Aug 22 2007
Looking for the newborn…
We set off at first light to locate the Munyaga Family and check on the newborn, but unfortunately when we got close to where the family were known to be, we saw that a group of forest elephants had also passed through the area.
This made it very difficult to track the family as they are only a small group and so do not leave that many traces.
We searched through the bamboo forest, in the area that they should have been located, but each track that we found was soon covered by the tracks of elephants.
We prepared ourselves for a whole day in the forest, to try and locate the family, when we suddenly received a radio call from the guards with the Humba Family -they had just seen the Munyaga Family close by to where they were.
We trekked for a short time to where they were and found the family, starting with the Silverback Kasole.
There are three Silverbacks in this group, with Munyaga who is the leader but Munyaga was not present when we first arrived, however Bilali was nearby with her newborn baby.
She was protective of the baby and they were hidden in the vegetation when we first saw them. There was also always one of the two Silverbacks, Kasole or Mawazo, or the blackback Kadogo by her side. After a few minutes of been in their company, Bilali was more willing to show us the baby.
It was a great sight to see, and we are even able to tell you that the newborn is a boy. We truly hope that this is one of many infants to join the Munyaga Family.
Diddy and Innocent
Technorati : Congo, DRC, ICCN, Mountain Gorilla, Munyaga, Virunga, WildlifeDirect
Daily news from the conservation frontline by Innocent and Diddy, and other Congolese rangers risking their lives to save mountain gorillas of the Virunga National Park in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo
I love how, in the one picture, mom is giving her baby a kiss! It’s really something to see how similar they are to human beings, how they hold their babies close to the chest like human mothers, how they seem to rely on touch, their social groups - everything is amazingly similar! I know that they are very similar to us in many ways but seeing the pictures of them with their families makes it so real for me. It’s very intense. Thanks to all the rangers who are tracking and protecting them, and for the updates.
AWWWWWWWWWWW look at mum giving kisses. Such a gentle time. Wish they could have this kind of peace all the time. Beautiful pics you guys..Love them. Stay safe always…Steph
Diddy and Innocent…How many groups are there?? What are all the group names?? Or could someone tell me where to go to find out ??? I would like to learn much more about these guys and the groups theirselves. Thanks…. Steph
You rangers are sure persistent and we appreciate it! Great pictures, especially of the baby. Faye, you should check out this story - http://allafrica.com/stories/200708210662.html - about the hominid fossil find in Kenya that may indicate we are more closely related to gorillas than previously thought. Suits me just fine. Gorillas make more sense than humans, doncha think?
s.
Marvellous photos guys - well done!
Bilali sure looks a proud mum. Such a welcome boost to broken hearts around the world.
Take care all.
That is awesome news on the newborn. I was recently on Myspace and found your page but it had not been checked in almost a year and was full of spam. I was hoping to use that web sight to spread the word on your cause, so please update and check your page. Stay safe and be brave!
SUCH wonderful news! Thank you for the awesome pictures. Please be safe and thank you as always for the updates. You and the gorillas are in many peoples’ thoughts every day.
I’m just crying tears of joy at the sight of this newborn. Such tenderness from the Mother giving her little guy a kiss. It is so sweet and the feeling that overwhelms me is very intense. My kids want to know why I’m crying. How can I explain it to them? Mother Nature is so awesome. Lisa, California p.s Is it at all a possibilty that one of the silverbacks in the Munyaga Family could adopt the Rugendo Family?
I hope this new baby is a good omen of things to come for these precious mountain gorillas. Please stay safe and thank you for sharing this wonderful news. p.s. — what about producing a mountain gorilla calendar to help raise money to support the rangers and your efforts??
Thank you. you are really brilliant.
My thoughts are with you all the time.
is there any news on the man that was arrested for the massacre?
Diddy and Innocent, thank you so much for the beautiful photos! The baby is just gorgeous, and what a wonderful mama he has. The photo of him snuggling with his mama reminds me so much of when my own son was a baby. How alike we really are, indeed. Thank you, guys, for keeping us all updated. The world is with you!
Diddy and Innocent, outstanding photos as usual. You’re such great photographers. It’s wonderful to Balili and her new little boy. She looks like a very caring mother.
I have a request from one of the artists with Art Helping Mountain Gorillas for our eBay art auction to benefit Wildlife Direct. She would like permission to paint from the photo of Kongomani that you took on your August 16 visit to the Rugendo family. Please let me know if this would be ok. Thanks for all you are doing to protect the gorillas ~ Robin
Diddy and Innocent, thanks for the photos of the baby!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
That Mama kissing baby photo should be a cover for National Geographic!!!!Beautiful!
