Monday, September 28, 2009
Congo
Going to DRC today with Magda, John, Sandy (head orphan caregiver) and Molly (free lance photographer and reporter) to look at a gorilla orphan facility that is being built in Rumangabo. More soon!
Sunday, September 27, 2009
Rubuguri
Last week I went to Rubuguri, Uganda for a celebration of the "Year of the Gorilla" and the launching of a newly habituated gorilla group. It was my first time to Uganda and I was pretty excited. The border is about 30 minutes from our house so Magda drove me to Rwanda customs and Benard, one of our Ugandan veterinarians met me on the other side. The border closes at 6pm because that's when it gets dark here, and there is no electricity in the customs building... I got there by 5:30 to be sure it was still light! It costs $50 for the visa, which you get after standing in line and filling out forms on each side. Here's the Rwandan side - I forgot you are not supposed to take photos at customs.... I thought the sign on H1N1 was interesting.
Here's customs on the Uganda side. You can see Muhabura Volcano in the background.
Benard and I drove north to the village of Kisoro. We passed this beautiful lake on the way and I saw pelicans for the first time! Those are little wood canoes in the lake, and we passed a small, lovely campground. Might have to check it out at some point.
The roads in this part of Uganda are mostly not paved, but the countryside is lovely. Population density is much lower here than Rwanda so there were some nice expanses of countryside without houses. There is a hotel called the Traveler's Rest in Kisoro that has been there for years - was frequented by Dian Fossey in the day. I was hoping to stay there, but unfortunately it was booked, so I stayed at a newer hotel down the street. That night I heard a bird call that I recognized, but took me a minute to realize that it was a Crowned Crane! So familiar from my work at the zoo, and how hearing them in the wild was so great.
The next morning Benard and I drove about an hour over very bumpy roads to the town of Rubuguri, which is just outside Bwindi Impenetrable Forest. This is where the other population of Mountain Gorillas lives. This celebration was very important for the local communities. The newly habituated group means more money for the park service, which hopefully translates into more resources for the local communities. So this was a huge event. Looked a little like a horse show set up as we approached! It was a little odd to see Sea World and Busch Gardens on the banner - I'm still not sure about the connection!
There were many speeches by ministers and local leaders, then checks were handed out to leaders of the local communities. The excitement and hope for the future was palpable.
There were performances by school kids all day long. There were skits and dancing and singing - it was wonderful. At one point all the kids were asked to approach the stage and one of the local leaders told them they were the future of Uganda. The future of gorilla conservation. I think these kids will remember this forever.
These kids enacted a tourist visit to the gorillas. Very sweet.
Here's a small band with local instruments. I have video including sound - but I still can't figure out how to make the video small enough to post.. Howie, can you help????
This is a group of Batwa (pygmys) who sang a beautiful song. The announcer thanked them, and then they started to dance, and dance and dance! The whole crowd got into it, clapping and singing, and at one point on of the ministers went and danced with them. The Batwa have traditionally been a fringe group, historically somewhat neglected by community leaders. It was nice to see them included here.
A small flock of Crowned Cranes flew over the field at one point. You can sort of see them in this picture. I was pretty excited!
I didn't have time to visit Bwindi, but plan to do a health check on one of the groups with Benard sometime soon. It was a whirlwind visit, meeting many of the conservationist in Uganda, lots of hand shaking, and just trying to take it all in. Then it was back to Rwanda that evening, and an annual exam on one of the orphans the next day. See the gorilladoctors blog for that story sometime soon!
Quick aside: I make banana bread almost every weekend - there are many, many bananas in Rwanda. They've never heard of banana bread here (banana beer, yes... but not banana bread). I shared it with our guards and students and it was a big hit!
Here's customs on the Uganda side. You can see Muhabura Volcano in the background.
Benard and I drove north to the village of Kisoro. We passed this beautiful lake on the way and I saw pelicans for the first time! Those are little wood canoes in the lake, and we passed a small, lovely campground. Might have to check it out at some point.
The roads in this part of Uganda are mostly not paved, but the countryside is lovely. Population density is much lower here than Rwanda so there were some nice expanses of countryside without houses. There is a hotel called the Traveler's Rest in Kisoro that has been there for years - was frequented by Dian Fossey in the day. I was hoping to stay there, but unfortunately it was booked, so I stayed at a newer hotel down the street. That night I heard a bird call that I recognized, but took me a minute to realize that it was a Crowned Crane! So familiar from my work at the zoo, and how hearing them in the wild was so great.The next morning Benard and I drove about an hour over very bumpy roads to the town of Rubuguri, which is just outside Bwindi Impenetrable Forest. This is where the other population of Mountain Gorillas lives. This celebration was very important for the local communities. The newly habituated group means more money for the park service, which hopefully translates into more resources for the local communities. So this was a huge event. Looked a little like a horse show set up as we approached! It was a little odd to see Sea World and Busch Gardens on the banner - I'm still not sure about the connection!
There were many speeches by ministers and local leaders, then checks were handed out to leaders of the local communities. The excitement and hope for the future was palpable.
There were performances by school kids all day long. There were skits and dancing and singing - it was wonderful. At one point all the kids were asked to approach the stage and one of the local leaders told them they were the future of Uganda. The future of gorilla conservation. I think these kids will remember this forever.
These kids enacted a tourist visit to the gorillas. Very sweet.
Here's a small band with local instruments. I have video including sound - but I still can't figure out how to make the video small enough to post.. Howie, can you help????
This is a group of Batwa (pygmys) who sang a beautiful song. The announcer thanked them, and then they started to dance, and dance and dance! The whole crowd got into it, clapping and singing, and at one point on of the ministers went and danced with them. The Batwa have traditionally been a fringe group, historically somewhat neglected by community leaders. It was nice to see them included here.
A small flock of Crowned Cranes flew over the field at one point. You can sort of see them in this picture. I was pretty excited!
I didn't have time to visit Bwindi, but plan to do a health check on one of the groups with Benard sometime soon. It was a whirlwind visit, meeting many of the conservationist in Uganda, lots of hand shaking, and just trying to take it all in. Then it was back to Rwanda that evening, and an annual exam on one of the orphans the next day. See the gorilladoctors blog for that story sometime soon!
Quick aside: I make banana bread almost every weekend - there are many, many bananas in Rwanda. They've never heard of banana bread here (banana beer, yes... but not banana bread). I shared it with our guards and students and it was a big hit!
