Gorilla Doctors

For every gorilla health case that requires a full medical intervention, the Gorilla Doctors probably follow up on at least half a dozen other cases that thankfully do not require emergency treatment. To ensure we catch health problems in the early stages, the Gorilla Doctors keep in close contact with the trackers who monitor the gorilla groups on a daily basis.  Whenever a problem is noted, such as coughing in the group, a wounded silverback, or a sickly baby, the Gorilla Doctors trek to the group to make a visual health check and determine what additional care is needed.

In a case earlier this month, Dr. Dawn visited Urugamba group to check on a new baby that appeared to be in pain. Here is Dr. Dawn’s report:

Karisoke Research center trackers reported on April 3 that Bishushwe’s 4-month-old infant  group was not observed nursing this past morning, was crying, and appeared to be experiencing abdominal pain based on unusual movements of the infant. Historically, trackers reported that this mother Bishushwe has raised her previous offspring well. The next day I went to assess the infant. Trackers had been with the group for about 15 minutes prior to my arrival and reported that the infant appeared much improved and they had observed it nursing. A visual examination of the infant revealed normal activity and body condition, although nursing was not directly observed during my veterinary assessment.

The infant was not crying nor did he or she display any abnormal abdominal movements attributed to pain. The mother, Bishushwe, also appeared in good general health and I observed no visual abnormalities of her mammary glands.

All 7 gorillas in the group were visually checked and appeared in good health. Only the juvenile Inkumbuza was observed with minor healing wounds on the left hand and old scars on the palm.

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.

By Dr. Dawn

It’s been a difficult 2012 thus far for Inshuti, a silverback gorilla in Rwanda’s Volcanoes National Park.  Meaning “friend” in Kinyarwandan, Inshuti is considered one of the largest and most aggressive silverbacks within the Karisoke research groups, and he has endured his share of drama. Over the years, Inshuti has survived attacks from other gorillas, a suspected fall, and a respiratory infection.

At 16 years of age, Inshuti left Shinda group to become a lone silverback in search of a family.  Just months later, he met the Beetsme’s group and was beaten badly by a number of gorillas.  He spent three days in his night nest, a sign of critical concern, then suddenly emerged and continued to forge on.

In 2007, after various unsuccessful attempts to acquire some females over his three years of bachelorhood, he was joined by two females from Titus group, Taraja and Shangaza.  In 2008, Shangaza gave birth to a female named Ngwino, and Taraja produced a male, Akarusho, in 2009.  A third female, Nyandwi, joined in 2011 from Pablo group.  Inshuti had finally secured a growing family.

His blissful life of female companionship did not last long.

On Friday, January 27, I received a call from Karisoke Gorilla Program Coordinator Veronica Vecellio reporting that Inshuti had sustained severe wounds from an interaction with two lone silverbacks.  Karisoke researchers had witnessed the interaction, which lasted for over 2 hours and left Inshuti with bite wounds to the head, neck, back, hands, and feet.  The two lone silverbacks were identified by Karisoke as Tuyizere and Turatsinze, originating from Pablo group, and had continued to follow Inshuti after the interaction.

A veterinary assessment was requested, and the next morning, Dr. Jean-Felix and I trekked up to the Basumba area which lies between the Bisoke and Karisimbi volcanoes.  We were joined by Dr. Winnie Eckardt, a Karisoke post-doctoral researcher, and numerous Karisoke trackers who knew the group well, as Inshuti’s aggressive reputation warranted many bodies for protection should an intervention be needed.  Along the way, we came across one of the lone silverbacks, Turatsinze, with a few minor wounds on his back.

We found Inshuti lying on his belly, often a pose associated with not feeling well.  He seemed to care less that we were there, unusual for him.  He was quite weak and sore but alert, responsive, and eating.  He was moving very slowly and we discovered the reason – a large wound on the sole of his right foot. As a mature silverback, he is likely close to 200 kg in weight, and as gorillas walk on the knuckles of their hands and the soles of their feet, a significant percentage of their weight is distributed to each foot.

We followed him to his next resting place, sadly only a few meters away, and watched him for over an hour documenting his wounds and looking for any signs of serious internal injuries (such as blunt trauma or deep puncture wounds impossible to observe by visual examination at 7+ meters away).  His abdomen was fairly flat, a sign that he had not eaten much in the last 24 hours.  Numerous other bite wounds were observed, including a severe laceration to his head: approximately 20 cm in length and 1 cm in depth, scaling from his right ear to the top of his head.  Although this wound was of significant concern, it did not appear life-threatening and therefore did not warrant an intervention.

A Gorilla Doctor protocol, the decision to intervene is based on whether the injury or illness is human-induced and whether the injury or illness is life-threatening.  In Inshuti’s case,  his wounds did not appear to be immediately life threatening, and undergoing anesthesia could weaken him further, making him an easier target for the lone silverbacks who had continued to follow the group.  We decided to not to intervene but monitor his wounds and if signs of infection were observed, we would be ready to dart with antibiotics.  The Karisoke trackers would stay and watch him for the next several hours and check on him daily.

The next day, the trackers reported that Inshuti was not eating nor moving much.  Although this would not be unusual if feeling sore, it was still of concern that the wounds may have been worse than our visual inspection suggested.  While preparing to return for a possible intervention, we waited anxiously for the next report.  The call came mid-day . . . he was eating and moving around much more! We breathed a sigh of relief, but still scheduled a visual recheck for the next day.

