The recently rescued baby gorilla named Ihirwe is said to be recovering from respiratory diseases, yet the veterinaries want to conduct a DNA test to find if she’s a mountain gorilla or a low land one.
Gorilla Doctors under Mountain Gorilla Veterinary Project (MGVP) have discovered that the orphan was a girl. Recently Dr. Jean Bosco Noheli checked on Ihirwe at the Orphan Quarantine Facility in Rwanda’s Kinigi.
“She is taking enough milk-feeding on the bottle herself and trying juice. She is also eating, playing and moving well,” he said.
On August 18, the Gorilla Doctors performed a full medical examination to determine if she has any diseases or other health disorders. The infant had been suffering from a respiratory infection but was recovering nicely after receiving antibiotics.
According to Molly Feltner, the MGVP communications officer: “Ihirwe will remain at our Kinigi facility until it can be confirmed through DNA analysis that she is a mountain gorilla and not a Grauer’s gorilla which also means low land”.
So far, authorities are working to secure permits so that a blood sample can be sent to the Max Planck Institute in Germany for analysis.
Feltner further noted through a communiqué to the press that: “If Ihirwe is a mountain gorilla as we suspect, she will eventually join mountain gorilla orphans Maisha, Kaboko, Ndeze, and Ndakasi at the Senkwekwe Center in Virunga National Park, DR Congo. Grauer’s gorilla orphans are sent to Gorilla Rehabilitation and Conservation Education (GRACE) in Kasugho, DR Congo,” she remarked.
In a related story, Congo Wildlife Authorities arrested two men believed to be key members of a baby mountain gorilla trafficking group following an undercover investigation by Virunga National Park rangers and other Congolese government security services.
The two men, arrested in Goma yesterday, have been charged with illegal trafficking of an endangered species.
The operation followed the recovery of a baby mountain gorilla on August 7th (Ihirwe) by the Rwandan police. The gorilla infant was seized at the Rwandan border town of Gisenyi, from traffickers believed to be coming from the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Congo Wildlife Authorities have been working closely with Rwandan authorities to dismantle the baby gorilla trafficking ring that passes through eastern Congo for sale in Rwanda.
Baby Gorilla trafficking is considered to be one of the greatest threats to the survival of the critically endangered mountain gorillas, of which only 790 remain in the world.
The Park Director Emmanuel de Merode, the In-charge Rumangabo in Virunga National Park, said: “The arrests are the outcome of a coordinated effort by Rwandan and Congolese law enforcement authorities.
“ While we are pleased to have brought this group of traffickers to justice, we remain very worried by what appears to be a significant and growing demand for baby mountain gorillas.” He pointed out.
The effort to protect the mountain gorilla populations in Congo, Rwanda and Uganda represent one of the greatest conservation successes in recent times, with a population that has more than doubled in the past 25 years.
However, the threats remain high, both for the gorillas and for those who protect them. Over 130 Congolese rangers have died protecting Virunga National Park over that same period.
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