Thursday, September 24, 2009
Week of travel....
Sorry for the lack of posts - been a very busy week, and very little internet access!
I was in Kigali Sunday and Monday for a meeting on Climate Change and potential effects on Mountain Gorilla Conservation - it was a preliminary meeting, data gathering, etc. Gorilla health and biology data will be overlaid with climate data and analyzed - then a big conference will take place in February where recommendations will be made to local decision makers...
No internet in Kigali at my hotel.
Then Tuesday I interviewed 9 people for the position of Administrative Assistant. It was really, really hard to make a decision... I hired somebody who l hope will be good. We'll see!
Yesterday and today I was in Uganda for a big celebration - it is the "year of the gorilla", and a new group was habituated for tourists so it was a huge celebration, with local kids dancing and people from government giving speeches - I think I have some good pics I'll download and post later. No internet in Uganda hotel either.
On top of all that our local internet has been on the fritz.. hopefully to be fixed tomorrow...
So just a note to let you know I'm still alive and well! More soon...
I was in Kigali Sunday and Monday for a meeting on Climate Change and potential effects on Mountain Gorilla Conservation - it was a preliminary meeting, data gathering, etc. Gorilla health and biology data will be overlaid with climate data and analyzed - then a big conference will take place in February where recommendations will be made to local decision makers...
No internet in Kigali at my hotel.
Then Tuesday I interviewed 9 people for the position of Administrative Assistant. It was really, really hard to make a decision... I hired somebody who l hope will be good. We'll see!
Yesterday and today I was in Uganda for a big celebration - it is the "year of the gorilla", and a new group was habituated for tourists so it was a huge celebration, with local kids dancing and people from government giving speeches - I think I have some good pics I'll download and post later. No internet in Uganda hotel either.
On top of all that our local internet has been on the fritz.. hopefully to be fixed tomorrow...
So just a note to let you know I'm still alive and well! More soon...
Sunday, September 20, 2009
"Official" Blog!
The Gorilladoctors.org official blog is finally up and running! If you go to that blog there will be some familiar stories, but the gorilla content will be in more detail. At least that's my plan, and what our Director of on line fundraising wants. Also, and I PROMISE I won't do this often, if you feel like contributing to the cause, now is the time. Lucy raised ~$20,000 with her blog over 2 years, and my goal is to raise more...so tell your friends and family...
Okay, that's over-with. I really, really promise I won't do any more fund-raising on this blog!!!
Okay, that's over-with. I really, really promise I won't do any more fund-raising on this blog!!!
Saturday, September 19, 2009
Model Farms
Today I visited 2 of our farm partners - these are families who are trying to develop healthy, environmentally friendly family farms. Farm is a term used loosely here - these families have a modest house, with their animals in the back yard.
The first farm was the home of Justice, a man who was warden of 2 national parks here in Rwanda for years and now works for a conservation NGO. He has a lovely home just outside the city center of Ruhengeri, with 2 Jersey cows in the backyard. The first he got from Heifer International 5 years ago. She's given him 3 calves and lots of milk. One of her calves is the second cow, and both are pregnant at the moment. John Huston, our livestock specialist, has helped Justice with feeding and deworming strategies. He's also helped Justice install a bio-gas unit next to the cow enclosure. This unit will be filled with cow manure and urine (and waste from the house), allow it to sit in a tank and produce methane, which is vented into a pipe that powers the gas stove in his house. The unit is not finished yet, but the tank of waste is almost ready to vent to the pipe. The start up cost was pretty steep in Rwandan terms but Justice figures he will break even in 3 years, then begin to save money. In addition, his family will no longer use charcoal, which is very expensive, and very, very bad for the environment. There is a HUGE illegal charcoal industry in DRC (Congo) - trees are cut in the "protected" forests and made into charcoal in kilns, then transported illegally to Rwanda, Uganda, other parts of DRC... so the bio-gas unit will decrease dependency on charcoal. We are encouraging all of our partner farms to consider installing a bio-gas system. Justice also has a rain catchment system that is almost ready for use. He has a series of pipes on his roof designed to catch the rain water efficiently and run into large tanks. That water will be used to water livestock, wash clothes, flush the toilet, etc. We are working on developing a rain catchment system at MGVP headquarters. Here are some pictures of Justice's house and cows. The cows are always confined because Rwanda has a no grazing policy in order to protect everyone's crops. It also keeps cows off the roads!
Here are John and Justice checking out his almost finished biogas unit, and the back of Justice's nice house.
We left Justice to go visit the home of a woman who has just purchased her first cow - a cross breed, who is supposed to be pregnant. John and I will palpate her to determine pregnancy status. This farm is a good 20 minute drive over VERY bumpy lava stone road, into a neighborhood that rarely sees cars, let along white people. We were immediately surrounded by a few women and dozens of children who were curious, and funny, and for the most part sweet (some of the older boys were a little naughty - they really, really wanted to ride on the truck...). This cow looks very healthy, and turns out that she is indeed pregnant! This is very good news for her owner. She'll make good money on the calf, and will get several months of milk. Here are some pictures of the cow, John palpating her, the house where she and some goats and a small family stay at night, and the kids. One little girl was knitting - she was very proud when I asked to take her picture.
This is how the majority of people live here in and around Ruhengeri. I am honored to be welcomed into their homes.
The first farm was the home of Justice, a man who was warden of 2 national parks here in Rwanda for years and now works for a conservation NGO. He has a lovely home just outside the city center of Ruhengeri, with 2 Jersey cows in the backyard. The first he got from Heifer International 5 years ago. She's given him 3 calves and lots of milk. One of her calves is the second cow, and both are pregnant at the moment. John Huston, our livestock specialist, has helped Justice with feeding and deworming strategies. He's also helped Justice install a bio-gas unit next to the cow enclosure. This unit will be filled with cow manure and urine (and waste from the house), allow it to sit in a tank and produce methane, which is vented into a pipe that powers the gas stove in his house. The unit is not finished yet, but the tank of waste is almost ready to vent to the pipe. The start up cost was pretty steep in Rwandan terms but Justice figures he will break even in 3 years, then begin to save money. In addition, his family will no longer use charcoal, which is very expensive, and very, very bad for the environment. There is a HUGE illegal charcoal industry in DRC (Congo) - trees are cut in the "protected" forests and made into charcoal in kilns, then transported illegally to Rwanda, Uganda, other parts of DRC... so the bio-gas unit will decrease dependency on charcoal. We are encouraging all of our partner farms to consider installing a bio-gas system. Justice also has a rain catchment system that is almost ready for use. He has a series of pipes on his roof designed to catch the rain water efficiently and run into large tanks. That water will be used to water livestock, wash clothes, flush the toilet, etc. We are working on developing a rain catchment system at MGVP headquarters. Here are some pictures of Justice's house and cows. The cows are always confined because Rwanda has a no grazing policy in order to protect everyone's crops. It also keeps cows off the roads!