Dr. Jean Felix confirmed Inshuti’s improved condition; however, during the veterinary health check, Inshuti had another interaction with

Inshuti was seen charging Tuyizere many times to prevent him from getting close to the females but no physical contact was observed. Inshuti did not display any signs of weakness or pain when displaying and running the lone silverback off, and his wounds appeared to be healing well.  This, at least, was good news that he was feeling well enough to defend himself.  Nyandwi, only nine years old and without an infant, appeared as if she wanted to go with Tuyizere, but Inshuti would run after her and pull her back.  Despite such advances, Inshuti’s group remained intact.

However, the very next day, trackers reported an interaction with yet another lone silverback, 17-year-old Giraneza, who also originated from Pablo group. The next, day, Inshuti and his group went missing.

No sign of them could be found for the next 5 days.  Karisoke trackers searched intensely starting from the trail on the last day they were seen, even employing a second patrol assisted by the Volcanoes National Park anti-poaching team who had recently discovered 16 snares and arrested a poacher, but to no avail.

A main concern was that another interaction had led to group to flee so quickly that they left no trace of their path behind.  And assuming there had been another interaction, we needed to find him soon to assess his health.  Further complicating things was the thought that they may have fled across the border into the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Finally, trackers found Nyandwi, not with Inshuti but with the lone silverback, Giraneza. Five days after going missing, Karisoke trackers found Inshuti.  He was alone and weak, but still moving and eating.  Just one kilometer away, the lone silverback Giraneza and female Nyandwi had been joined by Taraja and her infant Akarusho.  This was concerning for almost 3-year old Akarusho as infanticide is not uncommon in gorilla groups where the dominant silverback is not the sire.

The same day, lone silverback Turatsinze approached the group and fought with Giraneza.  The group dispersed during the interaction.  Afterwards, Akarusho did not return to the group and was not seen for the rest of the day.  Meanwhile, Shangaza and infant Ngwino had not been found.

Fortunately, the next morning,

joined Inshuti, stressed after spending a night alone for the first time, but otherwise fine.  Karisoke researchers reported that he cried when he saw Inshuti and remained close to him for the rest of the day.  Inshuti remains weak but moving and feeding, and still recovering from wounds of the initial attack almost two weeks ago.

On February 10th, Dr. Jean Felix returned to check on Inshuti’s condition.  He found Inshuti very active, with the majority of his wounds healing well with exception of the one located behind his left ear extending to his neck which was still open and probably taking longer to heal as the laceration was pulled open when Inshuti moved his head to the side.

Two days later, Shangaza and infant Ngwino joined Inshuti, looking fine and healthy.  After one of the few lone silverbacks to successfully acquire a family group, and then lose one, it appears that Inshuti once again has a family.

Weeks later, Inshuti’s group was found on Karisimbi, quite far from their normal territory.  It is not known whether they continue to run from lone silverbacks, or if, perhaps, Inshuti is looking for his lost females.

This Blog was written by Dr. Eddy from Virunga National Park, DRC.

On the morning January 20, I left the Bukima patrol post with a group of trackers to find Kabirizi group. Along the way we encountered the night nest of the silverback Mukunda, who still stays by himself in the forest. About 30 minutes later we met a wild or unhabituated gorilla group, a very rare occurrence. The group was quiet initially but later they moved away, with the silverbacks charging and screaming at us. We know from the 2010 census that there are several large unhabituated groups in Viurnga.

Almost 3.5 hours after starting our trek, we found Kabirizi group. The weather was sunny and almost all of the gorillas were sitting under shade in the bushes which made our observation quite long and difficult.  We counted 33 individuals, including Kabirizi himself.

I realized that Kabirizi was quieter than usual. He was not charging, hiding, or running, and was eating out in the open with his family members. Normally Kabirizi does not like being observed by people, and stays hidden in the vegetation, keeping the group’s babies close to him for protection.  I noticed that Kabirizi has many healing wounds on his left shoulder and thigh and a large cut (about 7cm) on his right heel which was healing but not allowing him to walk properly. He was limping on the right side and using his left leg a lot while walking.

Some time ago, Kabirizi lost his upper and lower canine teeth during a fight with another gorilla. I think that his lack of canines, his defensive weapons, is one of the reasons why it is easy for the other silverbacks in the group to take advantage of him in fights. The younger silverback Bagheni  been fighting with Kabirizi on a regular basis now, and Kabirizi most often loses the battles. Another young silverback in the group, Mugeni, is also starting to challenge Kabirizi.

While the other gorillas in the group appear healthy, Kabirizi is declining due to a combination of aging and frequent fighting with the other silverbacks. It will be very interesting to see how the dynamics in the family change this year.

Research Notes:  Kabirizi has been one of the most successful silverbacks in Virunga National Park, having sired dozens of babies during his 14-year reign as leader of Kabirizi group. Famous for his aggressiveness towards people and other gorillas, Kabirizi has killed a number of other male gorillas while defending his family.

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.

For the most up-to-date information about the Gorilla Doctors, “like” our Facebook page. You’ll find gorilla health reports, news items, photos, videos, and links to related content.

How do the Gorilla Doctors keep mountain gorillas healthy? The first step, and the foundation of our gorilla healthcare program, is gorilla health monitoring—visually observing the members of  gorilla groups on a regular basis to check for signs of illness or injury. MGVP is only able to monitor and treat gorillas in habituated groups—groups that have grown accustomed to the presence of humans after a long process of being gradually approached by people. Luckily for the Gorilla Doctors, most of our patients are easy to find and comfortable being observed at close range. About 73% of mountain gorillas in the Virunga Massif are habituated while about 50% are habituated in Bwindi Impenetrable National Park.

