took us nearly three hours to find them, and just as long to return, walking a long way through the fields to get back to where I’d parked the truck.  As usual, I spent much of the hike focused on my feet, trying not to wipe out in the thick mud or trip over slippery stalks of bamboo and celery.

Nyandwi’s new rope bracelet was easy to spot, even from a distance

And I couldn’t stop fuming about the snare.  The fact is that even when they’re caught red-handed, poachers often get off easy, spending no more than a year in jail.  The trackers know who some of them are, but can’t say anything without firm evidence.  If they do, they put their own lives at risk.  The underlying problem,  though, is that there’s a market for bushmeat—even in Rwanda.

Cantsbee (center), the lead silverback in Pablo Group, resting near Nyandwi the day after she got caught in a snare.

When we finally reached the group that day, we found Nyandwi resting near Cantsbee.  She picked at the rope around her right wrist a few times, but I couldn’t see any swelling in the hand.  So far so good.  Apart from the shredded length of rope dangling from her arm, she looked no different from any of the other juveniles in the group.  I peered at the snare through my binoculars and snapped a dozen photos, hoping to find a reason to think it might slide off on its own.  But the rope  was so snug, there seemed little chance of that.

Several other Pablo Group gorillas were interested in Nyandwi’s snare.

After an hour, or so, Cantsbee got up to eat and soon disappeared into the vegetation.  Most of the group left the rest area at the same time, but Nyandwi stayed back with a few other youngsters.  I was glad to see she was independent of the adults and calm in her demeanor.  That would make her easier to dart.  She favored her right arm a little, but ate normally with both hands.  At one point, another gorilla sat down beside her to investigate the snare, sniffing it.  He didn’t seem to have any intention of trying to remove it—or any clue why he should.  I left the group knowing we’d need to intervene.  We made a plan to try the next day.