Archive for the ‘Gorilla’ Category
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
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
The time has now come to start the introductions of the Taiping Four gorillas to the resident group of gorillas at the LWC. For the past 3 months, since their arrival from South Africa, they have lived in the quarantine area of the project in a moderate sized great ape cage. However, now that they have passed successfully through quarantine they can be moved to the large open gorilla enclosure, with its 2500m2 outdoor area and 7 chamber night house. The move is going to be a very difficult and tense period for all of the gorillas and the staff as, like in any introduction, one can not be certain of what will happen. We hope, of course, that there will be no fighting or injuries and that all will go smoothly, however, as we are trying to introduce 4 sub-adult gorillas in to a stable group of 11 (sub-) adult and juvenile gorillas, we have to expect some serious clashes.
Fortunately the sex ratio of our resident group (7 females and 4 males) and the T4 (3 females and 1 male) being skewed towards females should mean a less aggressive introduction phase. However, as we have seen frequently, the females are by no means slouches when it comes to defending their territories.
A second introduction is also due to begin soon: that of the infant gorilla Bolo to a surrogate gorilla mother. This introduction phase will take place away from the main group in the privacy of a separate enclosure, so that the surrogate and Bolo can spend time together forming a strong bond and becoming familiar with their new feeding routines that will need to be strictly adhered to if the introduction is to be successful. For instance we need to ensure that the surrogate mother, who will be selected from the group, will still bring Bolo to the keeper side of the enclosure so that she can be offered her milk bottle through the fence to drink. Only when we are satisfied that the bond is strong and that the surrogate will care for and protect Bolo properly, will we begin to try to reintroduce the pair to the resident group.
So, in a few months time, if things go to plan, our resident gorilla group will have swelled from 11 to 16 gorillas. However we are aware that the group as a whole may not form a cohesive unit in which case we are prepared to split the group in to two, which will mean redeveloping the enclosure itself to cope with the needs of two separate gorilla families. All in all it is going to be a very interesting few months in Limbe and we shall keep you posted on how it is all going. I have posted a couple of photos so that our readers can see the gorilla enclosure that the T4 and Bolo will be enjoying soon. Felix Lankester
The most rewarding sound any carer could hope to hear when looking after a young gorilla (or child for that matter) is the sound of laughter and, considering the traumatic experience that little Bolo has been through in the past month, it is a testament to the loving care and attention that Sandy and JK have been giving her that she now frequently breaks into fits of laughter at the slightest provocation. As you can guess Bolo is doing really well and is putting on weight and is growing in confidence every day. We have built her a small climbing structure next to the resident gorilla fence, and she spends hours each day playing and climbing and venturing further and further from the safety of her surrogate mother Sandy.
Bolo will stay with Sandy for 24hrs a day for the coming months until such time as we decide that she is old enough to begin her introduction into the gorilla group, at which point we hope that Bolo will be fostered by one of our adult females. If we do succeed in fostering her onto an adult female, and if she does become the youngest integrated member of our existing gorilla group, then it will be a job well done. However, for now, such goals are a long way off and for the foreseeable future Bolo will require several milk feeds per day ($10/week), diapers at night ($20/month), medical care ($200 in 6 months) and plenty of towels and blankets and a carer for 24 hrs/day ($50/week). Any funds given by the readers of this blog towards these costs will be greatly appreciated.
On Thursday 20th December I received a telephone call to inform me of an infant gorilla that had been seized in the town of Batouri in the east of Cameroon by a senior civil servant in the Ministry of Agriculture, from a hunter who was trying to sell her. Batouri is very far from Limbe, so I recruited the assistance of the army who sent a vehicle to collect the infant and bring her safely to the capital Yaoundé. Meanwhile I drove to Yaoundé from Limbe to meet the guard. On the 22nd December, after a frantic 2 days, I returned to Limbe with the little infant in hand. I can report that the little gorilla, which weighs 5kg and is approx 7 months old, is so far faring well. She is eating and drinking well and has bonded with one of our staff members. Infant gorillas are a lot more sensitive than infant chimpanzees and require much more nursing and one to one care, and so the arrival of the new infant means that the staff member selected to become the infant’s surrogate mother will now be with the gorilla 24 hours a day for the foreseeable future. This, together with the food and medical costs that we will incur, places a huge drain on our resources and we would like to appeal for any help you can give us. The weekly milk formula costs for the infant are approximately $10/week, and the medical costs in the first 6 months will probably be about $200. The cost of having a staff member looking after the gorilla for 24 hours a day is $50/week. It is terrible to think that gorillas are still being killed and infants sold and it was a very sad Xmas present for us all. However the work of the civil servant was exemplary and I would like to thank him for his efforts to see that this infant was rescued as quickly as possible. Regarding the hunter, we are trying to find out more about who it was and what can be done about him, but according to the civil servant he was a ‘pygmy’ hunter who did not have any idea that it was illegal to kill and eat gorillas. In recognition of the efforts of the government civil servant we have decided to name the infant after his family name ‘Adjibolo’ or ‘Bolo’ for short.