Here are John and Justice checking out his almost finished biogas unit, and the back of Justice's nice house.
We left Justice to go visit the home of a woman who has just purchased her first cow - a cross breed, who is supposed to be pregnant. John and I will palpate her to determine pregnancy status. This farm is a good 20 minute drive over VERY bumpy lava stone road, into a neighborhood that rarely sees cars, let along white people. We were immediately surrounded by a few women and dozens of children who were curious, and funny, and for the most part sweet (some of the older boys were a little naughty - they really, really wanted to ride on the truck...). This cow looks very healthy, and turns out that she is indeed pregnant! This is very good news for her owner. She'll make good money on the calf, and will get several months of milk. Here are some pictures of the cow, John palpating her, the house where she and some goats and a small family stay at night, and the kids. One little girl was knitting - she was very proud when I asked to take her picture.
This is how the majority of people live here in and around Ruhengeri. I am honored to be welcomed into their homes.
Friday, September 18, 2009
Ihumure
Ihumure died last night. Another necropsy today. He had trauma to the kidney and an intussusception of the bowel (one piece telescoped into another). It is good to get a diagnosis, and to know there was little we do, but so difficult to know that he suffered so. Again, that is all part of life, but to be so close to it does give pause.
We will bury him according to the protocol of a physical anthropologist who is studying the bones of Mountain Gorillas. He will be laid in this little box in a very specific way so that the bones will be in anatomically correct position when they are retrieved in about a year. The box will be filled with loose dirt, and he will be buried at a specific depth to maximize natural cleaning of the bones. His grave will be marked with rocks in the little graveyard at park headquarters and with GPS coordinates. All seems very matter of fact. But really, it seems fitting, and a way to honor Ihumure and his species. To learn as much as we can from his little body. To help us better understand Mountain Gorillas so that we can best protect them and their environment.
Immediately after we finished with this necropsy I took a family who is doing a story on MGVP to see the gorilla orphans in Kinigi. It was nice to see this group of healthy, content orphans, each of whom has a tragic story, displaying for our benefit, and for the sheer joy of displaying! Lifted my spirits. More about them later - I'm going out for a beer!
We will bury him according to the protocol of a physical anthropologist who is studying the bones of Mountain Gorillas. He will be laid in this little box in a very specific way so that the bones will be in anatomically correct position when they are retrieved in about a year. The box will be filled with loose dirt, and he will be buried at a specific depth to maximize natural cleaning of the bones. His grave will be marked with rocks in the little graveyard at park headquarters and with GPS coordinates. All seems very matter of fact. But really, it seems fitting, and a way to honor Ihumure and his species. To learn as much as we can from his little body. To help us better understand Mountain Gorillas so that we can best protect them and their environment.
Immediately after we finished with this necropsy I took a family who is doing a story on MGVP to see the gorilla orphans in Kinigi. It was nice to see this group of healthy, content orphans, each of whom has a tragic story, displaying for our benefit, and for the sheer joy of displaying! Lifted my spirits. More about them later - I'm going out for a beer!
Wednesday, September 16, 2009
Long day
Quick update after a long day. We did a complete necropsy (animal version of autopsy) today. A long and difficult procedure, the final results of which will take months. The tissues are placed in formalin and frozen, and will be brought back to our pathologist in the US next time Mike goes back to the states. Lots of permit/paperwork for this critically endangered species to be moved from his country of origin. I learned today that Titus was the oldest silverback with known birth date. 35 years old.
Ihumure is not doing well. He is weak, but does seem to be staying with the male group. In fact today Magda saw one of the blackback males defend Ihumure when Rano charged into the group. This is a good sign, if Ihumure can hang in there. We made the decision to attempt to treat him for a variety of potential causes for his weakness today, in the most non-invasive way we could. He was darted with antibiotic, antiparasitic and anti-inflammatory drugs. This remains a very, very difficult situation from a medical and ethical perspective. If we attempt to do a full intervention (anesthesia, sampling, fluid therapy, etc.) the group may leave - they are so unstable right now. If they leave, and he is still weak, we may not be able to successfully reintroduce him to the group once he recovers from anesthesia. If we don't do a full anesthesia, we may never know what is the cause of his weakness, and we still may lose him. So after long discussions with Veronica from Karisoke, we decided to try the least invasive "shot gun" method of giving him a chance. Trackers will watch him carefully tomorrow, while his father is being buried near Dian Fossey.
That's it for now. I think I'll watch an episode of "House" tonight - feeling the need to escape a bit....
Ihumure is not doing well. He is weak, but does seem to be staying with the male group. In fact today Magda saw one of the blackback males defend Ihumure when Rano charged into the group. This is a good sign, if Ihumure can hang in there. We made the decision to attempt to treat him for a variety of potential causes for his weakness today, in the most non-invasive way we could. He was darted with antibiotic, antiparasitic and anti-inflammatory drugs. This remains a very, very difficult situation from a medical and ethical perspective. If we attempt to do a full intervention (anesthesia, sampling, fluid therapy, etc.) the group may leave - they are so unstable right now. If they leave, and he is still weak, we may not be able to successfully reintroduce him to the group once he recovers from anesthesia. If we don't do a full anesthesia, we may never know what is the cause of his weakness, and we still may lose him. So after long discussions with Veronica from Karisoke, we decided to try the least invasive "shot gun" method of giving him a chance. Trackers will watch him carefully tomorrow, while his father is being buried near Dian Fossey.
That's it for now. I think I'll watch an episode of "House" tonight - feeling the need to escape a bit....
