Musyha Update

For the complete entry on Mushya - see my blog on Discovery Channel Quest

or Wildlife Direct Gorilla Doctors

Every hike up into the forest feels different to me, despite the fact that I now have a pretty good idea of the terrain and—at least in Rwanda—the gorillas.  I think it’s because no two visits are ever the same.  I’m bound to learn something new, for one thing.  For another, my mind is usually focused on the purpose of my visit.  If it’s a routine health check, I’m thinking about when I last saw the group, their names, and medical histories, if any.  When there’s a patient to see, I’m filled with anticipation.

On my most recent visit to check on the infant Mushya, I couldn’t wait to get there.  I knew he was doing well, so well, in fact, that I had a feeling this would be the last time I’d have excuse to visit him as a “patient.”  It was time to take him, and his mother, Icyizere, off the case list.  I also knew there was a new baby in the group that I hoped to photograph for the park service.  It’s the time of year when they’re assembling baby pictures for the upcoming naming ceremony.  ...

Orphan Gorilla Health Exams

All three of the Goma orphan gorillas recently had their annual exams.  This was the first for the two female mountain gorillas, NDEZE (2-yr-1 mo-old), on the left with Andre Bauma who leads the orphan caretaker team, and NDAKASI (est. 1 yr-10-mo-old) on the right with Dr. Eddy Kambale and the rest of the caretaker team, Patrick, Richard, and Alfred.  Both Ndeze and Ndakasi think today will be just another one full of fun and games.

Though this photo may look as though Ndakasi is playing, she’s about to get her anesthetic injection, which Eddy is hiding in his left hand.  You can see the caretakers look a little worried, but Ndakasi barely reacted.  It’s hard to steel yourself to inject an animal you know well because you know they will feel the poke of the needle and may then associate you as the “bad guy.”  But as a vet, you also know that you’ve got to get the medicine in, and that if you make a mistake, you have to poke the little gorilla a second time.  That’s even worse!

Ndakasi is safely anesthetized and the team gets to work—with her are Drs. Jacques Iyanya, Eddy Kambale and Magdalena Braum (Lucy is taking pictures as usual!)  We performed the same set of procedures on all three orphans: eyelid TB test, skin biopsy for genetics, blood sampling, physical exam including dental exam, anesthetic monitoring, urine sampling, and routine vaccinations that include measles, polio, and tetanus.  We run preliminary tests on the orphans’ samples in central Africa, but most of the final analysis on is done by various laboratories in the United States or Europe.

We use the same anesthesia for the captive gorillas as we do the free-ranging ones, one that we can reverse it when we’re finished with the procedure.  The gorillas wake up within fifteen minutes, and we make sure they are back with their caretakers for this part of the process so they feel comfortable.  Here Andre is waking up with Ndakasi.   Later that day, all of the orphans were once again ready to eat and play. 

Like Ndakasi, Ndeze has no idea what was about to happen.  She proved to be another good patient as we examined her and collected samples.  Comparing the two orphan mountain gorillas, even though we estimate Ndakasi to be at least 3 months younger than Ndeze, she has caught up in size and weight.  She is now 15 kg compared to Ndeze.  The two are well-matched now during their play sessions with each other.

We also found that while both orphans are doing fine on milk and some forest food, we want to vary their diet.  The deliveries of celery, gallium, and urera vine are just not enough to fill their needs and they’re drinking more milk than anything else.  At this age, they should be eating more solid food so we agreed to start them on some foods bought at market—bananas, sweet potato, and papaya.  Meanwhile, we hope that they can soon move to a more natural environment with better access to their natural foods as well as plenty of soft ground to fall on!

Mapendo, the orphaned 5-yr-old Grauer’s gorilla, was once again a little overweight.  She loves bananas!  The best part of her exam for me was that she showed no fear or aggression as I stood there in my facemask, coveralls, and camera before we began the procedure.  I hadn’t seen her in months.  Even after Jacques had to be the bad guy and inject her, she forgave us all quickly.  For Mapendo, we continue to plan that she will one day live with the other group of Grauer’s orphans who presently live in Kinigi, Rwanda