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.