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Protecting the Mountain Gorillas of Virunga
Gorilla’s Face Mangled from Snare Injury
There is good news and bad news. The good news is that the juvenile male gorilla from the Kabirizi family caught in a snare has been released by Innocent and Sekibibi. The bad news is that the injuries sustained to the face of the gorilla were so bad that Innocent was unable to recognize him. You can see for yourself.
These are not pleasant pictures, but this is the reality of what happens when gorillas get caught in snares. The animals are injured, separated from their family, and very very frightened. In this particular case Innocent thinks some of the injuries were sustained when the juvenile tried to free himself from the snare, in a panic.
Innocent says that the damage to the upper jaw and the tears in the flesh make it impossible to recognize this juvenile from the Kabirizi family. And Innocent, as you know, knows all 86 gorillas off by heart, by their noseprint.
This is Innocent releasing the juvenile from the snare late on Friday. It is an extremely delicate task as you can imagine, and not many Rangers or even vets would have the experience or the sensitivity to do this without frightening the gorilla even more.
Unfortunately there is more bad news. The Gorilla Doctors, Magda and Eddy, are now in the field with Rangers and cannot find the juvenile. This is the latest news I have - but I hope to be able to give a more positive update by the end of the day or tomorrow.
I, for one, am keeping my fingers tightly crossed.
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33 Responses to “Gorilla’s Face Mangled from Snare Injury”
I’m sending prayers and love and hope for all. I’m sorry that Innocent had to attend to this sorry task but am glad that he was able to free the young one. Thank you, Innocent. May the young gorilla be found by the doctors (did he run away?). Thanks, Samantha, for posting these difficult photos and to everyone who works to dismantle the snares.
Looking forward to more positive updates on this situation.
My heart is broken for this precious soul. I will be praying for him and for your efforts to find him. Thank you Innocent for saving him from continuing pain and agony.
Please find the little guy and fix that injury… it must be difficult for him to feed.
Suzanne I am not sure what happened after Innocent freed the little gorilla. I know it was very late (he got back way after dark) and so Innocent would have left the gorilla with his family. It was the next day (Saturday) that the vets went up to find him and have been looking for him ever since. Because gorillas are wild animals, even when habituated, Innocent would not have been able to keep the gorilla with him all night. You can then run the risk of further disrupting the family life of Kabirizi’s group. And of course then the gorilla would be exposed to human diseases etc. Anyway, as you can see… a plethora of problems can arise. The best we can hope for right now is that the vets find the gorilla, evaluate his health, and take the appropriate action for him to get better.
We really hope the team can find him. Can the gorilla eat with such injuries? can the injuries heal without medication??? when will all that nightmare stop? All our thoughts are with you! You are doing a great job!
this is so incredibly upsetting. the look on that poor little guys face… I can’t even imagine the trauma he’s suffered… my prayers are with him today with the hopes he can overcome this horrible event, with or without the intervention of those caring vets… thanks so much innocent and sekibibi for your ongoing care and devotion!
Mon dieu quel désastre!
Pensez-vous pouvoir intervenir sur cette blessure si le petit est retrouvé?
Je croise les doigts pour que vous le retrouviez sain et sauf!
Courage à toute votre équipe!
My fingers are crossed for this little one.
But I fear the worst - severely injured and possibly separated from his family I would think that his chances are slim.
On the other hand Kabrizi demonstrated in 2007, that he can work miracles when he set out to find Miza, who was abandonded by her mother.
I am looking forward to updates.
Bravo pour avoir su libérer ce petit gorille et l’enlever de ce piège!!
J’espère de tout coeur que l’on va pouvoir le retrouver et le soigner et que les blessures se refermeront…
Please keep us updated Samantha… This is devastating. Innocent, you have again done amazing work here in freeing the juvenile. I hope and pray for a good outcome.
Innocent & Sekibibi - you are amazing guys.
I desperately hope you can find him again. Every luck in the world to Magda & crew. xx
This is horrific. And imagine all the animals that are never found and freed from their snares!
Im wondering if this injury is confined to on top of the mouth, or has it actually ripped part of his mouth off? That will be an important factor so we know whether he can eat once its healed.
Surely he will need at least antibiotics to stop infection which is probably already starting to take hold, I hope you can find him!!