The Gorilla Doctors visit every habituated mountain gorilla group once per month to perform a thorough visual health check. During a routine health check, the veterinarian tries to make visual contact with each member of the gorilla group in order to check a variety of health parameters:

• Body condition: Does the animal look well fed and healthy?
• Activity: Is the animal alert? Does it show any signs of weakness or lethargy?
• Respiration: Is the animal breathing well? Is it coughing or sneezing?
• Skin and Hair: Does the animal have any visible wounds, skin lesions, or unusual growths? Is its coat dull, discolored, or falling out?
• Head/Face Discharge: Does the animal have any visible signs of illness on its head or face such as a runny nose or eye discharge?
• Stool: Does the animal’s stool appear normal?

Careful notes are taken for each animal. When a gorilla is found to be suffering from human-induced or life-threatening injury or illness, the Gorilla Doctors, in collaboration with national park authorities, make plans to medically intervene in order to save the animal.

In addition to the veterinarians’ monthly checks, MGVP relies heavily on the observations of the trackers working for the national parks and organizations like Karisoke Research Center. The trackers see the gorillas every day and are trained by the Gorilla Doctors to look for any behavioral changes and other signs that could indicate illness and injury. Concerns are reported back to the Gorilla Doctors who follow up to perform own visual health checks.

To keep track of the health histories of the different gorillas the Gorilla Doctors have recorded their health check data in a system called IMPACT (Internet Management Program to Assist Conservation Technologies) for the past 6 years. IMPACT was originally designed by programmer Rich Minus and was recently revamped by Medical Decision Logic.

Thanks to the improved system, we’re now training trackers to record their observations in IMPACT rather than simply reporting to MGVP when a problem is noted. By keeping an organized record of the daily observations of the trackers, the Gorilla Doctors and other researchers will have a much more in-depth understanding of the health trends in the population as well as a clearer picture of the overall health of individual gorillas. A group of 40 trackers from Volcanoes National Park and Karisoke Research were trained to use the IMPACT system this January. Trackers in Uganda and DR Congo will also receive training in the upcoming months.

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.

For the most up-to-date information about the Gorilla Doctors, “like” our Facebook page. You’ll find gorilla health reports, news items, photos, videos, and links to related content.

(This blog was written by Dr. Eddy in DRC)

I recently visited the Kabirizi family from Bukima patrol post in Virunga National Park. The group traveled a long distance from where rangers left him from the previous visit. We found their night nests around 10:25am at Kingona area and 24 night nests were counted . Not far from the night nest, we found some gorillas eating and the others moving and playing.

Kabirizi family has about 34 individuals with one dominant silverback—Kabirizi—and the blackback Bagheni is second in command. Kabirizi is known for being protective of his family. He charges humans a lot and tends to make much noise when he sees us. The blackbacks Jeshi and Bagheni are most of the time observed with the group and sometimes Jeshi is the most turbulent male.

During the visit time 26 individuals were observed and no apparent health problems noted. The adult female Rubiga was observed with her very young baby. She was resting, lying down, and hiding the baby. After about 5 minutes she moved, putting the baby on her back, and then went into the thick bush.

The blackback Jeshi was not eating but was charging, moving around the females, and trying to intimidate and disturb us during the visit by grabbing bamboo shoots and then trying to push them down on us. However, Kabirizi was so quiet and peaceful this visit, eating, moving, and looking around with some juveniles playing and eating around him. The rest of the group was in the thick vegetation eating and some adult females were resting under bamboo trees.

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.

For the most up-to-date information about the Gorilla Doctors, “like” our Facebook page. You’ll find gorilla health reports, news items, photos, videos, and links to related content.

Noel was born on Christmas Eve in 2003. He was nurtured for the first 4 years of his life by a large mountain gorilla family led by his father, Senkwekwe. They foraged peacefully on the slopes of the Virunga volcanoes above Bukima, in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). In the summer of 2007 his life changed forever. His mother and father were brutally murdered in front of him, along with several other family members including Ndeze’s mother (Ndeze is now happily living with her friend Ndakasi at Senkwekwe Center in Rumangabo). Noel was seriously injured with a machete during that massacre. He and Ndeze were helplessly behind the fleeing group and unable to keep up, he would certainly not survive on his own. But they were rescued by a young blackback named Kongomani, who turned back to pick up Ndeze, and carrying her he also helped young, injured Noel to safety. Gorilla Doctors had to anesthetize Noel to suture his wounds, just a few days after the massacre. Fortunately he recovered well and returned to the small remaining group. Kongomani and Noel have been great friends since.

On New Year’s Eve 2009, trackers found Noel unable to eat because his face was very swollen, and he had a bloody nose. He lived in the remnant group now led by the silverback Bukima. Nobody knew exactly what had happened to Noel. Dr. Eddy was notified, and went to assess Noel on New Year’s Day. Noel was worse – his eyes were swollen nearly shut, his lips were extremely swollen, and he was so painful that when he put food in his mouth, he could not chew at all; the food simply fell out of his mouth. We spoke with Emmanuel at ICCN (the wildlife authority of DRC), and decided together that this was a potentially life threatening situation for poor Noel. Dr. Eddy, Dr. Jacques and Dr. Arthur (the ICCN veterinarian) and I discussed our options for helping Noel.

Noel on 1 January 2010.

Noel trying to eat, but unable, on 1 January 2010.

First and foremost Noel must be able to eat. Mountain Gorillas rarely drink water – nearly all of their fluid intake comes from the food they eat. If Noel could not eat for another day, he risked becoming very seriously dehydrated. We discussed the pros and cons of fully anesthetizing him versus attempting to deliver powerful anti-inflammatory medicines in a flying dart. We came up with various theories as to what happened to him – a fall, a blow to the face, snake or spider bite – but we would likely never know. We wondered if he had a broken or dislocated jaw, or lacerated tongue. We discussed the fact that Noel was good friends with Kongomani, who is a large black back, and also with Bukima, the silverback in the group. This meant that we would need to be very careful in our intervention. Basically, we tried to prepare for anything.

