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The Great Apes
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Credits to Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund.
Remembrances of silverback Cantsbee: Legendary mountain gorilla silverback Cantsbee disappeared from his group in late February after showing signs of weakness. Despite massive searches by Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund staff, no trace of him was found. But on May 12, Fossey Fund trackers spotted a partially decomposed gorilla body in a river while on their daily patrols, and arranged for its removal and transport. Examination of the body and especially of the teeth have led Fossey Fund staff to conclude that this is the body of Cantsbee, although genetic analysis will still take place for final verification. Cantsbee was 38 years old at the time of his death, past the general life expectancy for mountain gorillas. He was first seen – at birth — by Dian Fossey and has been observed throughout his life by succeeding staff of the Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund. Cantsbee broke a lot of records during his life, including leading the largest group of gorillas ever observed, remaining dominant for the longest reign ever recorded, and siring the most offspring. But in addition to these feats, Cantsbee is most known for his unique personality and behaviors, his strong relationships with other gorillas, and the respect shown by other gorillas for his leadership. Luckily, his genes and his influence will be felt for many more years in the gorillas of his group, says Fossey Fund gorilla program manager Veronica Vecellio. The group has since been taken over by his son, Gicurasi. Silverback Cantsbee  *This image is copyright of its original author A charismatic, strong but gentle leader Cantsbee actually helped raise son Gicurasi, whose mother left the group while he was still young. “We saw him constantly grooming and playing with Gicurasi,” says Fossey Fund field data coordinator Francois Xavier Ndungutse (Conseiller), who has held this position with the Fossey Fund since 2004. “Cantsbee was caring and gentle to other gorillas, as well as to us human observers,” he adds. “He was a protective gorilla but he rarely entered fights, often protecting the females while another silverback was fighting. He was a real commander!” Cantsbee’s son Gicurasi  *This image is copyright of its original author Research assistant Didier Abavandimwe says: “I’ve known Cantsbee since 2009 and he rarely initiated conflicts. On the contrary, he used to end conflicts and was very peaceful. I was impressed by his long tenure as a dominant silverback in such a large group. He was an indisputable leader.” Gorilla protection and monitoring officer Jean Pierre “Samedi” Mucyo recalls one episode in 2013, when Cantsbee broke up a fight between two other silverbacks. “I will never forget the day – Aug. 14, 2013,” he says. “When the two younger silverbacks were fighting, Cantsbee made it clear that the fight had to stop, without making any sound or antagonistic behavior. The youngest silverback then laid down with his face on the ground, as if asking for forgiveness. I’ve never see such a reaction to other gorillas – the authority of Cantsbee was amazing.” We learned much from him “Cantsbee will stay in our minds as one of the greatest protectors, leaders, fathers and teachers for his family, and also for us,” says Dr. Winnie Eckardt, Fossey Fund research manager in Rwanda. “He taught us about many extremes in gorilla life, such as that a group can hold 65 gorillas and be led by the same dominant silverback for 20 years!” Dr. Jordi Galbany, research associate from the George Washington University, says he was surprised at Cantsbee’s activities in his elder years. “In these last years, Cantsbee surprised me a lot, because he demonstrated that he was still very strong, moving fast and often in the high-elevation areas.” “We started learning from Cantsbee when Dian Fossey recorded his birth in 1978,” says Fossey Fund president and CEO/chief scientific officer, Dr. Tara Stoinski. “Cantsbee has been monitored and studied throughout his entire life and his legacy will live on among the gorillas, among all of us, and in the many important research studies that include him and his group over the years. I am grateful to all of our trackers, researchers and others who have protected and studied Cantsbee all these years. He touched all of our lives in the most wonderful way.” An early photo of Cantsbee from the Fossey Fund archives  *This image is copyright of its original author
Credits to Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund.
