Ubuzima, a 13-month-old Re-introduced to her Group

On 9 May, two adult females were killed by poachers. Those two females (Impanga and Muraha) were nursing two infants. Impanga's infant was 16 months old and is still missing while Muraha's infant Ubuzima (meaning life/health in Kinyarwanda) was found clinging to her mother's body. The Suza group was obviously disturbed and very nervous. The individuals were dispersed and could not tolerate human presence.
Information was exchanged at a meeting with the park staff and all the NGOs working in mountain gorilla conservation. I explained the re-introduction process and we organized three groups of people: one led by José Kalpers went to track the remaining Suza group, the second was focused on Impanga's infant, and I led the third group to care for Ubuzima. I sedated the infant and removed her from her mother. I gave fluids as her body condition was poor. Physical examination and different vital parameters were taken while she was sedated. Ubuzima was placed in a box covered with tarpaulin. Because of the very stiff slope it was not easy to keep the infant in a comfortable posture. During the time we were carrying the infant, respiration and heart rate were constantly monitored. We were in radio contact with the first group of people, who identified the position of the Suza group. We walked for about 45 minutes to reach the group. Munyinya, a silverback, was not with the group; we found him 150 m from the rest of it. He was sleeping a good deal, neither moving nor nesting with the other group members.
The group appeared agitated. Although we identified four good mothers as potential foster mothers, they would not have been able to adopt the 13-month-old infant because they all were nursing their own infants. When Ubuzima was released, the dominant silverback came and the rest of the group surrounded the infant. She was inspected by the dominant male, then he moved away. Her elder brother recognized her and adopted the role of caregiver. On several occasions he was observed carrying the infant, and Ubuzima was seen picking up food from the ground. She made a successful transition to a diet consisting of vegetation. She slept between her brother and the dominant silverback. No aggression has been observed, and she has been accepted and reintegrated in her original group and behaves normally.

Antoine Mudakikwa

Dr. Antoine Mudakikwa has been working at the Mountain Gorilla Veterinary Centre in Rwanda since 1995. He has also been involved with training trackers in the Central African Republic and with health monitoring of the gorillas at Bai Hokou.

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