All of the gorillas at the LWC are in constant need of food, enrichment and care. Life in captivity can be crushingly dull, and bored wild animals will often develop psychological problems that impact on their physical health, and it is our responsibility to try to provide a stimulating environment that enables them to display their natural behaviour, free from stress, pain and hunger. One of the things that we strive to do is to provide as natural a diet as possible that is nutritionally healthy and also stimulates the gorillas.

Aframomum is a member of the ginger family of plants and is a favourite food of wild gorillas, plus, it has been suggested, Aframomum contains natural anti-inflammatory compounds that could be crucial to the health of wild gorillas. As such we make thrice weekly excursions to the nearby Mount Cameroon to harvest Aframomum. These 4 hour round trips, which are a great drain on our financial and employee resources, pound our vehicles as the roads are terrible and our vehicles old. However, when you see the enthusiasm with which all the gorillas run out of the night house in the morning to grab huge armfulls of aframomum, it is very clear that these foraging excursions are really worth the effort .

The cost of each of the trips is approx. $50 which, as we have to go three times a week, is a great expense for the project. So, we would like to appeal to our readers for help. I can guarantee that any contributions to this nutritional cause will be most appreciated by the gorillas.

I shall take some photos of the Aframomum to post so that you can see the harvest and the plant being eaten.

Felix Lankester
Project Manager

help us and share this