New gorilla group forms as historic group evolves: Following the disappearance of elderly silverback leader Cantsbee earlier this year, and whose death was confirmed in mid May, his group has undergone some significant changes. Historically, it was the largest of the known groups of mountain gorillas ever, once reaching a high of 65 members and has been followed by the Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund since its formation in 1993. With Cantsbee gone, the group, named after former leader Pablo, had 32 members. And now, just a few months later, the group has split into two, with one of the younger silverbacks – 18-year-old Kureba — leading a “new” group of his own. Twenty-two-year-old silverback Gicurasi, who took over from Cantsbee, still leads the remaining members of the original group, which is now at its lowest level of 23, though this is still quite a large group. Silverback Kureba.  *This image is copyright of its original author Silverback Kureba’s new group also include younger silverback Ishavu, female Mudakama with two offspring, and female Ishyaka with her infant. As is common when groups change this much, there were some initial difficulties during the first few weeks of the new group’s formation. Initially, Mudakama and her two offspring, who are 7 and 4 years old, got separated and traveled on their own for three weeks. Kureba’s new group on June 14th, 2017  *This image is copyright of its original author At that point, our trackers were surprised to see Kureba leave the rest of his newly created group and reappear a few days later with Mudakama and her two offspring! It seems that he went looking for them and was able to bring them back to his new group. Fossey Fund trackers are now monitoring Kureba’s group daily, in addition to the 8 other groups we currently monitor. However, it is not yet clear whether this will be a permanent split or whether they may one day reunite with the larger Pablo group. At this time, the two groups are quite some distance apart, so this may help lead to their full independence. When groups split or form like this, the Fossey Fund always faces a logistical challenge, re-arranging our tracking staff so that all the groups and even the separated individuals are followed daily.
Credits to Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund.
Remembering silverback Giraneza: Silverback Giraneza died on May 12, 2017, after an interesting, challenging and rather aggressive life. He was born in 1994 in the historic Pablo’s group, which became the largest mountain gorilla group every recorded. He was followed by the Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund throughout most of his life, though he spent some years as a lone silverback and was not regularly monitored during those times. Giraneza seemed to have inherited his strong temperament from silverback Pablo, who we now know was his father, based on genetic analysis. They had a strong bond and were always on the front line when facing outside “opponents.” Pablo kept his fighter’s attitude until his death in 2008, when he disappeared from the group to interact with another silverback, followed by faithful Giraneza. Evidence showed that there was a deadly fight between Pablo and Inshuti, to which Pablo succumbed and which left Inshuti alive but severely injured. Giraneza went back to Pablo’s group but within the month he left and became a lone silverback. During his solitary life, Giraneza interacted with established groups a number of times, trying to form his own group. He finally succeeded in 2012, but that group lasted less than two years and Giraneza was once again solitary. In October 2014, he engaged in a severe fight with Bwenge’s group (leading to Bwenge’s death) and then in March 2015 with Ugenda’s group (after which Ugenda died). In August 2015, Giraneza interacted with Gushimira’s group, again with deadly effects to the other silverback, and finally gained the females needed to form a stable though small group. Two of his females later gave birth, though the third female transferred out in April 2017. In early May 2017, Giraneza fell ill and his two females were left unprotected, each with a young infant. One female transferred to another group, while the other is still traveling alone with her infant (and followed every day by our trackers). Giraneza’s condition deteriorated until his death on May 12.  *This image is copyright of its original author
Credits to Daryl Balfour.
Silverback Agashya with some members of his group.  *This image is copyright of its original author
Credits to Gorilla Doctors.
Sabyinyo group welcomed a new addition last week when Karema gave birth to a new baby mountain gorilla! Dr. Noel visited the group to check the health of the newborn and Sabyinyo group’s other 17 members and reports that everyone is in good health. The gorillas were calm and feeding in the Mararo area of Volcanoes National Park during Dr. Noel’s visit. Old Silverback Guhonda  *This image is copyright of its original author youngsters Icyemezo and Ubusabane playing.  *This image is copyright of its original author New mother Karema.  *This image is copyright of its original author Silverback Gihishamwotsi  *This image is copyright of its original author Sabyinyo group members resting and playing.  *This image is copyright of its original author
Credits to Gorilla Doctors.