Monday, September 14, 2009
Loss
Titus died last night. Magda spent the day with the group doing observations because Ihumure would not leave the body for several hours - everyone is so very worried about him. Tuck, the old female who has been with Titus for years, along with her 3.5 year old son, were not found for several hours today, but came back this afternoon, and both are staying near Titus.
Rano, Titus's son and now leader, is with the 2 blackbacks and one juvenile male of the group, and he seemed to be trying to move the group away from Titus, but they all kept circling back to Titus's body. Ihumure is afraid of the male group so he sits by himself. Tuck and her son move away when they approach too, but do not sit with Ihumure. This is such a difficult time for the gorillas and the people who care for them.
We did not move his body off the volcano yet - we want the group to have time to grieve, and calm down some. Porters and trackers will bring his body to our clinic tomorrow morning for the necropsy, then he will be buried in the gorilla graveyard near park headquarters. There are no words to truly express the feelings of loss that are palpable in this gorilla conservation community today.
Rano, Titus's son and now leader, is with the 2 blackbacks and one juvenile male of the group, and he seemed to be trying to move the group away from Titus, but they all kept circling back to Titus's body. Ihumure is afraid of the male group so he sits by himself. Tuck and her son move away when they approach too, but do not sit with Ihumure. This is such a difficult time for the gorillas and the people who care for them.
We did not move his body off the volcano yet - we want the group to have time to grieve, and calm down some. Porters and trackers will bring his body to our clinic tomorrow morning for the necropsy, then he will be buried in the gorilla graveyard near park headquarters. There are no words to truly express the feelings of loss that are palpable in this gorilla conservation community today.
Sunday, September 13, 2009
Titus update
He is not doing well at all. Yesterday he moved with the group but did not eat, and today he is alive, but very weak, not eating; it is a matter of hours or days. I hear this is how Shinda died too - just faded away. Shinda was a silverback who controlled a large group. When he died there was not another silverback strong enough to hold the group together, so it split into two groups. He was a juvenile when I was here in 1985, and in Beethoven's group - the group I was fortunate to visit. I remember Shinda well, because when we arrived and saw my first wild gorilla group, I stood slack jawed, staring. Shinda walked past me with several other gorillas, and he pushed me over with his back leg - as if to say "You should crouch in the presence of gorillas!". So I did. I hear Shinda maintained this attitude into adulthood, and was a strong, demanding leader until his death last year. I wish I could have seen him again.
Death is a natural process, I understand that, and Titus has had a very long and good life, but it is still difficult, especially as a veterinarian, to do nothing. I've been waging moral battles in my head since he got sick... doing nothing at this point seems philosophically the best thing to do. We've had many discussions with Veronica at Karisoke Research Center and she agrees. If we were to intervene, and were somehow able to provide him with several more weeks or even months of life, Titus would be a shadow of his former self, a tag-a-long in the family he used to control. My heart is heavy for the trackers and researchers who have known him for many years.
On a happier note, today I went for a long walk with Julie, who runs a GREAT NGO called Art of Conservation - she teaches art at local grade schools, but incorporates hygiene messages, conservation messages and natural history messages into her lessons. Magda, Jean-Felix and I each spoke to a class last week about MGVP and it was so fun! The school is in Kinigi, serves 8-12 year old kids, roughly. It is a series of long brick structures that are divided into classrooms. Each classroom has a blackboard and wooden table/chair combos that seat 2-3 students each. Kids are required to wear "uniforms" which consist of a blue dress for girls and a blue or tan shirt for boys. The school serves 1700 kids who come for 1/2 days each day. Evidently during the planting and harvest seasons girls are often absent - they are the first that are made to stay home to help... but there are about 30% girls in the class I spoke to.
Through an interpreter (although they are learning English in the classroom) I talked about gorilla health, and how we know when a gorilla is sick (trackers are very important and know the gorillas well, etc.), how the get sick (snares, respiratory disease, etc.) and how we can treat the gorillas. I took the dart gun and showed them how we use the dart to deliver medications - they were AMAZED! I even let the two kids who got the top score on last week's test shoot the gun. At the end, I asked how many kids in the class wanted to work with gorillas as trackers or guides or even veterinarians and many raised their hand. I told them to work hard and maybe they can work for MGVP when they grow up. I hope one of them does. Here are some photos from that classroom, along with AoC's Code of Conduct and Staying Healthy posters - I am so impressed with Julie's work!
Death is a natural process, I understand that, and Titus has had a very long and good life, but it is still difficult, especially as a veterinarian, to do nothing. I've been waging moral battles in my head since he got sick... doing nothing at this point seems philosophically the best thing to do. We've had many discussions with Veronica at Karisoke Research Center and she agrees. If we were to intervene, and were somehow able to provide him with several more weeks or even months of life, Titus would be a shadow of his former self, a tag-a-long in the family he used to control. My heart is heavy for the trackers and researchers who have known him for many years.
On a happier note, today I went for a long walk with Julie, who runs a GREAT NGO called Art of Conservation - she teaches art at local grade schools, but incorporates hygiene messages, conservation messages and natural history messages into her lessons. Magda, Jean-Felix and I each spoke to a class last week about MGVP and it was so fun! The school is in Kinigi, serves 8-12 year old kids, roughly. It is a series of long brick structures that are divided into classrooms. Each classroom has a blackboard and wooden table/chair combos that seat 2-3 students each. Kids are required to wear "uniforms" which consist of a blue dress for girls and a blue or tan shirt for boys. The school serves 1700 kids who come for 1/2 days each day. Evidently during the planting and harvest seasons girls are often absent - they are the first that are made to stay home to help... but there are about 30% girls in the class I spoke to.
Through an interpreter (although they are learning English in the classroom) I talked about gorilla health, and how we know when a gorilla is sick (trackers are very important and know the gorillas well, etc.), how the get sick (snares, respiratory disease, etc.) and how we can treat the gorillas. I took the dart gun and showed them how we use the dart to deliver medications - they were AMAZED! I even let the two kids who got the top score on last week's test shoot the gun. At the end, I asked how many kids in the class wanted to work with gorillas as trackers or guides or even veterinarians and many raised their hand. I told them to work hard and maybe they can work for MGVP when they grow up. I hope one of them does. Here are some photos from that classroom, along with AoC's Code of Conduct and Staying Healthy posters - I am so impressed with Julie's work!
