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Protecting the Mountain Gorillas of Virunga
Found the Munyaga Group!
This morning we followed the tracks that we found yesterday. After four hours of difficult tracking, I suddenly could smell the unmistakable scent of mountain gorillas. As we entered a clearing, we caught a glimpse of a big silverback- it was Mawazo, one of the Munyaga family.
Mawazo
The next gorilla I saw was Kadogo, who is my favorite of all the gorillas. He was a blackback when I last saw him, but I was delighted to see that he has since turned into a silverback. His head, however, was as bald as always- he was born that way.
Kadogo
Next was Kasole, a silverback who looked much the same as before, albeit bigger. However, Munyaga the lead silverback was nowhere to be seen. We will continue to look for him.
Kasole
The final surprise was provided by the female Bilali, who had a baby about 9 months old. Her last two babies died before they were six months old, so we hope that this is third time lucky. With a baby and three silverbacks in her group, Bilali has her hands full!
Bilali with her infant
Bilali’s baby hitches a ride on her mother
Kadogo’s shiny bald head
Kasole was very relaxed with us
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23 Responses to “Found the Munyaga Group!”
Congratulations on a job well done!
Hi Innocent, I’m so glad that you found the Munyaga Group and your favorite gorilla Kadogo. It’s so interesting that he is bald. Mawazo looks massive. I’m also delighted to hear that Bilali has a new infant. It broke my heart last year when she lost her little one to an altercation. That was the sweetest video ever of her and her new baby. (If anyone wants to see it, I have it at my blog just double click on my picture and scroll down a bit.) Congratulations guys on finding this family! Great work! Lisa
Such wonderful news. I’m so grateful that there are people like Innocent and his collegues, who are doing everything possible to protect these beautiful animals. I just wish that one day I’ll be able to see mountain gorillas in their natural habitat.
Yaaaayyy! Thanks to you, Innocent, and your fellows for making the difficult tra! What great news. I wish that we could send scent over the internet so that we could smell that scent you describe. I like Kadogo’s unique do and can’t help but wonder what makes him your favorite gorilla. Maybe it’s a personal vibration. Anyway, good for you and good for the Gorillas!
Brilliant news! Thank you so much for all you do! Glad to see them again, specially Kadogo and Bilali, and the baby’s just beautiful!
In many primates baldness at birth or follicle absence/proliferation as an adult or sub-adult may be indicative of testosterone balance issues (with other hormonal factors playing a secondary role).
It would be interesting to know Kadogo’s testosterone level compared to other apes. It may be quite high which often accounts for lack of cranial follicle growth. If his test level were extremely high, his size/girth might also be indicative as well as temperament.
In any case though, Schaller states that these “straggler” groups (such as the Munyaga family) are important as they serve to expand the gorillas’ range(s).
Smaller gorilla groups (units) outside of normal primate concentration areas allows the gorillas to expand their range and also serves to increase the opportunity to mate outside of their immediate gene-pool, which is important and serves to assist in the alleviation of genetically transferred (hereditary) health issues.
Tristan
Great news, Innocent! I’m glad all went well and you found the Munyaga group. Thanks for the great photos of the gorillas, they are such magnificent animals! Iris
Such fantastic work Innocent - you & all the guys. Wonderful to see Bilali & her babe. You must be so pleased! Such amazing work in the mad world you have to deal with. SO pleased for you.
Take great care.
Wonderful stuff. With all those silverbacks for protection and mate choice, I wonder why there are not more females attracted to this group?
Great job guys! I knew you all would find the group! I’m sorry you haven’t found Munyaga yet and hope you will soon. I was thrilled to see Bilali with a new baby. He is absolutely precious! I know you all were pleasantly suprised. I pray this baby stays safe. I felt so sad when she lost her baby last year. She is such a loving mother. Kadago is a gorgeous silverback and I think his hair makes him distinguished. They all look healthy and well. I hope some females spot these handsome boys and decide to join the group. That would be great and I know Bilali would appreciate some female company.
this is fantastic. everyone looks big, strong, and healthy. Kadogo looks so majestic as he’s gotten older. Now if these guys could just find some more females…
Success! What an adventure this has been! I’m so relieved that everyone is well and healthy and that there’s even a new addition! I am very struck by that photo of Bilali holding her infant. She has such a soft, sweet, loving face. She certainly must have her hands full with those rambunctious, handsome silverbacks!
Kadogo! I’m sure it was a great feeling to see him again, Innocent. Good work finding the family and I hope you find Munyaga soon. Any clues on why Bilali’s other babies didn’t survive?
s.
iNNOCENT.. bilali baby soo cute. RANGERS ALL are eros
BRILLIANT NEWS
Innocent, I am thrilled to death that you finally found Kadago! Bilali is just gorgeous, but looks like a baby herself…is she fairly young? Wonderful news all the way around!
[...] the re-discovery of the Munyaga family last week, we have today published the results of the gorilla population survey that the Rangers have [...]
The 3rd picture of Kasole resembles the late Digit from one of the gorillas’ group that Dian Fossey studied. Incredible pictures!!
[...] week when we found the Munyaga family group and saw that Bilali had a new baby, it was obvious that we had to name the baby after Safari [...]
[...] Yesterday I accompanied Ranger Kazerezi (aka “Martin”) to check out the Munyaga Group. We found them during their rest break and they were very relaxed- a perfect opportunity to take portraits of this unusual family with three silverbacks. [...]
[...] is a video of three gorillas from the Munyaga Group filmed this morning at geographic coordinates 01.41159 South, 29.44018 [...]
[...] morning I went to see the Munyaga group to check up on Kadogo who was injured in a fight with Mawazo [...]
[...] Kasole means ‘little boy’ in Swahili. It was always meant to be a joke but, as you can see, Kasole has outgrown his name by a fair way. He became a silverback in 2007, but still had some growing to do. When the rangers returned to the park following their enforced absence during the 2008/09 war they were struck by just how big this little boy had become. [...]