I drove to Goma on 2 January, so that we could begin our journey in the wee hours of the next morning. That night I went over and over in my head all of the possible scenarios, and how we might deal with them. Eventually I fell asleep, only to hear my alarm at 5am! Drs. Jacques, Eddy and Arthur picked me up at the hotel, and we drove the 1.5 hours to Rumangabo, then another hour over muddy, lava boulder roads to Bukima. Bukima is the tracker camp near the forest edge, and was our starting point to visit Noel’s group. There we met with the trackers and porters who accompanied us into the forest.

The campsite at Bukima.

As we walked along the edge of the forest I was haunted by the thought of what had happened here, in this very forest, only 3 years ago. Poor Noel has endured such horror and pain, and now this. I so hoped we could help him. We only had to walk about 30 minutes before the trackers let us know that the group was just inside the forest. We left the porters at the forest edge, and took one tracker with us to assess the situation. We passed the silverback, who was quietly monitoring the situation closely.

Bukima monitoring our work.

Then we saw Noel through the foliage, sitting with Kongomani. BOTH were eating! Noel was actually pulling leaves and pushing them deep into the right side of his mouth and CHEWING! We were so relieved! His lips were still quite swollen, but so much better! These animals are so very tough. Noel and Kongomani sat together for most of the hour we were there, eating and resting. At one point they laid down, and while Noel slept, Kongomani every so gently reached over and touched Noel’s swollen lip with his finger, like a father would a child. Then he settled down to rest a bit, and we quietly moved out of the forest to let them be. No intervention today – Yay!

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Noel looking better on 3 January 2010.

Dr. Jacques, 2 trackers, Dr. Eddy (with another tracker behind him) and me, feeling VERY relieved!

Just a short 30 minute walk through the fields back to Bukima. You can barely see Mikeno Volcano peaking over the trees.

Help the Gorilla Doctors.

When we conduct our annual physical examinations on the gorilla orphans, they are big enough now that in order to sedate them they must be injected with a flying dart.  Needless to say, they do not much appreciate this procedure, and they have long memories.  They remember not only what the darting equipment look like, and the sound of the CO2 as it pushes the dart down the barrel, they also remember exactly WHO sent the projectile into their hindquarters!  They learn to stay away from said person, especially when a dart barrel is visible. They learn to not present appropriate parts of their bodies, or to hide behind a caretaker or another gorilla.  This makes it increasingly difficult for us Gorilla Doctors to accurately send a dart into the animal in question!

Dr. Magda, Sandy and I decided to try to desensitize the gorilla orphans to the look and sound of the dart pistol.  The goal was to make the dart equipment (and shooter!) into something fun and interesting.   After all, we have all the annual examinations to complete in the next month or so.

Gorillas love raisins.  And they don’t often get them in their daily meals.  This was the perfect ammunition – something they only get during our friendly darting sessions.  Dr. Magda and Sandy headed to Kinigi for the first session, loaded with raisins and good will.

Dr. Magda prepared the darting equipment, loaded the barrel with yummy raisins, and headed out to greet the gorillas.  Remember that Pinga just had her annual examination a few weeks ago, and she was still quite unhappy with Dr. Magda and the darting equipment (even though her nose was MUCH better now!).  When the group saw the darting equipment there was initially much caution, with annoyed grunts directed at Dr. Magda.  Pinga was especially concerned, and kept a long distance between herself and Dr. Magda!

Everybody kept their distance at first!

The first shot caused some flinching and running, but curiosity got the best of several individuals when they noticed the raisins!  Ntabwoba was one of the first to come forward and reap the harvest!  Others followed his lead, except Pinga…

Over the course of the next 30 minutes most of the gorillas became accustomed to the look and sound of the raisins being fired into the enclosure.  Always a little flinching, but in the end, Ntabwoba even held out his hand to try to catch the raisins as they flew from the barrel!  Not a bad outcome!  Sandy even noted that this session was a wonderfully enriching experience for the group – their minds were very active, trying to figure out what this was all about!

Pinga stayed back though, which is not unexpected.  This was the first day of our attempt at reconciliation after all, and she was most recently the recipient of a flying dart.  But as we continue these sessions she will come to realize that it is not necessarily something to be concerned about when we Gorilla Doctors arrive with our equipment!

So why do we take the time for this type of activity?  Anything we can do to decrease the stress and anxiety of a medical examination is good – anesthesia is always best when the animal is as calm as possible.  The other important aspect is that when animals are distrustful, it may take over an hour to get an opportunity to send the flying dart to the appropriate animal.  An hour of everyone being upset, and an hour that could have been spent addressing the animal’s medical need.  So 30 minutes every other week doing this sort of activity with the gorilla orphans is not only fun for us, and for them, but is also an important exercise to make the next medical intervention go well.

Here are a couple of video clips showing the initial reactions, and then at the end of the session, the anticipation of a yummy treat when the raisins were fired into the yard!

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Help the Gorilla Doctors.

Last week I went to visit Kuryama group for a routine health check.  Kuryama is the son of Titus, and has proved to be a strong, benevolent ruler like his father.

Video of Kuryama.

The morning started at 5:30 – I had to pick up the trackers at 6:40 and it is about a 30 minute drive to the parking spot.  I had not been to this particular parking, so I wanted to get an early start to be sure I could find it!  It was 59 degrees as I started down the road toward Gisenyi just after sunrise.  I passed kilometers of small cultivated fields – fields that go all the way up and over the mountains.  There was a mist hanging between mountain ridges and everything felt fresh.