Friday, September 11, 2009
Second Wind
Titus looks better today. He is alert and eating. The group is rallying around him. Ihumure is MUCH better - even playing a bit with his brother. We are cautiously optimistic...This is my life here in Africa. Things look like they are going in one direction, then there is a 180 degree turn - so you learn quickly to be flexible! To not dig in your heels. To not necessarily count on things happening the way you think they should, or even the way someone told you they would...
I went to a "model farm" partner's house today with John Huston - the PhD candidate from Mississippi who is the MGVP livestock health guy. He's teaching people how to better care for their animals to make them more productive. This serves 2 purposes - helps keep PEOPLE healthy if their livestock is more productive, but also helps prevent disease drift into wildlife populations. This partner's "farm" is really just his backyard (about the size of our driveway at home...), where he has 4 goats, a young heifer and 2 penned pigs. Crazy crowded, but the animals were all relatively healthy! All are slightly dehydrated - there is no running water in this community, so ALL water is carried back and forth from the well. That means the animals rarely have drinking water - they have to get all their moisture from the forage, and this time of year everything is dry. But the rains are coming, and everything will rehydrate. Plants, livestock, people.
Then we visited the home of the administrator for one of the local human clinics. His wife is the head of the local women's cooperative - this co-op makes clothing, baskets, etc, for sale to tourists and locals. So they are a relatively wealthy family. Their home has glass windows and doors that lock. When we went inside there was a lovely old push peddle Singer sewing machine that Angel, the wife, uses for her sewing. The floor was dirt and stone, and there was very little other furniture - a table and chairs. A Mountain Gorilla poster on the wall. We really don't need much to live comfortably. We Americans have so many unnecessary possessions - I hope I can hang onto the memory of Angel's house when I get back to the states. But when I got back to my home in Ruhengeri I pulled a cold Tonic out of the fridge, turned on my computer and i-pod, nibbled on my new bag of Goldfish (THANK YOU BECKY!!!!) and settled into my padded office chair.... I sometimes feel so very colonial, and don't quite know what to do with that.
Here's me with Titus and Ihumure. Fingers crossed for them both!!
Thursday, September 10, 2009
Titus
We got a report this morning that Titus is near death. He had been resting so comfortably with little Ihumure, but resting a lot. We all thought he was resting for Ihumure, but it now appears that he is giving up. He had recently abdicated control of his group to his son, which was shocking to the researchers - he had always been such a strong leader, since the time of Dian Fossey. This morning when trackers found the group Titus had not left his night nest, and was not responsive.
There is nothing we can do. We prepare for the necropsy. Titus was a gentle giant, loved by all. He made history with Dian Fossey. His loss will be deeply felt by gorillas and humans. The future of his group is in question, and Ihumure's future is in jeopardy. Titus was his only ally.
We buried an infant yesterday. One that I met on my first health check with Group 13. He was found dead 9 days ago and his mother only yesterday gave him up.
I am so sad.
There is nothing we can do. We prepare for the necropsy. Titus was a gentle giant, loved by all. He made history with Dian Fossey. His loss will be deeply felt by gorillas and humans. The future of his group is in question, and Ihumure's future is in jeopardy. Titus was his only ally.
We buried an infant yesterday. One that I met on my first health check with Group 13. He was found dead 9 days ago and his mother only yesterday gave him up.
I am so sad.
Wednesday, September 9, 2009
RAIN
Well, the rainy season has started, but when it rains here it is not like Indiana, so far anyway. Today the sky turned black, there was a little rumbling, and then it opened up and POURED. For about 30 minutes. Then the sun came out, the birds sang, and the temperature dropped 5 degrees (to 70 - it is generally about 75 during the day and 60 at night so far). I can't wait to see what happens with the garden now that the rains have come.
Ihumure update:
I went back up to have a look at him on Monday, and believe it or not, I made it to the ravine without ANY rest stops!!! I paced myself pretty well, but was absolutely amazed at how much better I did this trip than on Saturday. Part of it was that I knew what I was in for and I went very slowly, but part of it is that my body is actually adjusting. My kidneys are producing erythropoietin so that I can make more red blood cells so that my muscles and brain can get more oxygen at this altitude. I marveled at physiology as I trudged up the trail.
When we got to the ravine, Ihumure was again sleeping with the Silverback Titus, but when he woke up his eyes were more clear, and his movements more controlled. The trackers told me he had eaten that morning with much more strength than previously. I was so pleased. He's not out of the woods by any means, but moving in the right direction!
On the other hand, Titus seems pretty tired. Resting a lot. Hopefully he is just resting up from the last 2 weeks of interactions with lone silverbacks.
Here are some photos of that last trek - such a beautiful spot.
This is a lovely little homestead on the way to the park.
And there is actually a gorilla in that ravine...
Titus and Ihumure
Ihumure update:
I went back up to have a look at him on Monday, and believe it or not, I made it to the ravine without ANY rest stops!!! I paced myself pretty well, but was absolutely amazed at how much better I did this trip than on Saturday. Part of it was that I knew what I was in for and I went very slowly, but part of it is that my body is actually adjusting. My kidneys are producing erythropoietin so that I can make more red blood cells so that my muscles and brain can get more oxygen at this altitude. I marveled at physiology as I trudged up the trail.
When we got to the ravine, Ihumure was again sleeping with the Silverback Titus, but when he woke up his eyes were more clear, and his movements more controlled. The trackers told me he had eaten that morning with much more strength than previously. I was so pleased. He's not out of the woods by any means, but moving in the right direction!
On the other hand, Titus seems pretty tired. Resting a lot. Hopefully he is just resting up from the last 2 weeks of interactions with lone silverbacks.Here are some photos of that last trek - such a beautiful spot.
This is a lovely little homestead on the way to the park.
And there is actually a gorilla in that ravine...
Titus and Ihumure
Saturday, September 5, 2009
Saturday, take 2...
Well, I was wrong. It was not a quite Saturday after all. I got a call mid morning from Veronica, the director of research at the Karisoke Research Station, that Ihumure, the little orphan who was reported to be limping, is now not eating, and not moving much at all. So I packed my bag, drank some water and headed to the forest. This was the first time I'd gone out to the forest on my own, and I was a little nervous and excited at the same time.
Preparations for going to the forest include loading the small backpack with rain-gear, camera, water, notebook and pen. Sterile vials to collect fresh feces. Glasses, walking stick. Find out where to meet the military and trackers - usually Kinigi or Bisote, which are two villages about 15 and 30 minutes from Ruhengeri.
