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Protecting the Mountain Gorillas of Virunga
Bonane’s Baby Has Died
I have bad news: a two-month old gorilla has died in the Humba Group. The infant belongs to Bonane, who became a first-time mother on 14 March this year.
Yesterday morning one of our trackers reported that he saw that one of the two baby gorillas in the group was dead, but couldn’t confirm which one. Remember we even misidentified the female when the birth was first reported.
Bonane looks at the small immobile body
I rushed up to Bukima and this morning went to see the group- I was very sad when I saw that it was Bonane and that she was still carrying the small lifeless body of her son.
The trackers reported that there had been interactions (ie exchanges and/or fights) between Humba and Kabirizi over the previous several days. They noted that large areas of forest had been destroyed by the two silverbacks and the blackbacks during an interaction on friday/saturday. We suspect that there was another interaction on Sunday evening and that Bonane got caught in the fight and the baby was killed by a blow.
It is not uncommon for infant gorillas to die this way- in September 2007 I told you about Bilali in the Munyaga Group who lost her first two infants during fights between silverbacks. In December 2008, we showed you a video of an interaction in which Bonane herself (at the time pregnant still) was injured on her right arm. Unfortunately it seems she got caught in the action again.
Bonane was visibly upset and the other gorillas in the group were unusually subdued
Of course we cannot yet confirm the exact cause of death- Dr Jacques from MGVP is here on standby, but this appears to be a natural death and we will not intervene for the sake of a quick post-mortem examination.
We will have to let nature take its course and let Bonane decide when to give up and let her baby go.
The group moved a lot over last 24 hours and Bonane has carried her dead infant for miles
I know these pictures are very difficult to look at, but as Pierre quoted this afternoon, this is “Nature, red in tooth and claw.”
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20 Responses to “Bonane’s Baby Has Died”
Diddy, Thank you for sharing this terribly sad news. Though it is natures way, it is still very sad and I am in tears. Bonane, who is one of my favorites, looks so sad in that picture and it is heartbreaking to see her lifeless baby. I hope that she will become a mother again very soon. Did you guys ever name her little one? May he rest in peace.
Poor, poor Bonane! What sad news, indeed. But this is part of life and thank you for the report.
Diddy — These photos are hard but wonderful, because they reinforce how intelligent and complex apes are. It’s unfortunate that there are still people who don’t know that.
Yes, this is part of life but it is indeed saddening. Seeing the grief in Bonane’s eyes and the body of that sweet little baby breaks my heart. I hope she can get pregnant again quickly. She was such a good mother. May her little on rest in peace.
These photos serve to illustrate these magnificent gorillas are highly evolved, feeling, loving creatures. The touching demonstration of grief is sad, though it adds to our sense of our own evolutionary roots, and should heighten our understanding of our moral responsibility in the conservation of not only these mountain gorillas but of all nature.
Hi Guys, I’m so confused. Can you help me sort it out? In the December 10th post “Surprised Among the Sexes” you discovered Bonane with a baby and that he (Bonane) was actually a she. What happened to that baby? Was that Bonane you guys actually saw with a baby or perhaps another gorilla? Did you post about that mix up and I just missed it? Thanks for any insight you can shed on this. : )
Hi Lisa- I’m impressed, you know your stuff! That was indeed a mix up- it was not Bonane who had a baby at the time. She was in fact still pregnant. As you can imagine, identifying gorillas in the dense forest is not easy and mistakes do happen…
Diddy, Thank you for sharing this terribly sad news. Though it is natures way, it is still very sad and I am in tears. Bonane, who is one of my favorites, looks so sad in that picture and it is heartbreaking to see her lifeless baby. I hope that she will become a mother again very soon. Did you guys ever name her little one? May he rest in peace.
Diddy is in the forest right now checking on the Kabirizi group, but I can answer your question: no, the baby hadn’t been named yet and neither has Gato’s infant. P.
Hi Pierre. Thanks for sorting that out for me. Yes, I imagine identifying the gorilla family members would be very challenging. I’m so glad it’s you guys doing it and not me. : ) I am glad to know that Bonane is still in fact a female and hopefully she can be a mother again soon. Me knowing my stuff is just a testament to how wonderfully you guys are relaying to us information about the gorillas. I’m sitting at a computer in California and feel like I actually know these gorillas and have picked my favorites. I can’t wait to see them all in person someday……and you guys too! Thanks again. : )
That’s not true at all…..I really wish it was me identifying the gorillas. : )
Oh dear - that does bring tears to the eyes but nature’s way as you say. Still very sad indeed.
Bad news.. very bad…… poor mother. a lost of 1 gorilla. is a very big lost. lest waith for the veterinary report
Please Update. news of the baby.
[...] 5 days of carrying her dead infant, the mountain gorilla Bonane finally came to terms with the loss of her firstborn. MGVP field [...]
That is so awful.
news of the baby.
[...] The silverback Humba was mating with Bonane, who tragically lost her first baby in May. [...]
[...] like the others, has experienced plenty of both tragedy and joy. In June 2009 for example, after 5 days of carrying her dead infant, Bonane finally came to terms with the loss of her firstborn and surrendered the body to MGVP [...]
[...] May Bonane lost a baby – her first born. It was a time of mourning for Humba , the giant Silverback, and his close-knit [...]