Cecile, I’m with you. It is, for sure, National Georgraphic cover material. Isn’t it an amazing picture! YOU RANGER’S ROCK!!!!!! Lisa, California
Hi Sheryl, thank you for providing the link. All of the fossils they’re discovering in Africa of the earliest humans and the continuing research is fascinating stuff.
i think an elite force should be hired to covertly eradicate this “charcoal mafia”. and who are the buyers for their products?
softtomgirl: Regular people buy charcoal to cook their food and heat their homes. What we need is a lot of money from big governments such as mine (y’know, if we weren’t so busy fighting a stupid war in Iraq) to fund efforts to find new, environmentally-friendly and sustainable means for people to cook and heat. Dung cookers aren’t a great answer because they release greenhouse gases such as methane and nitrous oxide, wood is obviously a bad idea. Someone on this blog, I’m sorry I don’t remember who, suggested solar cookers and that’s a great idea but money is needed for the cookers and to educate people to protect their environment.
As many here comment, education is the key.
s.
Oh my gosh….I was getting worried that something had happened to this precious bundle….these pictures are over the top BEAUTIFUL! I just want to reach out and kiss them! Once again this is one of the wonderful aspects of your job..getting to see these gorillas everyday….I pray for their safety every night! I am a teacher and am back at school but can’t wait to get home each night to check the site! Thank you! Be safe!!!
A good place to start to help maybe is by reading the Article posted on one of today’s blogs “The Most Moving Environmental Story This Year” and then signing the petition at the end to send to the United States Congress. The ideas presented in this petition make sense to me, more than anything else I’ve heard anyway and maybe, just maybe if they hear enough of our voices, our government will finally wake up and get with the program. I’m with Sheryl. We have much better things to spend all of our hard earned tax dollars on besides more killing and more destruction. Let’s actaully help something LIVE for a change. Let’s do it for that beautiful mother Bilali and her darling little baby, as well as for all the human brothers and sisters that need our help right now, and most especially do it for our planet. Lisa, California
Steph, we will with time tell you more about the families. We are busy writing reports today on our findings on the families, but we will try and tell you more later on.
softtomgirl, The Advance Force of Congo Rangers are out every day stopping and arresting those involved with the charcoal trade within the park boundaries. As to your other question, we are all buyers of charcoal here as we all use it, there is no alternative.
Robin, please feel free to use any of the images that you find on the blog. And thank you so much for all your efforts so far.
You’re welcome, Innocent! It’s the only thing I can do for you who do so much! Thank you, the artists will be thrilled!
Charcoal burning is a problem all over Africa. (and probably other countries as well) inhabited regions around the great Tsavo Park in Kenya also do a lot of tree burning in the national park to make charcoal.
there are mostly no other choices for people living in the DRC or in the bush in Kenya, or places like these because there is no government support and no money.
there are programs in place in some regions to help with this problem, but so far, only a small number of groups are given any other choices - like solar burners. everything take money, time and education.
i’m not even entirely sure that we, in the developed world, aren’t somehow contributing to the problem.
Such wonderful news, God bless you rangers, you are all in our thoughts and prayers each day. Stay safe and thanks for the beautiful photos.
Amazing photos. Thanks again for sharing your story and all your wonderful and wild experiences. The world is a better and safer place because of you.
[…] is still very vulnerable, because they do not have a Silverback leader. I am also worried about the Munyaga family. They often have interactions between the 3 Silverbacks of the family, and it is important […]
[…] Munyaga - 6 (3 SB, 1 BB, 1 ADF). Note: The baby born 21 Aug 07 died on 2 Sep 07 following an interaction of the 3 SB. To date we do not know if the fighting was part of a leadership struggle of the family or if it was for copulation. […]
[…] after, in 1998, Munyaga, then a solitary Silverback, took over Nsekuye and her females. At the same time Kabirizi took over […]
[…] in that it is composed of 3 Silverbacks, Kadogo and Bilali, an adult female. It was Bilali who gave birth in August, only to have the baby killed during an interaction between the […]
it always makes me happy to hear good
news about the mountaingorilas.i stongly hope that we are able to save this gentle creatures whom i so often think of.thanks a lot to all the rangers and people who try so hard to save this wondelful apes.lets hope that long after we are gone we still be able to enjoy their company.
cool site I really like it!!!!!
this story is amazing
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