Fields up and over the hillsides.

The road was crowded with people walking.  Here in Rwanda everybody walks.  I saw women dressed in their beautiful colors, with babies on their backs, carrying water jugs or baskets filled to the brims with fruit and vegetables on their heads.  I saw five year olds with babies on their backs following there mothers.  There were people in starched white business shirts and pressed black pants, women in business dresses.  There were men with bags of potatoes piled on bicycles, and they labored as they pushed them up the steep hills of the roadside, or they were FLYING down the other side.  I saw a man with a table and 4 chairs on his head.  And hundreds of kids in their khaki or blue school clothes were walking to school.   This is morning in Rwanda.

I met the tracker and guards, parked the truck and immediately headed straight up the mountain.  We walked for 90 minutes, winding up through the fields where people were hard at work planting, cultivating and weeding.  As we ascended we passed some beautiful small homesteads.  It is the rainy season, so the fields are healthy, livestock is well fed; things are good.

Fields and farms on the way to the forest edge.

We finally came to the edge of the forest where there is a stone buffalo wall – it sometimes helps keep the forest buffalo out of the cultivated fields.  The edge of the forest is obvious for miles.

Forest boundary.

We climbed over the wall and immediately everything changed.  Sounds were more muted, the air was thick with the smells of vegetation, and was cooler under the canopy.  Birds were singing everywhere and within 5 minutes we could no longer hear any people sounds at all, other than our own footsteps and the intermittent discussions about the trail.  I was beat from the climb to the wall, but as soon as we entered the forest my energy returned.

Kuryama group was only 30 minutes into the forest down in a small ravine.  The vegetation was so thick that sometimes my foot fell through up to my thigh and had to be careful pulling my leg out so I didn’t lose my boot.  In this particular place the nettles were terrible – I don’t know how they can sting through rain pants and cargo pants, but they can!  At one point I accidently grabbed a thick nettle stem as I was falling – my hand was numb for almost a day…  I wonder if they bother the gorillas at all?

As we descended into a small ravine I smelled them.  Gorilla smell is so pungent and familiar.  Trackers had found the night nests, and we knew the group would be close.  Trackers followed the gorilla trails away from the nests, up and out of this ravine and then back down into another ravine.   Suddenly there they were – it sill amazes me how close we can be before we can actually see the gorillas!

Silverback night nest – looks cozy!

One of the trackers following the morning gorilla trail.

There was a group of 2 females along with their juveniles and infants, resting in a pile, playing and grooming.  It is difficult to capture the moment in words – I was standing in a lush green ravine, the air was clear and there is a cool breeze, I could hear the drone bees in the lobelia flowers, birds were flitting around and chirping constantly.  And gorillas were all around me grunting contentedly, moving past me almost as if I was not there.  I stood for a while just to take it all in.

A baby and her big brother sitting on mom.

Grooming is an important part of gorilla social bonding.

Kuryama himself, almost hidden by vegetation.

One of the other silverbacks in the group with a large handful of breakfast!

A baby keeping an eye on me!

One of the trackers helped me to identify all of the individuals in the group.  When we do our monthly health checks on each group we try to have a good long look at each gorilla in the group.  This was a good day – everybody was happy and healthy.

Theodette, a tracker and a gorilla, if you look carefully!

I left Theodette, one of the Karisoke research associates, to her observations, and reluctantly headed back down the mountain to attend to my other duties, but this morning with the gorillas will keep me fueled for days!

Help the Gorilla Doctors.

When I’m having a bad day I like to go watch the gorilla orphans we are caring for in Kinigi.  They were the first gorillas I saw after my arrival – while I was in “quarantine” I was able to watch them over the wall of their enclosure, since there was no risk of disease transmission that way.  That first day was magical for me, they are all so happy and healthy now.  They each have a tragic story that is unknown to us – they were confiscated, all as babies.  You can only imagine how they were obtained.  A gorilla mother and her group would not give up her baby willingly.

At Kinigi, we have 6 Grauer’s gorilla orphans (used to be called Eastern Lowland Gorillas) and 2 Mountain Gorilla orphans.  In Goma, DRC there are 2 Mountain gorilla and 3 Grauer’s gorilla orphans.  They are the lucky ones – they survived their early horrible ordeals, and now live comfortably with each other in a large enclosure, cared for by consistent caretakers who love them, provided with a wonderful diet including natural forest food, and provided with good medical care. That’s why I love watching them – they are active, playful, sneaky and funny, and they make me feel happy that we have been able to save their lives, and provide a safe haven for them as they learn to be gorillas again.

Here is a quick introduction to our Kinigi kids:

MAISHA means “life”.  She is a Mountain Gorilla, and was confiscated from poachers when she was roughly three years old in 2004. She and Pinga are oldest orphans, and Maisha is clearly the leader of the group.  She is one of 3 female Mountain Gorillas in human care. The other two are our orphans in Goma, DRC whose mothers were shot during  the gorilla murders there in 2007.

PINGA is a Grauer’s gorilla, also roughly eight years old.  She and Maisha are good friends.  Pinga loves food, and is usually the first and fasted to gather food when it is delivered!

NTABOWBA is a Grauer’s gorilla, roughly seven and a half years old.  He has a flare for mischief, and he regularly patrols the whole enclosure searching for ways to create his own exclusive objects of fun – which might include steeling key from his caretaker and initiating a chase!  His name means “fearless” and he loves to display toward his human visitors, but around Maisha and Pinga he is quite cautious.

