Progress at the Kahuzi-Biega Park
May 9, 1998. Security at the Tshivanga Station has steadily improved
since the beginning of 1998. The habituated gorillas have been visited
on a regular basis, and tourism has started again at the local level.
However, as in other areas, security can not be guaranteed because armed
poachers and a few rebel groups still wander freely through the areas
which are not patrolled by the national army. The park rangers are not
officially permitted to carry any weapons and instead are accompanied
by the military in the park. Patrols which take several days and monitoring
over long distances are also dependent on the availability of military
personnel who have to accompany the team in the park. The efficiency of
the research work is therefore hampered.
Thanks to the financial support of Berggorilla & Regenwald Direkthilfe,
the working conditions have improved, and most importantly, so has the
morale of the research team, despite the aforementioned obstacles.
Gorilla and Chimpanzee Observations
In December we were able to resume a more or less normal schedule of
behavioral observations of the great apes in Kasirusiru and Tshibati.
In Tshibati it is now possible to move around more freely, in contrast
to Kasirusiru, where rebel groups still patrol the area and thereby hinder
our research work.
Despite the difficulties of camping in the forest, our research team was
able to locate a habituated gorilla group which had not been sighted for
the past 9 months. It should be added that this was the result of joint
efforts by the military, park rangers and pisteurs. Before their disappearance
in May 1997, the gorilla group had consisted of 9 individuals, but only
4 members remain. Moreover, it was noted that their home range had shifted
closer to the foot of Mt. Biega, in the western part of their previous
home range. These changes might have been caused by confrontations with
other (wild) gorilla groups, whose home range overlaps with theirs. Two
wild gorilla groups, one lone silverback and one habituated gorilla group,
the Mubalala family, are known to live in this area.
On March 24, the gorilla group that we had been observing in Kasirusiru
had a conflict with a wild gorilla family with 15 members. After this
confrontation, our gorilla group increased from 4 to 9 individuals, including
one infant (we counted 8 night nests). On April 7, the same gorilla group
fought once more against a wild gorilla group, and on April 8, the number
of night nests had increased further from 8 to 14. Now the group consists
of 16 animals, because one of the new females transferred with her infant.
On April 16, the gorilla family ranged in the general direction of Kalonge
- even farther to the west. Our research team lost the group, because
in this area the gorilla tracks are obscured by elephant tracks, poachers,
other gorilla groups and human invaders. In order to continue our search,
we had to wait for military assistance. Our research team attempted to
find the gorillas on their own, but without success, until the military
arrived the following day.
During our stay, we focused our attention on the home ranges of the gorillas
and found that the number of gorilla groups had remained the same as during
the census made in June and July 1996. Nevertheless, it was difficult
for us to determine whether all the members of each group had survived,
and most importantly, whether the populations are still connected. Our
estimates seem promising, and we believe that the gorillas have suffered
less than the elephants from the war, despite the fact that 2 silverbacks
of the habituated groups were killed.
Addition, July 1998: The monitoring of the chimpanzees is proceeding normally,
considering the security situation at the research sites. In Tshibati,
we sometimes can observe them feeding in a fruiting tree for 30 minutes.
It will take a long time until the habituation is finished.
Food Plants of Gorillas and Chimpanzees
Observations on the diet of the gorillas and chimpanzees were made on a more or less regular basis, in the same way as before the war. Regular estimates had not been possible then either. The feces samples that we collected in Kasirusiru and Tshibati will be analyzed in the Laboratory for Primatology in Lwiro. A publication is in preparation which discusses the role of chimpanzees in seed dispersal in the Kahuzi-Biega National Park.
Phenology of the Forest
Data collection for this part of our research was completed in October 1996 and the data are now being fed into the computer for analysis. Unfortunately, a large part of the data were lost due to a computer virus. We are presently trying to re-enter the data into our computer and hope that results will be available by October 1998.
Difficulties and Conclusions
Although our research team has to leave the park when poachers or other intruders stay in the area, we were able to resume most of our research activities. Poaching is still a threat to the animal populations, despite consorted efforts with the military. As long as the rangers are not permitted to carry guns, their work in the field is quite meaningless. In our research area wire snares are found more often. They pose a serious threat to the gorillas, who sometimes lose hands or feet as a consequence of being caught in a snare. Although local efforts to conserve the Kahuzi-Biega National Park have been established, the international community must continue to support our efforts and remind our government of the urgency of conserving this World Heritage before it is too late. Moreover, these efforts should be pursued not only in the interest of national conservation, but concern for conservation on a global level.
Mbake Sivha
Mbake Sivha studied biology at the University of Kisangani, Zaire, and worked in the IZCN/GTZ conservation project at Kahuzi-Biega National Park. She then specialized at Würzburg University, Germany, in animal ecology, biology of the tropics and sensitization of the population for environmental problems. From 1994 to 1999 she worked in the IZCN/GTZ project in sensitization and primate research. Now she is working for the IGCP in Goma.
Photo: Angela Meder
Mbake Sivha