Last week, Dr. Eddy traveled to the Bukima patrol post to assess the habituated mountain gorilla groups in this remote area of Virunga National Park. He visited Munyaga group’s 9 individuals first and reports that the 3 silverbacks, 2 adult females and 4 youngsters were on the move in search of Galium, but everyone was in good visual health. The following day, he visited Nyakamwe group’s 12 members. This group is comprised of 2 silverbacks, 1 blackback, 3 adult females, 3 juveniles and 3 infants. Rangers have reported that young silverback Matembela has been challenging the dominant silverback, Nyakamwe, and multiple group members had minor wounds from the interactions. Dr. Eddy and the team of trackers also observed elephants near the group during this health check, and he reports that the group members were a bit on edge and moving through the forest to try to avoid them. Despite the minor wounds, all group members were in good general health. Silverback Nyakamwe.  *This image is copyright of its original author Silverback Gasore - Munyaga group  *This image is copyright of its original author Silverback Nyakamwe resting in shade w Gato, Magori and their babies.  *This image is copyright of its original author Blackback Semakuba - Nyakamwe group  *This image is copyright of its original author Adult females Gato and Magori with her baby, resting in the shade - Nyakamwe group  *This image is copyright of its original author Silverback Kadogo - Munyaga group  *This image is copyright of its original author Adult female Bilali feeding on urera plant - Munyaga group  *This image is copyright of its original author Silverback Mawazo resting with Nyabigoro - Munyaga group.  *This image is copyright of its original author Silverback Mawazo feeding on gallium - Munyaga group.  *This image is copyright of its original author
Credits to Gorilla Doctors.
Munyinya, the lead silverback in Hirwa group, has been feeling a bit under the weather these last few days. Dr. Noel trekked to the group to check on him and didn’t find any obvious signs of injury or illness, though he reports that the silverback was frequently resting and walking abnormally slow, especially as the group traveled downhill. He suspects that Munyinya may be suffering from a gastrointestinal disorder (tummy ache) and will revisit the group this week to check on him again.  *This image is copyright of its original author
Credits to Gorilla Doctors.
Good news! Dr. Gaspard trekked to Hirwa group yesterday to check on silverback Munyinya and reports that the group leader appears much improved. He and his group members were feeding throughout the observation and Munyinya looked bright, active and strong.  *This image is copyright of its original author
Credits to Gorilla Doctors.
Kadogo, a subadult male in Bitukura group in Bwindi Impenetrable National Park, was bitten by silverback Mugisha when the two males fought on August 16th. UWA trackers reported that the wound bled profusely and the 10-year-old mountain gorilla didn’t move for a long time after the fight. His group members left him behind but ranged closeby in the Hakamimanyi area of the forest. Dr. Fred trekked to the group the following morning to assess Kadogo’s wound and found Kadogo back with his group, moving with silverbacks Rukumu and Karamuzi. Dr. Fred reports that the bite wound was severe but clean and Kadogo was able to bear weight on the affected limb and continually cleaned the wound during rest time. Our Uganda Field Vets will reassess Kadogo’s wound in 3 days and intervene to administer medical treatment if necessary.  *This image is copyright of its original author
Credits to Gorilla Doctors.
The Lulengo and Rugendo mountain gorilla families in Virunga National Park were recently visited by Drs. Eddy and Martin for health assessments. In Rugendo group, silverbacks Bukima and Baseka both had minor wounds (likely from an earlier interaction) but were not in need of medical intervention. Adult female Bagambe and silverback Bukima in Rugendo group.  *This image is copyright of its original author Bagambe's baby in Rugendo group.  *This image is copyright of its original author Adult female Bagambe and Sub adult Buzara playing in Rugendo group.  *This image is copyright of its original author Mayani resting in Rugendo group.  *This image is copyright of its original author In Lulengo group, the gorillas were busy feeding on Acanthus flowers during the visual exam, and all of the group members appeared to be in good health. Silverback Lulengo.  *This image is copyright of its original author  *This image is copyright of its original author Adult female Bagambe and Sub adult Buzara in Lulengo group.  *This image is copyright of its original author Juvenile Bazirushaka in Lulengo group.  *This image is copyright of its original author A baby in Lulengo group.  *This image is copyright of its original author
Credits to Virunga National Park.
