Gorilla Journal 32, June 2006

The Stories of Mugaruka and Chimanuka ... so far

Mugaruka and Chimanuka are eastern lowland (or Grauer's) gorilla silverbacks, living in the high altitude sector of Kahuzi-Biega National Park. Despite the work of the dedicated park staff, the pressure on the park is intense, and since the civil unrest that began in the mid-1990s protecting these animals has been an uphill struggle. Their slaughter for trophies or meat, or simply out of fear, has affected many of the gorilla families in the park and the wider area.
Telling the story of just two animals that are habituated and well known to the rangers shows how the sociopolitical problems in the area have an ongoing effect even on the animals that survive. Our sincere thanks go to Carlos Schuler and Bernard Iyomi Iyatshi for providing the information on which this article is based, and for the energy and commitment with which they work for the protection of Kahuzi-Biega and its gorillas.
Mugaruka was born in July 1987, a son of the silverback Mushamuka. At the age of only 3, he was caught in a snare and lost his right hand, giving him his characteristic stump. He had 5 elder brothers by the same father: Mubalala, Nindja, Bwana, Lambchop and Mint Sauce, all born between 1973 and 1981. These were all dead or missing by 1999, with 4 known to have been killed by poachers or soldiers. Mushamuka died in 1997, and from 1999 on Mugaruka acted as the group leader, although he was not yet fully mature.
In 2000 at age of 13 he became a fully developed silverback, and for the next few years defended his group successfully against several other aggressive males. On June 8th, 2000 he had a son, named Chubaka, and then several months later another called Maendeleo. With a large group of females and two offspring, Mugaruka's scarred childhood was healing into a healthy adult life. In September 2002, however, he had an encounter with Chimanuka.
Chimanuka was born in 1986 to the silverback Maheshe, who occupied the same area of the park as Mushamuka. Maheshe was one of the most well-known gorillas in the park, was visited by many tourists and film crews, and in 1991 he appeared on the 50,000 Zaire note. In 1993, however, he was killed by poachers who took his head and attempted to sell it for 200 US$. Maheshe had not tolerated any subadult males in his group while he was alive, and after his death the lack of a potential leader caused the group to gradually dislocate and fall apart. Chimanuka ended up living on his own as a blackback until he matured into a silverback and began searching for females with which to form his own group. In September 2002 he found Mugaruka, fought with him, and won, thus taking charge of a group of 14 individuals including many fertile females.
Mugaruka was the clear loser of this battle, which also took the life of his young child Maendeleo. He was left with only one female Lushasha and his older son Chubaka. A few months later, however, he encountered Chimanuka again, losing the fight once more, and his one remaining female also switched to his rival's group. This left Mugaruka with no females, but still accompanied by his 2 year old son - a very unusual social arrangement! He spent all of 2003 in this way, but in 2004 he had a very fortunate encounter with a group of females that had no silverback, and of which he consequently came to be leader. These females had probably been the group of Mishebere, a silverback who went missing in early 2003, and whose body was found shot several months later.
Once again Mugaruka had a group of his own, but before he had time to produce any offspring, he separated from them in mid-2005 and began travelling alone, apparently after a challenge from one of the blackbacks in the group. This time Chubaka stayed with the females, leaving Mugaruka in the traditional role of a lone silverback. Despite challenging another silverback on Christmas Day 2005, at the time of writing this article this was still his situation, whilst Chimanuka remained at the head of a large and productive group. However, the story of these two young adult males, still only 20 years old, shows how the fate of these animals can turn for better or for worse at any time. The rivalry between Mugaruka and Chimanuka is typical of the life history of the species as we understand it, and they seem to be acting, and breeding, as normal. It must give us hope to see individuals whose early lives were so devastated by human intervention now exhibiting natural behaviour, and we can all thank the dedicated and professional park staff (past and present) for providing these animals with the opportunity to live as gorillas should.

David Jay and John Kahekwa

Latest news of Mugaruka: occasionally he joins his old family led by the blackback male Mankoto, who seems to become stronger and stronger. At times the group splits, leaving Mugaruka and Mankoto each leading some of the females, whilst at other times they live peacefully in one big group or Mugaruka ranges on his own.
We all wait to see how the situation will develop when Mankoto will grow up to a silverback; most probably he will defend his own group and not tolerate Mugaruka in the same family.

Article by Robert Mulimbi

David Jay has worked with the Ape Alliance since 1998 and since 2001 for GRASP as well as for the Born Free Foundation's Primate Program.
John Kahekwa has been working at the Kahuzi-Biega National Park since 1983. He founded the Pole Pole Foundation in 1992. 

Kahuzi-Biega overview

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