I drove the 25 minutes to the DFGFI (Dian Fossey Gorilla Foundation International) research house in Bisote and picked up my tracker and military escort (we always have a military escort when we go to the forest, more for protection if we encounter an aggressive forest buffalo than for human concerns... but that too...). By the way, I forgot to mention that we did see a buffalo last week! He was about 100 meters off, looking at us through the vegetation. Very cool.
As I arrived I saw a group of soldiers and trackers standing outside the house. I got out of the truck and said in my broken french - "You take me to Titus group?" They just stared at me... so I said "TITUS GROUP" really loudly. I don't know why I thought they would better understand me if I spoke loudly. One of the trackers said in English - "what?" So I said "TITUS" again, feeling a little foolish. Then he said smiled and said "TEETOS!!". Ahh, I was pronouncing it wrong! I said "Oui, TEETOS!!!!" and smiled broadly. And we were on our way in the Land Cruiser, over a terribly bumpy lava stone road, through tiny villages where people are used to seeing research and tourist trucks going past, but the kids still run out to see you, always smiling and either doing the "thumbs up" or shouting the now very common to me phrase - "bonjour mzungu!!". There were many women in very colorful cloths walking along the road, all with something on their heads - a sack of potatoes, baskets, big yellow water jugs - and most with a baby on their back and a toddler following in front or behind. Any child over 5 (and some smaller) were also toting water jugs, fire wood, or baskets as well. Men were making bricks, building houses, weaving rugs. People were going about their day, and I was fascinated. I found myself wondering about their lives, their hopes and dreams. Then I flashed back to driving down Meridian Street to the Zoo - why didn't I wonder about their lives? Too familiar?
The tracker, Fundi, motioned for me to stop and park the truck in a small village down the road. We got out and started up the fields to the wall that marks the park boundary, but as I looked up I couldn't see the wall. This didn't bode well... Fundi and the military guards were practically jogging up the slope. I didn't even try to stay at their pace. There was one guard behind me who was very patient as I once again huffed and puffed up the slope. It was an hour walk to the wall for me, with at least 3 stops to rest. "je m'excuse" I said constantly. "Je n'suis pas forte encore." He told me didn't speak much french or english. Only Kinyarwandan, swahili and arabic. I said I only speak english and a little french. Then we were quiet as my open mouth breathing subsided and the pounding in my ears slowed to a tolerable rate. The scenes around me were beautiful! At one point I almost stepped on a chameleon the size of my thumb. I stopped to pick him up and show the guard, then I put him on a nearby bush. I wanted to take his picture, but we were on a mission. And I was slow enough as it was.
We finally made it to the forest wall where we put on our rain pants to protect us from the at least 3 species of nettles and thistle, and as a bio-security measure (we wash them when we get back each time, as well as our boots, to keep down the potential spread of pathogens from group to group). I asked how far into the forest before we find the group, and Fundi looked a little apologetic and said it was about an hour. I groan inwardly, wondering if it is one hour his time or mine...), but smiled and said "ok, lets go!" It ended up taking another hour and a half, and several more stops for me with Fundi looking back anxiously, ALWAYS from far above me on the heavily wooded slope. Geez, how long is it going to take me to acclimate???? Just when I really don't think I can go much further we made it to the other trackers. Fundi talked rapidly with them in Kinyarwandan, gesturing here and there. Then he told me the gorilla group is resting down there, and he pointed down into a very steep, heavily vegetated ravine. I looked where he was pointing and saw a small black figure laying in the vegetation - she was one of the adult females from the group.
Fundi and I left the guards and other tracker at that point - we always go to the group with as few people as possible. As we moved down the slope I learned to trust that the thick, matted vegetation would catch my feet so I won't slide all the way down into the ravine with each step. At one point we stepped on a bee nest and were COVERED in bees. I probably made some inappropriate noises as I tried to move away. There were bees all over Fundi, in my hair, up my sleeve, buzzing around our heads. He didn't seem too concerned. I put up my hood and then heard buzzing inside the hood - ug. Then I noticed that I was not being stung. Not even by the one up my sleeve! I accidentally swatted one and even then wasn't stung... Then I remembered that somebody told me there are several species of non-stinging bees here. What a relief - I re-focused on the task at hand as we arrived at the spot where Titus, the silverback, and Ihumure, along with Segasira (another 3 year old) and Pato (a sub-adult male) were resting. Everyone looked peaceful except Ihumure. He had his eyes squeezed shut and was sleeping very, very soundly. The others were dozing, or grooming, or just resting while looking about. They were uninterested in our presence. The tracker told me in broken english that Ihumure is not lame, but is very slow and appears to be weak. And that he is not eating much at all. That's the most alarming part of the report - these gorillas rely on plants for their water intake, and this little guy will get dehydrated quickly if he doesn't eat enough. We watched them for about 45 minutes, and he opened his eyes once, sat up and tried to groom Titus but his hand just fell. He looked so pitiful. Broke my heart. I needed to get back to talk to Magdalena and Veronica so I looked up the slope and this time I groaned out loud - Fundi laughed and said it was okay to go slowly. Thank God - I couldn't have gone any other speed!
It took us only 45 minutes to get to the wall (took an hour and a half up...) and I found myself thinking, this is such a gradual slope, what's my problem!!! This time I could look around, not just at my feet as I placed one foot in front of the other on the way up. The trees were HUGE - at least 4-5 feet in diameter with moss covered branches the size of trees themselves. There were 10 foot tall lobelia spikes all over the place. And once in a while we would round a switch-back and there would be a wonderful vista, either of a volcanic ravine or of the villages below, depending on the direction. I really wanted to take pictures, but again, the mission demanded that I move on. Another 35 minutes from the wall to the parking area, then a 30 minute drive home.
I spoke to Magda and Veronica. We decided to monitor him daily. Titus is sticking so close to him that an intervention would be dicey. Magda went up this morning, and it sounds like he is no better, but no worse. She saw him eat 2 pieces of wild celery, and he groomed Titus. The group has not moved much, so he has been able to rest. We'll go up daily and make the difficult cost/benefit decision daily whether or not to intervene. I'll keep you posted.