I shall try to keep you all informed of her progress in the coming months. Having started the month will 11 gorillas, we end with 16 (plus over a thousand parrots)! Its been an interesting few weeks.
Now that the dust has settled a little after the arrival of the ‘Taiping Four’ I can begin to introduce you all to these infamous gorillas. The three females are called Oyin, Abbey and Tinu, and the lone male is Izan. • Oyin is the largest and the dominant gorilla in the group. She is very confident and is very protective over her group. New people who approach their enclosure are soon left with a clear understanding of whose area they have entered into. She thumps her chest and mock charges, throwing branches and leaves in her annoyance at the unsolicited visitor. Oyin has already developed a large crest on the back of her head, yet her tendency to pluck the hairs asymmetrically around her face gives her a slightly intimidating appearance. • Abbey is the most sensitive gorilla in the group. During the long journey from South Africa to Limbe it was Abbey who need most attention during the journey and who gave me the most concern during our long lay over in Nairobi. Whilst the other gorillas sat quietly, Abbey was very stressed pacing around her crate, trying to break out all the time. Abbey is a typical western lowland gorilla with a beautiful cap of red hair on top of her head. In fact she looks very like one of our other gorillas here at the Limbe Wildlife Centre, Brighter. Who knows, perhaps they were taken from a similar area of forest? • Tinu, the smallest female, is the neediest of attention. Sit by the enclosure for a few minutes a Tinu will soon come up to present her back for grooming, or stick her out her arm so that she can hold hands. Tinu, an unusual looking gorilla with short round features and a big fat belly with a cleft down the middle, is easily recognisable. On arrival she had a large circular ring worm lesion on her left shoulder that we are currently treating. • The lone male of the group is Izan, who is an absolutely gorgeous looking young black-back gorilla. He is currently all legs and arms, but from the size of his hands it seems that in a few years he will have grown into an enormous silver back. Izan is just beginning to learn the postural behaviour of a male gorilla, side walking up to new comers, lips sucked in and eyes looking elsewhere. The drooping bottom lip, however, somehow ruins his tough guy stance. The addition of these four gorillas to our program is a great responsibility and we are very proud to look after them. However, the cost of doing so is not small and we really need financial assistance, and we were hoping that the readers of Wildlife Direct may be able to help. The following is a brief guide to a few of the costs we are now incurring to look after these four young gorillas: • The price of milk powder, from which we make yogurt, is costing us $60 per month just for these four gorillas. These are just a few of the costs that we are struggling to cover in order to look after our new charges. Any help that the readers of Wildlife Direct can give will be most warmly welcomed and will, I can assure you, be used very carefully for the care of these noble creatures. Thank you.
Finally the ‘Taiping Four’ gorillas are home. Better late than never! The journey from South Africa to Cameroon was incredibly long and tiring for the gorillas and all involved in their care, but, when the four gorillas walked confidently out of their travel crates into their new quarantine enclosure, we all knew that it was worth it. The journey had begun 29 hours earlier when the lightly anaesthetised gorillas were placed in their travel crates to begin the long journey home. We were particularly concerned that the gorillas would be stressed to wake up and find themselves alone and inside a strange crate. Therefore, to try to reduce their stress, the crates were placed facing inwards on the truck. In this way, on waking up, the gorillas would find themselves facing one another. This seemed to have the desired calming affect as, one hour after being placed in the crates, all of the gorillas were sitting up and inquisitively looking around.
At 20:00hrs we arrived at the cargo bay of Oliver Tambo Airport where the gorillas were weighed and the crates were tied down on to pallets ready for their flight to Nairobi. Carin Cloete, Curator of Mammals from Pretoria Zoo, and I remained with the gorillas, feeding them and offering them fluids until the latest possible moment before we were ushered away to join the 24 person delegation that was accompanying the gorillas from South Africa to Cameroon. At 14:40 the following day the Kenyan Airways flight, that was carrying the gorillas free of charge, touched down at Douala International Airport. Carin and I had checked the gorillas during our long lay over in Nairobi, but it was still a very anxious time for us as we watched the pallets being offloaded on to the tarmac in Douala. Seeing their faces peeking out of the holes in the crates was a moment of great relief.
