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The Great Apes
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Camera trap pic of a Grauer gorilla Silverback and some juveniles. Taken in Congo. Credits to Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund.
 *This image is copyright of its original author
An interesting look inside:
 *This image is copyright of its original author
Wow! I wonder what he would look like after a cycle of steroids and a few months of intense weight training....
From the Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund Blog,
Legendary Silverback Cantsbee Missing: On Monday, Oct. 10, Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund trackers reported that silverback Cantsbee was not in his group when they arrived for daily monitoring. Since he is elderly and the group has been traveling a lot, it was possible that he had been left behind, so on Tuesday our trackers spent the day looking for him or for his traces, but nothing was found. Several teams are now conducting extensive and wider searches every day since then but have not found evidence of his whereabouts or condition. However, this week our trackers report that his group had begun to subgroup, and that some of the adults were not being seen with the group at various times. Staff feels this clearly reflects their reaction to Cantsbee’s disappearance. At almost 38 years old, which is beyond the average life expectancy for mountain gorillas, Cantsbee is the last of the silverbacks originally observed by Dian Fossey and also holds the record for the longest reign of dominance, taking over his group from the late silverback Pablo in 1995. His group is still called Pablo’s group today, but for the past year has been largely led by his son, Gicurasi. “The disappearance of Cantsbee will have a big impact on Pablo’s group and consequently on the organization of all activities at our Karisoke Research Center,” says the Fossey Fund’s Rwanda director Felix Ndagijimana. latest-photo-of-group-without-cantsbee“We expect to see sub-grouping in the group as a response to new leadership. Our current teams are on standby to follow and monitor any new group or sub-group that will be formed, and in the long-term we may need to hire new field staff to be able to fully handle coverage of all the gorilla groups we monitor and protect.”  *This image is copyright of its original author “We are very disappointed that we have not found Cantsbee yet, despite the massive searching effort. He is so legendary and charismatic, so we really want to know what has happened to him,” adds Veronica Vecellio, gorilla program manager at the Fossey Fund’s Karisoke Research Center in Rwanda. “It is so hard on our team any time a gorilla is lost but Cantsbee is such a legend within Karisoke, it is really heartbreaking to not know where he is and if he is OK.” A closely observed life After being followed since birth by Dian Fossey and succeeding staff of the Fossey Fund, stories about Cantsbee and his group are many. Along with being a strong leader for so many years, Cantsbee is known to many as an active and responsible father, siring more than 30 offspring over the years. Even the way he got his name is legendary and happened when Dian Fossey observed his birth, to a gorilla she had previously thought was a male! She said “It can’t be” and the name turned into Cantsbee. “One of my favorite stories about Cantsbee was one told to me by a research assistant,” says Fossey Fund President & CEO/Chief Scientific Officer Tara Stoinski, Ph.D. “One day, Cantsbee was being uncharacteristically aggressive and grunting at every infant gorilla who approached him. After the infants had avoided him and move away, he finally got up and left. The assistant was able to see he was sitting next to a snare, and her impression was that he was protecting the infants from it,” Stoinski says. Search will continue The Fossey Fund is adding extra teams and working with national park management to continue searching for Cantsbee and monitoring the members of his group and subgroups. When an important silverback is lost, there are always many changes to observe and study.“As expected we are observing changes in Pablo’s group, starting with the emigration of two young silverbacks who were previously supported by Cantsbee, as well as this subgrouping,” says Winnie Eckardt, Ph.D., research manager at Karisoke. “We hope that some silverbacks remain with Gicurasi to form a strong team in protecting Pablo’s group from threats, such as attacks from lone silverbacks and interactions with neighboring groups.” The Fossey Fund has nearly 50 years of studying gorillas, and learning about how they respond to such significant changes in their lives is a key factor in our work. We will continue to closely monitor and report on any changes in the group’s dynamics. Staff hopes that silverback Gicurasi will be able to keep the group together, but only time will tell if he has the same charisma as his legendary father, Cantsbee.
From Gorilla Doctors, Baby in Mapuwa Group Rescued From Snare: By Dr. Eddy Kambale.