Preparations for going to the forest include loading the small backpack with rain-gear, camera, water, notebook and pen. Sterile vials to collect fresh feces. Glasses, walking stick. Find out where to meet the military and trackers - usually Kinigi or Bisote, which are two villages about 15 and 30 minutes from Ruhengeri.
I drove the 25 minutes to the DFGFI (Dian Fossey Gorilla Foundation International) research house in Bisote and picked up my tracker and military escort (we always have a military escort when we go to the forest, more for protection if we encounter an aggressive forest buffalo than for human concerns... but that too...). By the way, I forgot to mention that we did see a buffalo last week! He was about 100 meters off, looking at us through the vegetation. Very cool.
As I arrived I saw a group of soldiers and trackers standing outside the house. I got out of the truck and said in my broken french - "You take me to Titus group?" They just stared at me... so I said "TITUS GROUP" really loudly. I don't know why I thought they would better understand me if I spoke loudly. One of the trackers said in English - "what?" So I said "TITUS" again, feeling a little foolish. Then he said smiled and said "TEETOS!!". Ahh, I was pronouncing it wrong! I said "Oui, TEETOS!!!!" and smiled broadly. And we were on our way in the Land Cruiser, over a terribly bumpy lava stone road, through tiny villages where people are used to seeing research and tourist trucks going past, but the kids still run out to see you, always smiling and either doing the "thumbs up" or shouting the now very common to me phrase - "bonjour mzungu!!". There were many women in very colorful cloths walking along the road, all with something on their heads - a sack of potatoes, baskets, big yellow water jugs - and most with a baby on their back and a toddler following in front or behind. Any child over 5 (and some smaller) were also toting water jugs, fire wood, or baskets as well. Men were making bricks, building houses, weaving rugs. People were going about their day, and I was fascinated. I found myself wondering about their lives, their hopes and dreams. Then I flashed back to driving down Meridian Street to the Zoo - why didn't I wonder about their lives? Too familiar?
The tracker, Fundi, motioned for me to stop and park the truck in a small village down the road. We got out and started up the fields to the wall that marks the park boundary, but as I looked up I couldn't see the wall. This didn't bode well... Fundi and the military guards were practically jogging up the slope. I didn't even try to stay at their pace. There was one guard behind me who was very patient as I once again huffed and puffed up the slope. It was an hour walk to the wall for me, with at least 3 stops to rest. "je m'excuse" I said constantly. "Je n'suis pas forte encore." He told me didn't speak much french or english. Only Kinyarwandan, swahili and arabic. I said I only speak english and a little french. Then we were quiet as my open mouth breathing subsided and the pounding in my ears slowed to a tolerable rate. The scenes around me were beautiful! At one point I almost stepped on a chameleon the size of my thumb. I stopped to pick him up and show the guard, then I put him on a nearby bush. I wanted to take his picture, but we were on a mission. And I was slow enough as it was.
We finally made it to the forest wall where we put on our rain pants to protect us from the at least 3 species of nettles and thistle, and as a bio-security measure (we wash them when we get back each time, as well as our boots, to keep down the potential spread of pathogens from group to group). I asked how far into the forest before we find the group, and Fundi looked a little apologetic and said it was about an hour. I groan inwardly, wondering if it is one hour his time or mine...), but smiled and said "ok, lets go!" It ended up taking another hour and a half, and several more stops for me with Fundi looking back anxiously, ALWAYS from far above me on the heavily wooded slope. Geez, how long is it going to take me to acclimate???? Just when I really don't think I can go much further we made it to the other trackers. Fundi talked rapidly with them in Kinyarwandan, gesturing here and there. Then he told me the gorilla group is resting down there, and he pointed down into a very steep, heavily vegetated ravine. I looked where he was pointing and saw a small black figure laying in the vegetation - she was one of the adult females from the group.
Fundi and I left the guards and other tracker at that point - we always go to the group with as few people as possible. As we moved down the slope I learned to trust that the thick, matted vegetation would catch my feet so I won't slide all the way down into the ravine with each step. At one point we stepped on a bee nest and were COVERED in bees. I probably made some inappropriate noises as I tried to move away. There were bees all over Fundi, in my hair, up my sleeve, buzzing around our heads. He didn't seem too concerned. I put up my hood and then heard buzzing inside the hood - ug. Then I noticed that I was not being stung. Not even by the one up my sleeve! I accidentally swatted one and even then wasn't stung... Then I remembered that somebody told me there are several species of non-stinging bees here. What a relief - I re-focused on the task at hand as we arrived at the spot where Titus, the silverback, and Ihumure, along with Segasira (another 3 year old) and Pato (a sub-adult male) were resting. Everyone looked peaceful except Ihumure. He had his eyes squeezed shut and was sleeping very, very soundly. The others were dozing, or grooming, or just resting while looking about. They were uninterested in our presence. The tracker told me in broken english that Ihumure is not lame, but is very slow and appears to be weak. And that he is not eating much at all. That's the most alarming part of the report - these gorillas rely on plants for their water intake, and this little guy will get dehydrated quickly if he doesn't eat enough. We watched them for about 45 minutes, and he opened his eyes once, sat up and tried to groom Titus but his hand just fell. He looked so pitiful. Broke my heart. I needed to get back to talk to Magdalena and Veronica so I looked up the slope and this time I groaned out loud - Fundi laughed and said it was okay to go slowly. Thank God - I couldn't have gone any other speed!
It took us only 45 minutes to get to the wall (took an hour and a half up...) and I found myself thinking, this is such a gradual slope, what's my problem!!! This time I could look around, not just at my feet as I placed one foot in front of the other on the way up. The trees were HUGE - at least 4-5 feet in diameter with moss covered branches the size of trees themselves. There were 10 foot tall lobelia spikes all over the place. And once in a while we would round a switch-back and there would be a wonderful vista, either of a volcanic ravine or of the villages below, depending on the direction. I really wanted to take pictures, but again, the mission demanded that I move on. Another 35 minutes from the wall to the parking area, then a 30 minute drive home.
I spoke to Magda and Veronica. We decided to monitor him daily. Titus is sticking so close to him that an intervention would be dicey. Magda went up this morning, and it sounds like he is no better, but no worse. She saw him eat 2 pieces of wild celery, and he groomed Titus. The group has not moved much, so he has been able to rest. We'll go up daily and make the difficult cost/benefit decision daily whether or not to intervene. I'll keep you posted.