KABOKO is roughly 6 years old, and is the only male Mountain gorilla anywhere in the world in human care.  He’s good friends with Ntabowba.  His name means “one missing an arm” – his right hand had to be amputated immediately after his confiscation due to a serious infection caused by a snare. But he gets along quite well and plays, climbs and wrestles just like all the others!

SERUFULI, named after a DRC Governor, is roughly six and a half years old and is another Grauer’s gorilla. She is a quiet, peaceful, beautiful young girl who gets along well with everyone.

ITERBERO, a roughly seven year old Grauer’s gorilla, is a delightful and playful young girl, who is a bit of a tomboy.  She enjoys rough and tumble play with Ntabwoba and Kaboko. Sandy Jones, the person who coordinates all orphan care, tells me she is a very intelligent gorilla – she surprised everyone with her ability for tool use. She developed a technique to crack nuts in the same skilful fashion that wild chimpanzee’s have been seen to demonstrate.

DUNIA is about five years old and is a happy little female Grauer’s gorilla. Although all the gorillas enjoy the enrichment items given to them, Dunia seems to appreciate them the most, sometimes playing for an hour or more with a specific object. While she’ll also play with the other gorillas, she and Tumani seem to have a special relationship.

TUMAINI is roughly three years old, is the youngest orphan in this group and is a real cutie-pie. Although she no longer constantly requests it, she is still provided with the much needed protection, support and comfort of her human caregivers.

Each orphan receives an annual examination, just like a human child.  When they are small that exercise is easy – the caretaker is able to hold the baby while a quick anesthetic injection is given.  When they are bigger, things become a little more complicated!    Yesterday Dr. Magda, Dr. Jean-Felix and I joined Sandy in Kinigi for Pinga’s annual exam.  Pings is big, very wise, and has strong opinions about injections, so there was no safe opportunity for a quick injection!   Pinga has been healthy for the past year, except for a chronic runny nose, only from the right nostril.  This has been off and on for some weeks, with a little more sneezing lately, so we were very interested to get a look in her nose.   We suspected she had what we call a “foreign body” in that nostril, since she had never been sick, but there were any number of other potential causes of this intermittent, chronic discharge.  We’d soon find out!

We set up our “clinic” in the kitchen of the orphan facility, and prepared to shoot a flying dart at Pinga, that was filled with anesthetic.  Easier said than done.  As soon as the group saw the dart pistol and pole they were on red alert, and somehow Pinga figured out that she was the object of our attention.  The gorillas are very tuned into body language.  There were many grunts and serious, suspicious looks as we tried to out maneuver and out wit our little girl.   Thirty minutes later, after much patience, Dr. Magda fired the pistol, successfully injecting the drug into Pinga’s leg.  It was interesting that as she moved off to go to sleep under the watchful eyes of the caregivers, the others immediately dropped their defensive postures and came right over to us to get treats, although all had an eye on Dr. Magda!

Once Pinga was fully asleep, the others were distracted with food and the caregivers carefully carried her out of the enclosure and onto our exam table.  Pinga was given a thorough physical examination, just like at the pediatrician’s office.  We looked into her eyes, ears and mouth. Counted her teeth.  Checked for injury.  Listened to her heart and lungs and palpated her abdomen.  She was given her annual TB test.  Blood was collected for all manner of tests.  She had already been given all her routine vaccines, so no further injections were necessary.  Then it was time to look in her nose.  We have an instrument that supplies light for looking into a small space, and oh my, there was a lot of white, gooey material way up in her nostril.  A culture swab was taken so we could find out what bacteria were causing the infection, and then we carefully inserted a hemostat into the nostril to see what we could find.  After only 3 tries a 1 inch stick was produced!   Poor Pinga!  This has been the cause of her discomfort, and she should feel MUCH better in a day or so.  It was a relief for us to find a simple solution to her minor medical condition.

Dr. Jean-Felix and Dr. Magdalena examining sedated Pinga

Dr. Magdalena doing the TB test on Pinga’s eyelid

Dr. Jean-Felix examining the nostril in question

The stick we pulled out of her nostril

We were done with Pinga’s exam after 40 minutes, and it was time to wake her up.  Caregivers carried her back into the enclosure while Sandy tried to distract the others with food.  But the return of Pinga proved to be too interesting, and the group left their treats to watch the proceedings as Pinga was placed into the night house for her recovery.  She woke up quickly, but stayed in the night house for a bit until caregivers felt she was completely back to normal behavior.   I’m anxious to see how quickly her nostril clears up.  I remember when my niece had a bead in her nostril when she was little – once it came out at the pediatrician’s office she had immediate relief!!!

All the orphans crowding around the night house to get a look at Pinga while she recovered.

Over the next several weeks we will be doing examinations on each of the other orphans.  They will receive TB tests, routine vaccinations and all the other monitoring required to be sure they continue to stay healthy and happy.

Help the Gorilla Doctors.

Many of you have heard about the silverback gorilla Titus. Born during Dian Fossey’s time he was orphaned when he was 4 years old. He survived though, and grew into a strong group leader, while at the same time calm and kind. He was deeply loved by all who knew him – trackers, researchers, veterinarians. The Saturday morning that I met Titus started out like what has become a normal Saturday for me – a day to catch up on paperwork, work in the garden, and relax a bit. Then I got a call mid morning from Veronica from Karisoke Research Station, that Ihumure, a 3.5 year old from Titus group, was reported by trackers to be moving very slowly, lagging behind the group, and not eating. Ihumure had lost his mother just a few months previously, but Titus had taken him under his wing, and until today Ihumure appeared to be thriving. I had visited 2 gorilla groups on routine health checks so far, but this was the first time for me to visit a group with a sick or injured individual, and the first time I’d gone out to the forest on my own. I was a little nervous, but mostly excited to be going on my first real “house call” as a Gorilla Doctor.