I was dreading the journey from Douala to Limbe, as the traffic can be awful and any delay would have added more stress to the already tired gorillas; however the much dreaded final leg of our journey turned out to be one of the most memorable moments of my professional life. With Mount Cameroon back-lit by the red sun setting over the sea we drove towards Limbe, a single police motorcyclist with siren blaring clearing the typically grid-locked traffic and leading a 40 strong convoy of four wheel drive vehicles, all with hazard lights flashing. The people of Douala all turned to look, expecting to see the Prime Minister’s vehicle, but instead found an old truck carrying four gorillas. News on the radio proclaimed the return of Cameroon’s gorillas and people nodded in appreciation at the sight. For a moment it seemed that times had changed in Cameroon, with gorillas being afforded the respect that they deserved in the national psyche.
At the Limbe Wildlife Centre hundreds of people had gathered in the darkness to welcome their gorillas home. The truck pulled into the quarantine area of the Limbe Wildlife Centre and in a much practised process the 4 crates were unloaded and, with the crowds cheering, the four gorillas trotted into their new enclosure that had been draped in browse and cut branches. Their long journey had come to an end. The following day the official celebration for the return of the gorillas was held in the neighbouring Limbe Botanic Gardens. A speech proclaiming the importance of Cameroon’s wildlife was made by the Minister of Forests and Fauna, and five African grey parrots, recently seized from an illegal shipment at Douala Airport, were released as a symbolic gesture. The event, watched by hundreds of people and recorded by several news crews, was the answer to those who, quite rightly, have questioned the reasoning behind the decision to return the gorillas to Cameroon. Through this event the gorilla’s sorry saga, that started with the shooting of their mothers in the rainforests of Cameroon and their illegal shipment across the globe on an international airline, was brought to the attention of the Cameroonian people. Through their return the minds of Cameroonian politicians and public alike have, for the time being at least, been focussed on the plight of Cameroonian wildlife. This was not a simple story of four gorillas, rather it was a story that echoed the plight of all Cameroonian wildlife that finds itself being taken from its forest homes to satisfy a human demand. Wildlife was, for this moment, top of the agenda. How long the story, and the conservation issues that it represents, remain in people’s minds and whether any change is realised as a result we shall only be able to guess in the future; but for one moment there seemed to be hope. Long may that hope last. The return of the Taiping Four gorillas was facilitated by the Government of Cameroon, the Pan African Sanctuaries Alliance, the Pandrillus Foundation, the International Fund for Animal Welfare, the International Primate Protection League and the Last Great Ape Organisation.
thank you all for your comments and also thank you for your patience whilst I have been struggling to get used to the system for updating the website. Now that I think I have the hang of it I hope to be able to reply to your comments a lot quicker. Currently we are building up to the imminent arrival of the 4 gorillas known as the ‘Taiping Four’ who are residing in Pretoria Zoo, South Africa. After a long legal and moral battle over their ownership it seems that they will be finally coming home to Cameroon and the Limbe Wildlife Centre has been selected as the project where they shall live. The date for their return is the 30th November and I shall be travelling to Pretoria this week to make the final arrangements before, hoepfully, returning safely and without any hiccups on the 30th with the 4 gorillas. In order to prepare for their return, we have moved 4 adult chimpanzees out of their quarantine cage in order that there can be space for the gorillas. The cage, which will be their home for a few weeks whilst they go through quarantine, is currently being re-floored and painted and is having gorilla-proof hammocks hung inside. After clearing quarantine the 4 gorillas, (3 females and 1 male) will join our 11 resident gorillas in the LWC’s large open gorilla enclosure, where they will have access to climbable trees, a pond and 2500sq.m of outside space. The Taiping Four gorillas began life as wild western-lowland gorillas (Gorilla gorilla gorilla) somewhere in the forests of Cameroon. At some point in 2001 they were illegally taken as infants from the forest by hunters who will have shot and killed their mothers and other family members for bushmeat. The infants were then trafficked across the boarder to Nigeria and from there they were flown, with false CITES permits, via Johannesburg, to Malaysia where they were being prepared for public display as captive bred gorillas at the Taiping Zoo. However, due to the awareness of the International Primate Protection League (IPPL) the true wild origin of these infants was soon discovered. Consequently the gorillas were seized from the Taiping Zoo by the Govt. of Malaysia and were returned to Africa (South Africa), but not, as should have happened, to their country of origin, Cameroon. Pretoria Zoo have been looking after the gorillas for the past few years whilst the Govt. of South Africa, the Govt. of Cameroon and the international conservation community as a whole have argued over who owns the unfortunate gorillas. Finally, after DNA tests proved that the gorillas were western-lowland and were thus most likely to have come from Cameroon, it was decided that the four gorillas, who are no longer small infants, should be returned to Cameroon. |
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My name is Felix Lankester, the Project Director of the Limbe Wildlife Centre and also the head veterinarian. I have been at the project since April 2004.
