GISENYI: The National Police at Gisenyi town is holding a group of Congolese and Rwandan men for smuggling an infant mountain gorilla from the neighboring Democratic Republic of Congo.
The smuggled male baby gorilla less than a year old was seiezed by Gisenyi Police yesterday night.
Veterinarians from the Mountain Gorilla Veterinary Project (MGVP), a nonprofit organization dedicated to conserving gorillas through health care, were called to the scene to help the infant gorillas.
While primarily working with wild gorillas, MGVP also provides care to gorillas orphaned as a result of the illegal wildlife trade or armed conflict.
“The MGVP team arrived at Gisenyi police station at 10 pm to find a very stressed, exhausted mountain gorilla infant of less than one year old,” revealed Dr. Jan Ramer, Regional Veterinary Manager of MGVP.
However, the arrested men claimed that the gorilla was taken from the Bukima area of Virunga National Park in DRC. They said they had kept the gorilla for about a week, feeding him bananas and sugar cane. No other details were provided.
“MGVP Orphan Caretaker Fabien Bahati, who has raised many orphan gorillas, scooped the gorilla up, and after a discussion with police we headed to Kinigi to reopen the MGVP Orphan Quarantine Facility,” says Dr. Ramer.
MGVP closed this facility only two weeks ago after transferring six lowland gorilla orphans to the Gorilla Rehabilitation and Conservation Education (GRACE) center in DRC.
“We got to Kinigi around midnight and performed a short health inspection of the male baby gorilla: He had a very bad cough and a runny nose, but was strong,” said Ramer. “Bahati stayed with him overnight, and this morning the gorilla is even stronger.”
MGVP will work in close partnership with the Congolese and Rwandan wildlife authorities (L’Institut Congolais pour la Conservation de la Nature and the Rwanda Development Board) and Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund International (DFGFI) to determine the best course of action for the gorilla’s future.
The orphan will most likely be transferred to the Senkwekwe center in Virunga National Park currently home to four other orphaned mountain gorillas: Ndeze, Ndakasi, Maisha, and Kaboko.
Meanwhile, the gorilla rescued last night will undergo 30days of health quarantine at Kinigi facility, where he will receive 24-hour care provided by the MGVP staff and DFGFI Orphan Caretaker Jean De Dieu.
“We are cautiously optimistic about this little guy, he is tense, but accepting of people, and is eating,” commented Ramer. “All are good signs for his eventual recovery.”
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