Press release from Kahuzi Biega national park on Mugaruka death

Press release from Kahuzi Biega national park on Mugaruka death

Press release from Kahuzi Biega national park on Mugaruka death

Press release from Kahuzi Biega national park on Mugaruka death : The provincial leadership of ICCN South Kivu as well as the staff of the Kahuzi-Biega National Park with deep sorrow came to announce the death of the solitary gorilla MUGARUKA, this Friday, October 15, 2021. The lonely lowland gorilla Mugaruka breathed his last after battling a short time illness. Mugaruka was about 35 years old at the time of his death. He had been lost and not spotted in the park on the lowland gorilla treks and routine checks for a few days before a team from the Kahuzi Biega national park that were moving in the park discovered his lifeless body in the forest.

The long time dominating silver back MUGARUKA will be missed by all of us at the Kahuzi Biega national park including the administrative staff and eco-guards and not forgetting to mention the numerous visitors of the park who had been seeing this gorilla it for many years.  Mugaruka was not a stranger to us at the headquarters as he took some time and came so often to visit us alone, in Tshivanga headquarters.

Mugaruka had been a dominant silverback gorilla but remained lonely after he got a severed hand in his youth, due to a trap by poachers.  This handicap prevented him from finding females to start his family. The Mugaruka was a descendant of the Mushamuka lineage who he took over after his death.

Mushamuka was a dominant male and the father to one Mugaruka who took over the leadership of the family when Mushamuka died. There was another silverback in the gorilla group and these two had constant conflicts fighting for power. The other silverback was called Chimanuka and he eventually won the battle after confiscating all the members of this gorilla group and this left Mugaruka as a lone silverback struggling to survive.

Press release from Kahuzi Biega national park on Mugaruka death
Mugaruka Silverback Dies

Shortly before his lone stay is when the lone silverback fell in the trap that was set by the poachers costing him his right hand. Mugaruka was overpowered by the Chimanuka gorilla especially because of this scenario. Mugaruka was not able to protect his family because of the incapacitation. This was in 1997 and the poachers left a snare to trap the wildlife but luckily he survived this and only lost an arm.

The Chimanuka gorilla started another gorilla family with about 36 lowland gorillas and this is one of the two habituated gorilla families of the Kahuzi Biega national park. The Chimanuka gorilla family is the biggest habituated gorilla family in the Kahuzi Biega national park and it was started with 18 young ones, 17 female gorillas and one adult male Chimanuka himself. This is one of the gorilla families where you can see twins as they boast of having 4 different pairs of twin gorillas.

The Kahuzi Biega national park is one of the homes of the lowland gorillas in the Democratic republic of Congo and is located in the south Kivu province in the south eastern part of the country. The Democratic Republic of Congo is the only country where you can visit to see both the lowland gorillas and the mountain gorillas.

The gorillas are an endangered species and are subdivided into 4 different gorilla species and these are the eastern gorillas and the western gorillas further divided into the eastern lowland gorillas and the mountain gorillas under the eastern gorillas and the cross river gorillas and the western lowland gorillas under the western gorillas. These are the largest living primates and are sharing up to 99% of their DNA with the human species.

 

Press release from Kahuzi Biega national park on Mugaruka death
Mugaruka Silverback

The Kahuzi Biega national park only hosts the lowland gorillas and these are listed on IUCN red list under the endangered species category. The lowland gorillas just like their name tend to stay in the lowland areas unlike the mountain gorillas that stay at the slopes of the mountains and highland areas.

The numbers of the lowland gorillas at the Kahuzi Biega national park in the 1990’s were greatly affected by the conflicts in the area where a census was done and only 125 lowland gorillas were left in the park by 2008. 600 lowland gorillas were counted to be in the park in 1990 but with the increased conservation policies implemented in the park, the last census that was carried out in 2011 produced a result of the gorilla numbers growing to 181 lowland gorillas in the park.

Mugaruka, the lone but loved silverback gorilla will surely be missed and the Virunga national park prays for the gorilla’s soul to rest in eternal peace.

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