SILVERBACK BUKIMA DISPLAYS STUNNING LEVEL OF INTELLIGENCE: Ensnared Mayani (center) was sandwiched between sub-adult Buzara and dominant silverback Bukima when the team arrived. The snare can be seen on Mayani’s left hand. The tail of the snare is draped over Buzara’s back.  *This image is copyright of its original author Gorilla Doctors Eddy Kambale and Martin Kabuyaya are no strangers to mountain gorilla intelligence, but what happened during a recent intervention left them in complete awe. Responding to a call from Southern Sector Warden, Innocent Mburanumwe, the Gorilla Doctors and a team of Virunga rangers headed up to Bukima to locate the Rugendo group and remove a deadly snare from the arm of young Mayani. Performing a procedure on a young gorilla is always challenging because the natural instinct of the family — especially the silverbacks — is to protect the young. Because the Rugendo group has three silverbacks and a blackback on the cusp of full maturity, this intervention had the distinct possibility of becoming difficult and dangerous. As expected, several of the silverbacks charged the team in an attempt to protect Mayani from the perceived threat. What transpired next, though, left everyone stunned. The dominant silverback of the group, Bukima, began chasing the others away from the Gorilla Doctors. Bukima then proceeded to maintain a safe perimeter for Dr. Eddy as he worked to remove the snare. Bukima clearly knew that Dr. Eddy and the rangers were there to help. And, he also knew that as the leader of the group, it was his job to manage the situation. Silverback Bukima helps protect Dr. Eddy Kambale as he waits for Mayani’s anaesthesia to take full effect.  *This image is copyright of its original author Mayani with silverback Bukima after the snare was removed. Mayani’s wound is healing and he is expected to make a full recovery.  *This image is copyright of its original author In the words of Dr. Eddy Kambale, “it was truly an amazing intervention”. We couldn’t agree more.
Credits to Gorilla Doctors.
Dr. Gaspard checked up on the twenty-two mountain gorillas in Agashya group this week in Volcanoes National Park and found the family feeding on Carduus in the bright morning sunshine. The group was calm and all of the gorillas were in good visual health, though blackback Ingabo has a broken canine tooth and had some trouble feeding. Fortunately, there weren’t any signs of infection and he appeared strong and had a healthy appetite. Ingabo is a tough guy though, having overcome both a serious wound from a poacher’s snare in 2012 and also being abandoned by his mother at a young age. Dr. Gaspard will continue to monitor the blackback to make sure his gums surrounding the broken tooth do not become infected. Blackback Ingabo  *This image is copyright of its original author Infants in Agashya group.  *This image is copyright of its original author Adult female Turiho's baby snoozing in the sunshine.  *This image is copyright of its original author Silverback Agashya  *This image is copyright of its original author Blackback Dusangire  *This image is copyright of its original author Ingabo feeding.  *This image is copyright of its original author Blackback Gasozikeza  *This image is copyright of its original author
Credits to Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund.
Mafunzo's group, formed by the young Silverback Mafunzo in January, 2014.  *This image is copyright of its original author
Credits to Gorilla Doctors.
The ten mountain gorillas in Virunga National Park’s Humba group were engaged in a thorough grooming session during Dr. Martin’s recent health check. Our DRC Field Vet reports that the adult females were grooming each other and their infants while they sat piled around dominant silverback Humba and everyone was in good visual health. Dominant silverback Humba with his family.  *This image is copyright of its original author  *This image is copyright of its original author Adult females in Humba group with their infants.  *This image is copyright of its original author  *This image is copyright of its original author Silverback Mahindure of Humba group  *This image is copyright of its original author Group members following silverback Humba.  *This image is copyright of its original author While in this area of the Park, Dr. Martin also checked on Kabirizi group. It took three hours of trekking to reach the group and the field team found the group split with 10 gorillas resting with the old silverback Kabirizi and the remaining 5 group members resting with silverback Masibo. Dr. Martin reports that all group members were in good health, though blackback Kuibesha did have some superficial wounds on his arms. Kabirizi group's Kuibesha resting.  *This image is copyright of its original author Kabirizi group blackback watching the field team.  *This image is copyright of its original author Silverback Masibo with a baby in Kabirizi group.  *This image is copyright of its original author Adult females in Kabirizi group resting.  *This image is copyright of its original author Kabirizi group members resting.  *This image is copyright of its original author  *This image is copyright of its original author
Credits to Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund.
