The four gorillas, which were transferred to the Limbe Wildlife Centre (LWC) in December 2007, have spent the last five months in quarantine. During this time all of the gorillas have adapted well to their new diet and living conditions. There have been no medical problems to report other than a recurrence of fungal skin lesions in Izan, Abbey and Tinu, lesions that were present during their time in Pretoria and for which treatment is ongoing. The quarantine period has been longer than the anticipated three months due to the arrival, in late December 2007, of an 8 month old female gorilla, Bolo, who, after being hand-reared for three months, was introduced to a ‘foster mother’ female in the resident gorilla group. This introduction took place in one of the available rooms in the night house that were to be used for the T4 introduction and so it was decided that the transfer of the T4 should be delayed while the fostering process was in its early stages.

Due to this the transfer of the T4 out of quarantine to the gorilla enclosure night house was delayed by two months. However on April 24th 2008 all four gorillas were sedated and were successfully moved to their new enclosure.

The four gorillas are now occupying the ‘gorilla annex’ (built with an IFAW fund back in 2005) and as such are in sight, sound and smell of the resident gorillas, from which they will remain physically separated for some time. Once the keeping staff are satisfied that all of the gorillas have settled down from the excitement of seeing new enclosure mates arrive we can begin the slow process of gradual introductions, whereby individuals from the T4 and the resident gorilla group are selected to meet one another in the safety of the night house. With time all of the resident gorillas will be given a chance to meet each of the T4 in varying combinations, until we are satisfied that the potential for aggression is low. At this point we can begin letting the T4 in to the outside enclosure.

The introduction process will be long and complicated and ultimately will be driven by the responses of the gorillas themselves, however it is hoped that within a few months the T4 will be fully integrated with the resident group.

We will keep you updated on the progress.

I would also like to thank our long term supporters Pro-Wildlife in Germany who have kindly committed to help with the care costs of the infant ‘Bolo’. Many many thanks from all at the LWC for this continued support.

Felix Lankester
Project Manager

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