Preparations for going to the forest for a gorilla health check include loading the small backpack with rain-gear, camera, water, notebook and pen. A list of gorillas in the group, sterile vials to collect fresh feces, glasses, walking stick. Veronica told me where to meet the trackers – near the small town of Bisote. I drove the 25 minutes to the DFGFI (Dian Fossey Gorilla Foundation International) research house in Bisote to pick up my tracker and military escort (we always have a military escort when we go to the forest, more for protection if we encounter an aggressive forest buffalo than for human concerns…).

As I arrived I saw a group of soldiers and trackers standing outside the house. I got out of the truck and said in my broken French – “You take me to Titus group?” They just stared at me… so I said “TITUS GROUP” really loudly. I don’t know why I thought they would better understand me if I spoke loudly. One of the trackers said in English – “what?” So I said “TITUS” again, feeling a little foolish. Then he said smiled and said “TEETUS!!” Aha, I was pronouncing it wrong! I said “Oui, TEETUS!!!!” and smiled broadly. With that we were on our way in the Land Cruiser, over a terribly bumpy lava stone road, through tiny villages where people are used to seeing research and tourist trucks going past, but the kids still run out to see you, always smiling and either doing the “thumbs up” or shouting the now very common to me phrase – “Bonjour mzungu!!”. There were many women in very colorful cloths walking along the road, all with something on their heads – a sack of potatoes, baskets, big yellow water jugs – and most with a baby on their back and a toddler following in front or behind. Any child over 5 (and some smaller) were also toting water jugs, fire wood, or baskets as well. Men were making bricks, building houses, weaving rugs. I was heading up the volcano to meet Titus, and his young son Ihumure. Hoping that Ihumure’s illness or injury was not serious.

The tracker, Fundi, motioned for me to stop and park the truck in a small village down the road. We got out and started up the fields to the wall that marks the park boundary, but as I looked up I couldn’t see the wall. This didn’t bode well… Fundi and the military guards were practically jogging up the slope. I didn’t even try to stay at their pace – I had only been here 4 weeks and had not habituated to the altitude yet. There was one guard behind me who was very patient as I huffed and puffed up the slope. It was an hour walk to the wall for me. “Je m’excuse” I said constantly. “Je n’suis pas forte encore.” He told me didn’t speak much French or English. Only Kinyarwandan, Swahili and Arabic. I said I only speak English and a little French. Then we were quiet as my open mouth breathing subsided and the pounding in my ears slowed to a tolerable rate. The scenes around me were beautiful. At one point I almost stepped on a chameleon the size of my thumb. I stopped to pick him up and show the guard, and then I put him on a nearby bush. I wanted to take his picture, but we were on a mission. And I was slow enough as it was.

We finally made it to the forest wall where we put on our rain pants to protect us from the at least 3 species of nettles and thistle, and as a bio-security measure (we wash them when we get back each time, as well as our boots, to keep down the potential spread of pathogens from group to group). I asked how far into the forest before we find the group, and Fundi looked a little apologetic and said it was about an hour. I groan inwardly, wondering if it is one hour his time or mine…, but outwardly I smiled and said “Ok, let’s go!” Just when I really don’t think I can go much further we made it to the other trackers. Fundi talked rapidly with them in Kinyarwandan, gesturing here and there. Then he told me the gorilla group is resting down there, and he pointed down into a very steep, heavily vegetated ravine. I looked where he was pointing and saw a small black figure lying in the vegetation – it was Mushikirano (Rano), a silverback.

Silverback Rano

Fundi and I left the guards and other tracker at that point – we always approach the group with very few people in order to disturb the gorillas as little as possible. As we moved down the slope I learned to trust that the thick, matted vegetation would catch my feet so I won’t slide all the way down into the ravine with each step. We arrived at the spot where Titus and Ihumure, along with Segasira (another 3 year old) and Pato (a sub-adult male) were resting. Everyone looked peaceful except Ihumure. He had his eyes squeezed shut and was sleeping very, very soundly. The others were dozing, or grooming, or just resting while looking about. They were uninterested in our presence. The tracker told me in broken English that Ihumure looked very slow and weak this morning and that he was not eating much at all. That was the most alarming part of the report – these gorillas rely on plants for their water intake, and this little guy would get dehydrated quickly if he didn’t start eating soon. We watched them for about 45 minutes. At one point Titus looked me in the eye, and it took my breath away. His clear, brown, kind eyes were looking into mine. I was meeting a living legend and I felt very privileged. Ihumure began to move around and slowly pulled himself up and tried to groom Titus, but his hand just fell. His eyes had that unfocused look that we all get when we are in pain. He looked so pitiful – it broke my heart. I needed to get back to talk with Magdalena and Veronica so I looked up the slope, and this time I groaned out loud – Fundi laughed and said it was okay to go slowly. Thank goodness – I couldn’t have gone any other speed…I’ll be very happy once my body acclimates to this altitude.

Titus and Ihumure

I spoke to Magdalena and Veronica when I got back into cell phone range. We discussed our options, weighing the costs versus benefits of anesthetizing Ihumure for diagnostic and treatment procedures.  The group had recently had several interactions with some lone silverback gorillas – they were very tired and tense.  In fact, Titus had received a wound on his right wrist last week that we had monitored for 2 days before it appeared to be healing well.  Also, Titus is sticking very close to Ihumure.  Considering all this, we determined that trying to anesthetize Ihumure could be dangerous for the group.  It was possible that Ihumure had been injured in an interaction, and would improve with a little rest.  So we decided visit the group daily to monitor the situation.