Studying Grauer’s gorilla behaviors: Submitted by Amy Porter, Fossey Fund researcher, Democratic Republic of Congo. Grauer’s gorillas, located only in the Democratic Republic of Congo, are among the world’s most-endangered primates and have suffered dramatic losses in recent decades, up to about 80 percent. The Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund is working to help Grauer’s gorillas in two areas of Congo. One area is a remote forest area where the gorillas have received no prior protection and are now being followed remotely by our trackers. This means the gorillas are not seeing the trackers, who are following at one-day’s distance and collecting information using footprints, night nests, food remains and other markers of the gorillas’ movements. However, in Congo’s Kahuzi-Biega National Park, in collaboration with the Congolese park authorities (ICCN), the Fossey Fund is collecting direct behavioral data on three groups of Grauer’s gorillas that are habituated to the presence of human observers, like the mountain gorilla groups we monitor in Rwanda. The three groups, called Chimanuka, Mpungwe, and Bonane, are named after the dominant silverback in each group, and we are learning a lot of interesting things about them. Silverback Mpungwe  *This image is copyright of its original author Watching a new group form Two of these groups – Chimanuka and Mpungwe – have been followed for some time by ICCN rangers and by Fossey Fund researchers, but the Bonane group just formed in May of last year, when two females – Mukono and Iragi – a mother-daughter pair, transferred from the Chimanuka group during an interaction with Bonane. One week after Chimanuka and Bonane’s interaction, Bonane interacted with another silverback, Mufansala, and Mukono transferred to Mufansala while Iragi remained with Bonane. Mukono remained with Mufansala for four months but then returned to Bonane, with whom she resides today. Over the last year, two more adult females have joined Bonane and one of them, Siri, was also once a member of Chimanuka’s group. Between August 25-27, the first infant was born in Bonane’s group to mother Siri. Siri was once a member of the Chimanuka group but emigrated from his group shortly after her 1-month-old infant died last year. The Fossey Fund team and ICCN rangers located Siri with Bonane in March.  *This image is copyright of its original author Why females transfer groups Female gorillas may change groups several times in their lifetime, seeking to remain with the silverback they believe will be the best protector. Silverbacks play a critical role in protecting the group, especially females and their infants from infanticide (the killing of infants), a common reproductive strategy among gorillas. Interactions between groups or with a solitary silverback provide opportunities for females to assess the quality of silverbacks (such as their health, strength, stamina) and make decisions about which male they want to stay with. If a female decides to leave a group, it is typically during an interaction. Females almost never travel alone and they very rarely travel without a silverback. Documenting behaviors One of the many benefits of our constant monitoring efforts with the gorillas is that we occasionally get to observe and document rare behaviors. In July, we observed Bonane’s four females abandoning him three times, traveling more than 500 meters away from him for 1-3 days. During each separation, Bonane remained alone while the four females remained together as a cohesive unit and they were not observed traveling with any other male. Each time Bonane and the four females reunited, Bonane made hooting vocalizations and chest beat throughout the day (common behaviors following an encounter with another group and/or solitary silverback). After the first separation, which lasted three days, we observed Bonane copulating with Mukono shortly after the females returned together. We are not sure what triggered the females’ departures. One week before the first separation, there was an aggressive interaction between Bonane and Chimanuka. Bonane suffered many wounds, including gashes around his eye, along his neck and shoulder, across his back, and all over his hands and feet. Large chunks of hair were ripped from his hands and feet and he had a fairly deep puncture wound on the inside of his right ankle. Chimanuka on the other hand, barely had a scratch on him. Silverback Bonane with wounds from interaction  *This image is copyright of its original author If the females were looking to transfer groups, we expect they would have transferred during the encounter with Chimanuka or shortly thereafter. Instead, all four females remained with Bonane and there was no sign of their intention of leaving during our observations over the week following the interaction or immediately before the departures. None of the females had an infant so there was no risk of infanticide while traveling without a silverback but this does not explain why they left. For two weeks after the interaction with Chimanuka, Bonane frequently attended to his wounds by licking them and resting. It is possible the females left Bonane behind to rest while they continued to search for food. This is the time of year that Grauer’s gorillas tend to increase their daily travel distance in search of fruit trees that are widely scattered throughout the forest. But this still does not explain why they remained separated for up to three days. Furthermore, when we observed the females without Bonane, they were frequently foraging on leaves and bark from species found in abundance around Bonane’s resting spots. The Dian Fossey Fund team has studied gorilla behavior for 50 years and yet we are still reminded that their lives are full of mysteries. |
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