Week 5
Yesterday was a desk day, bank day, try to figure out CITES permit day, and overall management sorta day. Today is a quiet Saturday so far - I hope to start a small garden today or tomorrow - the rainy season is coming so it might be a good time to get my flowers growing!
We did get two reports of injured gorillas yesterday - an adult female in one group has a wound on her hand. Trackers are going to assess and call me sometime today. In another group there is a 3 year old that is limping - apparently the little guys like to climb trees and sometimes fall out, or the tree limb breaks. This little guy also lost his mom to another group (silver backs steal females sometimes), but he hangs out with the old silverback Titus, who has been here since the Dian Fossey days. I've been told that this youngster is limping badly enough that he has a hard time keeping up with the group, but Titus always goes back to check on him and waits for him to catch up. Trackers looked at him this morning and he is much better, so no need for us to go have a look at him. It he were worse, I would have gone up to the group to assess him myself. We have a policy that we intervene only when the problem is human induced or life threatening - the goal is to let nature take its course to a certain extent, but not at the cost of a life. With only 700 individual mountain gorillas left each life is important. The other piece is that each intervention (anesthetic event, generally) is potentially dangerous to animals and people involved, so we have to make pretty serious cost/benefit decisions for each case. For these two, it does not sound like we'll be getting involved, but I'll let you know!
That's it for now. Happy Labor Day everyone!
Here's one of the lowland gorilla orphans we help care for in Kinigi - What a cutie-pie!
We did get two reports of injured gorillas yesterday - an adult female in one group has a wound on her hand. Trackers are going to assess and call me sometime today. In another group there is a 3 year old that is limping - apparently the little guys like to climb trees and sometimes fall out, or the tree limb breaks. This little guy also lost his mom to another group (silver backs steal females sometimes), but he hangs out with the old silverback Titus, who has been here since the Dian Fossey days. I've been told that this youngster is limping badly enough that he has a hard time keeping up with the group, but Titus always goes back to check on him and waits for him to catch up. Trackers looked at him this morning and he is much better, so no need for us to go have a look at him. It he were worse, I would have gone up to the group to assess him myself. We have a policy that we intervene only when the problem is human induced or life threatening - the goal is to let nature take its course to a certain extent, but not at the cost of a life. With only 700 individual mountain gorillas left each life is important. The other piece is that each intervention (anesthetic event, generally) is potentially dangerous to animals and people involved, so we have to make pretty serious cost/benefit decisions for each case. For these two, it does not sound like we'll be getting involved, but I'll let you know!
That's it for now. Happy Labor Day everyone!
Here's one of the lowland gorilla orphans we help care for in Kinigi - What a cutie-pie!
Thursday, September 3, 2009
PACKAGE!!!
I got my first care package today!
Thanks Bob!!! John Huston is an American PhD candidate working with MGVP on livestock health, and he was on vacation in the US this month - he brought my package back with him. YAY!
I now have almonds and wasabi peas (Candi, I LOVE the nut/wasabi pea combo now!), a small mirror for my bedroom, an external hard drive, and MOVIES! YAY!
Becky and Howie - I haven't received the packages you sent in the mail yet, but John just told me that since April (genocide remembrance time) when the post office slows to a crawl, packages have taken about 32 days, so I'm still hopeful!
Today was a desk day. Got a lot done, but still a long way to go before I feel like I know my way around the files, accounting, previous cases, etc. But I'm getting there!
My muscles are sore from yesterday's trek. Feels good.
Thanks Bob!!! John Huston is an American PhD candidate working with MGVP on livestock health, and he was on vacation in the US this month - he brought my package back with him. YAY!
I now have almonds and wasabi peas (Candi, I LOVE the nut/wasabi pea combo now!), a small mirror for my bedroom, an external hard drive, and MOVIES! YAY!
Becky and Howie - I haven't received the packages you sent in the mail yet, but John just told me that since April (genocide remembrance time) when the post office slows to a crawl, packages have taken about 32 days, so I'm still hopeful!
Today was a desk day. Got a lot done, but still a long way to go before I feel like I know my way around the files, accounting, previous cases, etc. But I'm getting there!
My muscles are sore from yesterday's trek. Feels good.
Wednesday, September 2, 2009
9000 feet
We walked for 3 hours before we found the group today. Straight up. To 9000 feet. Going back down was faster. Gorillas were GREAT.Je suis fatigue.
Here are some photos from today - I tried up upload a video but it was too big. I guess that's my next task - figure out how to make the videos smaller so I can put them on the blog!
BTW - I am now officially on the GorillaDoctors website, and my first "official" blog should be posted in about a week. Stay tuned!
Tuesday, September 1, 2009
Driving lessons
I drove myself home from Kigali today for the first time! I dropped Mike off at the airport and navigated my way through downtown Kigali, then drove the 2 hours up and down the mountains home to Ruhengeri. Last week I drove to and from Kigali with a guy from Ruhengeri who knew his way around the city, and he taught me all the road courtesy signals:
So I made it home, and can now check off one more from my list of firsts!
They say you've "gone native" if you do three things while in a foreign country:
Walk at night. Check.
Drive by yourself. Check.
Drink the tap water. Not happening.
- When you come up behind a huge, smelly truck spewing black smoke and doing about 2mph up a steep, windy mountain road, you obviously want to pass him. So you turn on your left turn signal and wait until you can sorta see around him. He will turn on his left signal if somebody is coming the other way, meaning DON'T PASS. He will turn on his right signal if the coast is clear (as far as he can see), meaning GIVE IT A TRY...
- If you are in a long line of cars following said smelly, slow truck, you can pass the one in front of you IF they don't have their left turn signal on. If they do have it on, you have to wait your turn.
- If you are going slower than the person behind you, let them know if somebody is coming or not (using the signaling above) and let them pass you.
- If you see someone coming toward you and they flash their lights, look at the driver because if there are police ahead he will point his index finger to the ground. If there are no police he will point to the sky. And you should do the same courtesy.
- When you approach a motor bike you should honk once or twice to let them know you are coming up behind them. (Not as much honking as the Dominican Republic, but it came pretty naturally to me!)
So I made it home, and can now check off one more from my list of firsts!
They say you've "gone native" if you do three things while in a foreign country:
Walk at night. Check.
Drive by yourself. Check.
Drink the tap water. Not happening.
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