Magdalena visited the group on Sunday, and found that Ihumure was ever so slightly better. She saw him eat 2 pieces of wild celery, and he groomed Titus almost normally. The group has not moved much, so he had been able to rest.   This was good news.

I went back up to evaluate Ihumure on Monday (I have to admit I was a little embarrassed at how slow I was probably going to have to go).   I paced myself pretty well, and was absolutely amazed at how much better I did this trip than on Saturday. Part of it was that I knew what I was in for and I went very slowly, but part of it is that my body is actually adjusting. I marveled at physiology as I trudged up the trail.

When we got to the ravine, Ihumure was again sleeping with Titus, but when he woke up his eyes were clearer, and his movements more controlled. The trackers told me he had eaten that morning with much more strength than previously. I was so pleased. I knew he was not out of the woods by any means, but he was moving in the right direction at that point, so I was relieved.  On the other hand, Titus still seemed pretty tired. He was resting more than expected, but we were all hoping he was just resting up from the last 2 weeks of interactions with lone silverbacks.

Ihumure sleeping next to Titus

Unfortunately we had been lulled into a false sense of encouragement.  Ihumure improved daily, but 2 days later we received the startling news that Titus appeared to be near death.  He did not leave his night nest and was only slightly alert.  He had appeared to be resting so comfortably with little Ihumure.  What had we missed?   I wracked my brain.  We again had many discussions between Magdalena, Jean-Felix, Veronica and I.  I learned that this seems to be how silverbacks fade away – very similar to Shinda’s death.   We determined that there was little we could do for Titus.   We prepared for the necropsy.   The mood was heavy at MGVP headquarters.

The next day Titus looked better, according to trackers. He was alert and eating. The group was rallying around him, and even better news was that Ihumure was MUCH better – even playing a bit with his brother. We allowed ourselves to be cautiously optimistic…

Two days later Titus died.  Normally we want to get the body as soon as possible for a thorough necropsy, to learn as much as we can about the cause of death, but in this case the group was extremely disrupted.  Ihumure stayed with Titus’s body for several hours, and would not eat.   Magdalena spent the day with the group doing observations – we were all very, very worried about Ihumure.   Titus had been his only ally.  Tuck, the old female who has been with Titus for years, along with her 3.5 year old son, were not found for several hours that morning, but came back to visit the body that afternoon.  Rano, Titus’s son and now group leader, was with the 2 blackbacks and one juvenile male of the group, and he seemed to be trying to move the group away from Titus, but they all kept circling back to Titus’s body.  Ihumure finally moved away from Titus’s body, but he appeared to be afraid of the male group, so he sat by himself. Tuck didn’t appear to be comfortable with Rano either, so she and her son stayed separate from the male group, but would not sit with Ihumure.  It was such a difficult time for these gorillas, and for the people who care for them.  We gave the group 2 days to grieve, watching Ihumure carefully.  He was weak, not eating well, but finally joined the male group.  Titus’s body was carefully wrapped in plastic and blankets, and carried down the volcano for a necropsy.  There are no words to truly express the feelings of loss that were palpable in this gorilla conservation community for the past several days.

Titus’ body at MGVP headquarters, he looks so small

The day of Titus’s necropsy was a very long day.  We found that the wound on his wrist was deeper than anyone thought.  But he was using the hand to walk, and to eat so there was no way for us to know.  Other than that, he was thin, but no obvious cause of death.  Unfortunately, it is not uncommon to find little in cases like this.  Tissues were placed in formalin and frozen, and will be brought back to our pathologist in the US for closer inspection.   Titus was buried near Dian Fossey up at the original Karisoke Research Station site.  It is beautiful there.

Titus’ burial at Dian Fossey’s grave

Titus’ grave

We didn’t have much time to grieve.  Ihumure continued to decline.  The situation was very difficult from a medical and ethical perspective. If we attempted to do a full intervention (anesthesia, sampling, fluid therapy, etc.) the group might leave the area – they were very unstable. If the group left during an anesthetic procedure, we might not be able to successfully get Ihumure back into the group once he recovered from anesthesia. If we chose not to do a full anesthesia, we may never know the cause of his weakness, and we still may lose him. After long discussions between all the gorilla doctors and Veronica from Karisoke, we decided to try the least invasive “shot gun” method of giving him a chance.  He was darted with antibiotic, antiparasitic and anti-inflammatory drugs.

Ihumure died the night after his father was buried.  His little body was brought to MGVP headquarters for a necropsy, and this time we found the cause of death.  He had severe trauma to the kidney and an intussusception of the bowel (one piece telescoped into another).  We could not have saved him.  It is good to get a diagnosis, and to know there was little we do, but so difficult to realize how much he suffered. We veterinarians deal with life and death regularly, but this has been an emotional time.

We buried him according to the protocol of a physical anthropologist who is studying the bones of Mountain Gorillas. He was laid in this little box in a very specific way so that the bones will be in anatomically correct position when they are retrieved in about a year. The box was filled with loose dirt, and he was buried at a specific depth to maximize natural cleaning of the bones. His grave was marked with rocks in the little graveyard at park headquarters and with GPS coordinates. This all seems very matter of fact.  But really, it seems fitting, and a way to honor Ihumure and his species. To learn as much as we can from his little body. To help us better understand Mountain Gorillas so that we can best protect them and their environment.

Immediately after we finished with this necropsy I took a family who is doing a story on MGVP to see the gorilla orphans in Kinigi. It was nice to see this group of healthy, content orphans, each of whom has a tragic story, displaying for our benefit, and for the sheer joy of displaying! Lifted my spirits. More about them soon.

Help the Gorilla Doctors.