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Gorilla Journal 32, June 2006
The Silverback Mugaruka
Nowadays park activities are not limited to community conservation -
they also and especially include activities for the protection of the
gorillas. In this article, we would like to report on one silverback whose
life has already made history.
Those who have the chance to visit the Kahuzi-Biega National Park will
recognize the silverback Mugaruka by his missing right hand. Born in 1987,
into the Mushamuka family, he got his hand caught in a snare in 1991.
He carried the snare around with him until his hand withered and fell
off. In 1997, the male Nindja left the group peacefully (i.e. without
interaction) taking with him 4 females, one of which was Mugaruka's mother.
On October 30th, 1997, Nindja was killed near Kakala by a Rwandan soldier
who had stayed in the Tshivanga guard post the previous night. The surviving
gorillas re-grouped under the lead of a female called Mugoli (which means
"queen") because Mugaruka was not yet old enough to lead the
family.
In 1999, Mugoli conceded power to Mugaruka even though he was still a
blackback male. In the same year, his family started to tolerate the presence
of human visitors. Several representatives and actors from international
television channels have visited the family since.
During the period from 2000 to 2004, the peace and quiet of the Mugaruka
family was disturbed, when the silverback male Chimanuka attacked Mugaruka
several times. During these skirmishes, Mugaruka lost several members
of his family. On May 9th, 2000, 2 of Mugaruka's females decided to stay
with Chimanuka. On October 21st, 2002, all his remaining females transferred
to Chimanuka, except for Lushasha, the mother of the young Chubaka. On
January 7th, 2004, Chimanuka returned and left with this last female,
too.
For a while, Mugaruka lived alone with his son Chubaka. On May 19th, 2004,
he succeeded in taking over the surviving Mishebere family and in forming
a new group of 10 individuals.
On July 17th 2005, Mugaruka separated himself from all his new females
and Chubaka. For reasons yet unknown he became solitary.
On January 20th, 2006, Mugaruka interacted with a group of females who
had been abandoned in July 2005 and who were led by a blackback male called
Mankoto. Very curiously, this interaction was entirely peaceful: Mankoto
submitted himself to Mugaruka's dominance.
The reader might wonder how we succeed in collecting a family history
like that of Mugaruka. As mentioned above, the work of park staff is not
limited to development activities, but also includes surveillance of the
gorillas. Our guides and trackers follow these gorillas every single day.
An identification kit based on nose-prints (diagrams of the distinctive
shape of each gorilla's nose) has been developed to help recognize individuals.
This daily work can be conducted only if security within the park is guaranteed.
For this reason we appeal to everybody concerned (i.e. donors and decision-makers,
both political-administrative and military) to contribute to the restoration
of peace in general, and within the park in particular - each according
to their means and abilities. This will help to guarantee the protection
of the Kahuzi-Biega National Park.
Robert Mulimbi
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 David Jay and John Kahekwa
Robert Mulimbi is the chef de guides for the ranger
teams who lead tourists to the gorillas in the Kahuzi-Biega National Park.
Kahuzi-Biega
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