We received a call from the Chief Warden in Virunga National Park, Democratic Republic of Congo on October 2 after an ensnared baby was seen in the Mapuwa group during routine monitoring by rangers and trackers. The Mapuwa group consists of 22 gorillas, including 3 silverbacks (Mapuwa, Mvuyekure and Mambo), 1 blackback (Gourba), 6 adult females, 2 sub-adult males, 5 juveniles, and 5 babies. During the visit, the rangers heard 3-year old Ndisetse crying and saw that he was falling behind the group. He had a large wire snare on his right hand. The rangers decided to cut the wire snare, but despite the 3 silverbacks being far away, they were not able to remove it from the hand, as Kanepo, Ndisetse’s mother, was watching them.  *This image is copyright of its original author The next day, the Gorilla Doctors team (me and Dr. Martin) accompanied by 4 rangers, 3 porters, and 4 trackers, entered the forest. After one-and-a-half hours of trekking, we reached the group around 2 p.m. Ndisetse was still screaming, just as it was described in the reports from the previous day. He stayed near the silverback Mvuyekure, and was not using the injured arm. Kanepo also remained near, and would occasionally carry him on her back. As the mother stayed so close to Ndisetse, we decided that it was necessary to dart the mother as well as the baby at the same time. Unfortunately it did not work that way, as both CO2-powered pistols malfunctioned (one was over-pressurizing and the second was leaking). In the end we managed to work with the over-pressurizing gun to dart the baby. We had another dart ready for the mother in case she came to pick up the anesthetized baby.  *This image is copyright of its original author We darted Ndisetse, he let out a short cry, and Kanepo moved into the bush to hide. For the same reason, the silverback Mvuyekure came charging and stood near the baby: so we could not approach Ndisetse while he was already anesthetized. We were happy when we managed to move the silverback strategically away from the baby, but unfortunately mother Kanepo came to pick him up. When she realized that the baby was not holding on as he would normally, she dropped him, which allowed us to get to Ndisetse to cut off the snare. The snare wire was very thick and tight, and it took us more than five minutes to remove. The fingers were bound very tightly together, compromising the circulation to the fingertips – which can result in necrotized fingers if the intervention is delayed.  *This image is copyright of its original author We darted Ndisetse, he let out a short cry, and Kanepo moved into the bush to hide. For the same reason, the silverback Mvuyekure came charging and stood near the baby: so we could not approach Ndisetse while he was already anesthetized. We were happy when we managed to move the silverback strategically away from the baby, but unfortunately mother Kanepo came to pick him up. When she realized that the baby was not holding on as he would normally, she dropped him, which allowed us to get to Ndisetse to cut off the snare. The snare wire was very thick and tight, and it took us more than five minutes to remove. The fingers were bound very tightly together, compromising the circulation to the fingertips – which can result in necrotized fingers if the intervention is delayed.  *This image is copyright of its original author The silverback Mvuyekure has a special story of his own: He was poached as a baby but rescued by the Chief Warden. Fortunately, rangers and trackers remembered the group where he was from and they decided to reintroduce him into the group on the same day. They did so very successfully: now he is the dominant silverback managing 22 gorillas, including little Ndisetse.
Credits to Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund.
Don't tell me it has never happened to you...
Credits to Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund.
4-year-old Icyororo sleeping on the back of his father Isabukuru.  *This image is copyright of its original author
Silverback Chimanuka, credits to Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund International.
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Silverback Mpungwe, credits to Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund International.
 *This image is copyright of its original author
Credits to Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund International.
Intergroup encounters allow females to assess potential mates and provide opportunities for transferring groups.  *This image is copyright of its original author
Silverback Guhinga, dominant Silverback of the Amahoro group. Credits to J Materese Nature Photography.
 *This image is copyright of its original author
Photo and information credits: Burrard-Lucas Photography
"An impressive silverback Western Lowland Gorilla photographed in the dense rainforest of the Republic of Congo."  *This image is copyright of its original author
Credits to Nelis Wolmarans.
I have just completed a most memorable two-day Mountain Gorilla photo safaris for ORYX Worldwide Photographic Expeditions. My clients and myself were treated to some of the most amazing sightings and photographic opportunities of these majestic primates, from two month old infants to enormous Silverbacks.  *This image is copyright of its original author  *This image is copyright of its original author  *This image is copyright of its original author  *This image is copyright of its original author  *This image is copyright of its original author  *This image is copyright of its original author  *This image is copyright of its original author  *This image is copyright of its original author  *This image is copyright of its original author  *This image is copyright of its original author  *This image is copyright of its original author  *This image is copyright of its original author Click on it to play. |
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