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Protecting the Mountain Gorillas of Virunga
Silverback Stands Guard Over Kidole’s Body
As Pierre wrote in Monday’s blog, I have had the unfortunate task of recovering the body of the female gorilla Kidole from the Lulengo Family.
The Rangers at Bikenge Patrol Post had reported that a couple days before she had been separated from the rest of the group again. So I drove up to Jomba Patrol Post with our ICCN veterinarian Dr Arthur Kalonji and we entered the forest in the direction of where Kidole had last been spotted.
Kidole pictured in December 2008
On the way the Rangers told me that Kidole had actually been spotted with the solitary silverback known as Mareru (son of Rugabo and brother to Pili-Pili). Mareru was apparently accompanying Kidole wherever she went.
Mareru was impressive
When we arrived at the location we found Mareru in an agitated state. We approached cautiously and found a nest site. An immobile gorilla body was in one of the nests- it was Kidole. Mareru was being aggressive and prevented us from getting near her. He had been guarding over Kidole many hours after her death.
Kidole’s body
After a while we were able to drive the big silverback away and examined the body. It was very sad for us, as we knew her well during her eventful life, starting initially in the Rugendo group (in which she gave birth to Baseka), then in the Mapuwa group (she is Gourba’s mother), before finally migrating to the Lulengo group.
Kidole is carried to Jomba Patrol Post
We rigged up a harness with a bamboo pole and two men hoisted her up to carry her back to the patrol post. We handed over the body to the MGVP veterinarians, who conducted a thorough post-mortem.
The full results will take a while to come back, but their preliminary observations are that Kidole was an old female, possibly 40 years or older according to her teeth which were very worn. She was very thin and had probably not eaten for about 36-48 hours before her death. She had multiple patches of hair loss on her rear end, face, shoulders etc. She also had evidence of a chronic kidney disease with scaring of both kidneys.
After the post-mortem we took Kidole to Rumangabo and buried her in the mountain gorilla cemetery next to Safari from the Rugendo Group.
RIP KIDOLE
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10 Responses to “Silverback Stands Guard Over Kidole’s Body”
Thank you Innocent for this wonderful post. I have heard about gorilla reactions to their deceased family members - and this is another fascinating tale.
Rest in peace KIDOLE, near to Safari… 40 years of your life was very wonderful. thanks innocent. always is very sad when Gorillas die. i am sure the silverback and the group . will miss her, just when humans die……….
Thank you, Innocent, for honoring Kidole’s passing with this post. We appreciate you sharing your sad report and job of recovery. Kidole was fortunate to lead such a long and eventful life. That she left us in a wake of mourning shows how much she touched all of our lives.
Thank you, Innocent, for the post. Kidole will be missed by her group and her human friends. Thank you for putting her to rest among the others we loved. She will join them in heaven’s forest.
Thank you for the wonderful care you took with her, and the respect with which you laid her to rest. The silverback’s protectiveness brought tears ot my eyes.
Thank you for this post and the fascinating insight that it allows us into the world of these wonderful creatures.
I’m sad to hear of Kdole’s passing. May she rest in peace.
Happy Mother Day to all the mothers in Virunga, also Gorillas mothers.. Tribute to all Mothers Gorillas that Die.
[...] went there to see and found that it was Mareru, one of the sons of the late Rugabo and the silverback who stood guard over Kidole’s dead body last [...]
[...] Silverback Stands Guards Over Dead Gorilla [...]