GORILLAS IN OUR MIDST

Gorillas Midstin our

A recent census reveals that the species is escaping extinction. Sarah Marshall finds out why while on a conservation-themed tour of Uganda.

Bouncing through the undergrowth like a furry football, juvenile gorilla Masanyu is entertaining a small crowd. One of the amused observers, Dr Gladys Kalema-Zikusoka, is especially pleased to see this member of the Rushegura troop; the only surviving offspring of famous silverback Kanyonyi. He rightly deserves the name (Masanyu), which translates as ‘joy’.

Although she has tracked great apes more than 300 times, Uganda’s first dedicated gorilla doctor is still enchanted by the enigmatic animals inhabiting Bwindi Impenetrable Forest National Park. “Kanyonyi was my favourite,” she says, wistfully recalling the famous mountain gorilla which died in 2017. “He was wonderful - small, but very well-mannered, and the women liked him. He had grown up seeing people all his life.”

When Gladys first arrived in Bwindi 25 years ago as a veterinary student, only two groups of Uganda’s mountain gorillas were habituated for tourism, and the species was listed as critically endangered by the International Union For Conservation of Nature (IUCN). Today, there are 18 groups visited by tourists, and the number of mountain gorillas in the Bwindi-Sarambwe ecosystem is estimated to be 459, according to results of a 2018 census that were released in 2019. Combined with data from a 2016 survey conducted in the Virunga Massif, that brings the world’s wild population to 1,063 - an increase partly down to work conducted by Gladys and her team.

Proving diseases could easily be transmitted between humans, gorillas and livestock, she set up an NGO - Conservation Through Public Health (CTPH), to help communities surrounding Bwindi Impenetrable Forest improve their health and hygiene. “Before, we were only looking at parasites, but now we are starting to look more regularly at bacteria salmonella, shigella - the kind that are common in the community and can be fatal to gorillas,” she says back at her research station, where tourists can also stay and witness conservation work in action.

The five rooms and two tents are simple. Set high up, where hills roll into infinity and mist rises from the forest canopy like wisps of smoke, they have the best view in Bwindi. Inside her laboratory, Gladys - who was shortlisted for a Tusk Conservation Award in 2019 - lines up several plastic pots filled with gorilla faeces, carefully examining their contents under a microscope.

Despite the obvious unpleasantness, collecting samples isn’t easy. Earlier that morning, we had battled with stinging nettles and belligerent troops of ants to find nests built by the Rushegura troop the night before. Every evening, gorillas make a temporary bed from leaves, which they inconveniently position on steep slopes, with the silverback always watching guard from the top. Conveniently, though, many

of them choose to do their morning business here, and once a month samples are collected by CTPH for examination. Rangers in the park have also been trained on how to gather this poo.

“We started doing it in 2005,” says Gladys, who is now based in Entebbe but visits Bwindi at least once a month. “We always find parasites and have to decide if a gorilla needs to be treated. “We are also finding that some gorillas are getting antibiotic-resistant bacteria through contact with humans,” she adds. Most of this interaction occurs when animals venture beyond the park boundaries into inhabited land.

A dense mass of coiled vines, umbrella ferns and thick vegetation growing on near-vertical slopes, Bwindi Impenetrable Forest is surprisingly small. Measuring just 330km2, it’s possible for the gorillas to walk across it in a matter of hours, and with increasing pressure on space, many groups stray into community areas to raid crops or banana plantations.

Tourism too has increased human contact with the apes, and Gladys is one of the forces behind a campaign to persuade visitors to wear masks during gorilla encounters. “The campaign is getting close; we should be there within the next five years,” she says confidently. “Some people say it’s not all that helpful wearing a mask, but it makes people conscious that we’re dealing with an endangered species and we have to be careful.”

Despite the inevitable impact caused by regular human contact, she is a great supporter of gorilla tourism and even accompanies visitors on treks. “Conservation efforts are paying off and tourism has contributed to that,” she claims, referring to the increasing amount of revenue brought into the country – with gorilla treks now costing upwards of $700 from July 2020 (a rise of $100, although still 50% of the price in neighbouring Rwanda). “Once you have community benefits, local people are more tolerant to gorillas destroying their banana plants.”

While many people receive direct financial benefits from tourism through employment in lodges or as porters on treks, others are not so fortunate. To combat that, CTPH founded Gorilla Conservation Coffee, buying coffee beans at a premium price from farmers in the regions surrounding Bwindi. The product, which features an illustration of Kanyonyi on the bags, is sold at CTPH’s café in Entebbe and is exported to America.

Tourists visiting Bwindi can also participate in a coffee safari, learning about the cultivation process from bean to cup. “Yes, we still get gorillas coming here,” chuckles farm owner Sam Karibwende as we stroll around his estate, picking ripe red cherries from plants. As head of the coffee farmers’ cooperative, which has risen from 75 to 500 members, he understands the value of wildlife. “But we know how to deal with them.” And, he admits, gorillas are always full of surprises – something Gladys knows only too well.

“I learn something new every time,” she says, speaking of her many encounters which have even involved trekking into the night. “When it comes to gorillas, you can’t know enough.”

Fact box

Conservation Through Public Health (www.ctph.org, +256- 772 -330 139) offers an Intimate Gorilla Experience & tracking led by Dr Gladys Kalema Zikusoka from $1452, which includes guiding and accommodation in Buhoma.

Gorilla tracking permits cost extra, and booking is required.

Facts about

Gorilla Infants

Much like human babies, gorilla infants are cute; they crawl before learning to walk and they love breast milk. Here are some interesting facts about these tiny primates who share about 98.3 percent of their DNA with humans. • Female gorillas carry a pregnancy for about 8 to 9 months just like human females. • A ‘baby’ gorilla is called an infant and is about two times smaller than a human baby. They usually weigh 1.4kg to 1.8kg. • For about three to four months they ride on the back of their mothers. They learn to sit upright at 3 months, and learn to crawl at 6 months before learning to walk at around nine months. • Mountain gorillas reproduce once or twice a decade, and infants stay with their mothers for three to four years, nursing for about two and a half years. • Like humans, the male gorilla becomes an adult at the age of 15, while the female matures a bit earlier at the age of ten. • When males reach maturity, they may leave their group to live as solitary silverbacks, or to start a new family group. • The female gorilla breeds at the average age of 12 while the male gorilla breeds at the average age of 16.