This is such sad news - my heart goes out to the little gorilla - thank God for Innocent - I send him all my prayers so he may stay strong. May he and all the caring vets find the baby so that the outcome is positive. Thank you Samantha for keeping us posted. You are all doing a grand job.
I am so sorry for this gorilla, its family and all of you who do such brilliant work for these gorillas.
So precious are the few that we have left in the world and how sad it is when something like this happens at the hands of man. Thank God for caring people like Innocent who is so trusted by the gorillas. I am praying that this beautiful little guy will not only be found but will able to heal and grow. God forbid we should lose another one.
As sad as these pictures are, sometimes it takes the shocking stories to get people to talk up the issue, t make donations (no matter how small they are), and take action. Thank you, Innocent, for your hard work!
Hey Samantha. Thanks for clarifying the situation about young gorilla may be missing. That makes perfect sense. Here’s hoping he turns up soon. The poor thing! He’s very fortunate to have you all around.
I remain hopeful. The gorillas are gentle, loving animals. That, and with people like Innocent and the vets good things happen.
Such a sad sight. As more people begin sponsoring plots of the gorilla sector, hopefully the number of these tragic incidents will decline. Poor little guy!
Thank you Innocent.
These pictures are difficult to look at. I feel a lot of pain for these poor animals. Especially the young ones
I’m hoping and praying for the best.
I feel so sick to my stomach, and I can’t control the tears. I am feeling too many emotions that I cannot even begin to put into words. My fingers are white-knuckled from praying so hard. PLEASE let it be good news that we hear next, and PLEASE let it be soon.
Thanks everyone for your support. I am getting news that the juvenile has been found and treated by the vets, after sedating the mother. Apparently it was raining, which was good news because it meant that Kabirizi himself did not try and get involved…. I will do a blog post in coming minutes.
Poor little thing, so sad to see and makes one feel a range of emotions.
I am just at least glad you guys are there to continue the great work you do.
Richard.
This is very sad. I hope you find him soon. It looks as though he will need surgery.
What a traumatic experience for this young gorilla! Thank you, Innocent for freeing him and ending his suffering while caught in the snare. The tears come quickly when I see things like this. It makes so so sad and so angry at humans! I am praying the young one can be helped so he is able to live a normal life and remain with his family. God Bless you!
DO YOU BELIEVE THAT IS JUSTICE THAT THIS LITTLE GORILLA. is so because of a TRAP, A SNARE?. TO HUNT ANOTHER ANIMAL, BUT THEY ARE ALSO AT RISK
Samantha.please write any notice in facebock too
I cross my fingers you will find this little one ASAP. Now it’s probably a matter of time a race against the watch before the infection will take him. He will need surgery and antibiotic for sure, brobably even rehabilitation time to see how he progress. Hope to hear good new real soon.
As bad as all this is, there are far more horrible incidents happening all the time where snaring is practiced. Gorillas, and in particular this unfortunate one we are aware of, comes closer to our hearts because of their nearness to us in likeness. However, in the interconnectedness of all things, we need to unite against all forms of brutality. Snaring of animals must be seen as equal to it being done to humans with equal punishment. The causes like hunger (and greed) need to be wiped off the face of the earth if we were to succeed in making this world the wonderful place it is supposed to be for all of us. - May this young Gorilla’s experience be a reminder and inspiration to all of us.
Tom Joubert
I really hope you find that poor little gorilla. It’s heartbreaking that we treat animals with such brutality.You all do such a fabulous job - I am in awe. My best wishes to you all.
So sorry for this juvenile gorilla! Were the snares meant to trap gorillas? If this is the case, our fellow citizens must stop this cruelty to gorillas! I’m praying that this juvenile to be found safe.
Thank you for your comments. Kimojino, we do not believe the snare was there specifically to trap gorillas. The snares can catch antelopes and other animals that roam in the Gorilla Sector - poachers lay the snares and then leave, returning periodically to see if anything has been caught. The tragedy is that sometimes the animal has already suffered for days by the time the poacher returns to his snare, and has died. So absolutely for nothing.
yes Samantha, sometimes when Rangers get the snares is
too late to save them, or are very ill , not so easy with so few park rangers to look so great park