In 2012, a Grauer's gorilla silverback named Langa in Kahuzi Biega National Park interacted with another Grauer's silverback, Ganywamulume. But sadly, there have been occasional cases of silverbacks succumbing to their injuries, despite Gorilla Doctors' best efforts to save their lives through medical intervention.
Time and time again, the silverback's remarkable healing power is made evident. Over the years, Gorilla Doctors field veterinarians have monitored and treated silverbacks with injuries ranging from deep bite wounds and lacerations to broken limbs. Now, dominant silverback Humba is again facing a challenger in young silverback Mahindure, though the group remains intact for now. Eddy reports that silverback Nyakamwe engaged in regular fights with silverback Humba until the group split in March 2014. it seems lead silverbacks never get a break.‟ And it is not only Bageni and Kabirizi who have faced frequent challenges by subordinate silverbacks in Virunga National Park. "And now, young silverback Kanamaharagi is doing the same thing to dominant silverback Bageni. Martin and I began to observe the young silverback Masibo challenging Kabirizi and to this day, the game is still going on" says Dr. Unfortunately, silverback Kabirizi still has not been able to lead his group without challenges by subordinate males: In routine health checks in late 2014, "Drs. Bageni group has since grown to 29 gorillas, a great indicator of Bageni's success as a group leader and father. Fortunately, a few months later, Kabirizi began allowing young silverback Bageni to have control of some of the group members and finally the group split completely in February 2013: Bageni took 20 of the 36 group members with him, including the vast majority of the females. Bageni's health began to suffer from stress and frequent fighting and he began to lose weight and seemed to age exponentially. These dominance struggles have resulted in the split of many habituated mountain and Grauer's gorilla groups in Congo.įor example, in Virunga National Park's Kabirizi group, young silverback Bageni was regularly interacting with the dominant silverback of the group, Kabirizi. In the last five years in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Gorilla Doctors Head DRC Field Vet Eddy Kambale has reported multiple cases involving silverbacks injured through fighting for dominance. When silverbacks are injured by their conspecifics, it most frequently occurs when a subordinate silverback challenges the lead male. Rurehuka's wound on his back was small and already showing signs of healing. All of his wounds were clean and showing signs of healing, though the more serious laceration on his head would require further assessment. Fred's initial assessment following the intervention, dominant silverback Kakono had two large wounds on his head, one on his shoulder and one on his left wrist. Meanwhile, blackback Tindatine stayed on the periphery of the group, avoiding the fray. Fred's observation, sparking bouts of loud vocalizations while they chased one another away.
Second ranking silverback Rurehuka and young silverback Mucunguzi attempted to move close to the three females of the group during Dr. Fred reported that group leader Kakono was fully in charge of the group. It was a cold, clear morning in Bwindi and the silverbacks fed from the ground while the other group members took to the trees.Įven with subordinate silverbacks recently challenging his dominance, Dr. Fred Nizeyimana first trekked to the group with UWA rangers to assess the silverbacks' wounds and found the ten members of the group calmly feeding on Mimulopsis and tree ferns. Gorilla Doctors Uganda Field Veterinarian Dr.
The interaction left dominant silverback Kakono with two wounds on his head and second ranking silverback Rurehuka with superficial wounds on his back. Recently, an intra-group interaction between silverbacks Kakono and Rurehuka in Bwindi Impenetrable National Park's Bweza group occurred. After an interaction, if any gorillas are wounded, our field vets will return to the group again and again to assess the injuries, deliver medical treatment if necessary, and ensure the gorillas recover fully. Over the last 30 years, Gorilla Doctors field veterinarians have watched these impressive males make miraculous recoveries, many times without the need of veterinary intervention. When powerful silverbacks jostle for dominance within a group, they can sustain very serious injuries with their long canine teeth.
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