The Gorilla Guardians of Bwindi, Uganda

CTPH Gorilla Guardians of Bwindi Report October 2024

This report covers the progress of Conservation Through Public Health's project, "The Gorilla Guardians of Bwindi, Uganda #44078," on GlobalGiving. The previous report was submitted in June 2024, when the project had 449 donations of $34,312 of its $50,000 funding goal. To date, the project has 519 donations amounting to $35,444 of the funding goal.

What we have done.

Gorilla Health Monitoring

Our gorilla health monitoring team continued their routine gorilla health monitoring activity in collaboration with Uganda Wildlife Authority (UWA) rangers and Gorilla Guardians of Bwindi and Mgahinga Conservation Area (BMCA).

In this quarter, 616 gorilla fecal samples were collected from all 27 habituated groups using non-invasive methods where fecal samples are collected from Gorilla night nests. All the samples were analyzed at the Gorilla Health and Community Conservation Centre’s (GHCCC) field laboratory in Bwindi to check for intestinal helminth parasites and other pathogens. This enables us to create an early warning system for early detection, reporting of, and response to threats that might be a risk to the endangered mountain gorillas through local partnerships. Some of these samples are preserved for further tests for other respiratory illnesses including SARS-CoV-2 that causes coronavirus disease.

Gorilla Guardians Training

CTPH, along with other conservation partners around BMCA, trained 162 Gorilla Guardians, including 4 new female members—the first women to join the Gorilla Guardian program! We are thrilled that women are starting to join the Gorilla Guardian program as we have encouraged them to do so for a long time.

The training aimed to improve gorilla health monitoring and prevent disease transmission between people and from people and gorillas. Gorilla Guardians learned how to collect gorilla fecal samples and protect against infections. UWA expressed gratitude for the training and emphasized the importance of applying new knowledge.

Our team provided comprehensive training on emerging and re-emerging zoonotic diseases. This training was timely because UWA has recently recruited 43 new Gorilla Guardians who needed training, whilst existing Gorilla Guardians refreshed their knowledge at the same time. Key aspects of the training included zoonotic disease prevention, collecting gorilla fecal samples for monitoring, how to identify clinical signs of illness in gorillas which is vital for detecting health issues in gorilla populations, correct reporting mechanisms to ensure that any signs of illness or irregularities are promptly communicated and how to safely herd back gorillas to the park once they get out in the community land. This initiative not only strengthens community conservation efforts but also enhances the health monitoring and protection of the endangered mountain gorillas.

The Gorilla Guardians use drums and whistles to guide gorillas back into the park and also manage other wildlife, such as buffaloes and elephants. Some of them even camp at the forest boundary at night to monitor and manage the movements of gorillas and other wildlife outside the park when alerted.

The training recommendations included increasing the number of Gorilla Guardians, particularly female ones, and providing them with improved equipment and resources. The training equipped them with crucial skills to monitor gorilla health and manage zoonotic disease risks and the gorilla record book to document when, where, which group, and at what time the gorillas are out of the natural habitat. 

Gorilla births 

We are thrilled to share some exciting news about the births of new gorilla babies this quarter.

In July 2024, adult female Mukidebe from the Kahungye gorilla family gave birth, bringing the group's population to 16 members. They continue to inhabit the forested hills of the Rushaga sector in eastern Bwindi, under the leadership of Silverback Kasigazi.

In August 2024, another baby mountain gorilla was born to adult female Munini in the Nshongi gorilla family, located in the southern part of Bwindi Impenetrable National Park. This new addition increases the total number of individuals in this family to 14, led by Silverback Bweza.

This is Munini's fourth baby; she previously gave birth to Raha in 2012, who is now a handsome blackback, as well as Bayenza and Kijumwa in 2017 and 2021, respectively.

Just this month, two more baby gorillas were born: one to adult female Kabagyenyi from the Nshongi Mountain Gorilla family and another to adult female Migogo of the Mucunguzi Gorilla family. Both mothers and their babies, along with the family leaders, Silverbacks Bweza and Mucunguzi, are in good health.

These births highlight the transformative conservation efforts we are undertaking, helping this once critically endangered species move further from the brink of extinction.

We congratulate these families on welcoming their new bundles of joy, which contribute to the growing mountain gorilla population.

Thank you very much for your continued support of Conservation Through Public Health.

Links:

• Visit our website for more information

This report covers the progress of Conservation Through Public Health's project, "The Gorilla Guardians of Bwindi, Uganda #44078" on GlobalGiving. The previous report was submitted in March 2024, at which time the project had 449 donations, amounting to $31,819.62 of its $50,000 funding target. To date, the project has received 449 donations amounting to $34,312 of its $50,000 funding goal.

What we have done.

Gorilla Health Monitoring

Our Wildlife Health and Laboratory Technicians, Annaclet Ampeire and Laurence Muruhuura, continued their routine gorilla health monitoring activity in collaboration with Uganda Wildlife Authority (UWA) rangers and Gorilla Guardians of Bwindi and Mgahinga Conservation Area (BMCA). This quarter, they collected 619 gorilla fecal samples from the gorilla nests of all 28 habituated gorilla groups in BMCA. These samples were preserved and analyzed at the Gorilla Health and Community Conservation Centre to detect diseases that gorillas may have contracted from neighboring humans or animals. This analysis focus on identifying intestinal helminth parasites and other zoonotic pathogens, providing crucial insights into the health status of the gorilla population and potential risks of disease transmission between humans and gorillas. Regular monitoring and analysis is playing a vital role in conservation efforts and in implementing targeted interventions to protect these endangered gorillas and their habitats.

The Gorilla Guardians of Bwindi continued to play a critical role in herding mountain gorillas and other wildlife back into the forest when they came out of the park to forage in people's gardens. Frequent foraging of gorillas outside the park makes them more susceptible to zoonotic diseases from humans.

Livestock sample collection and deworming

Our Team conducted fecal sample collection in 200 livestock in the parishes around where gorillas share the same feeding ranges with community livestock. A fatal disease outbreak was detected in cows of Murore and Nteko parishes in Kisoro District in the Southern Sector of Bwindi. Uganda Wildlife Authority called CTPH Team and Gorilla Guardians from the southern sector to intervene. Suspected sick cows were treated to reduce the risk of disease transmission from cows to gorillas. Furthermore, community members who graze their livestock around the park boundary were sensitized about the negative consequences of grazing their cattle at the park boundary. Our Team conducted mass deworming of people and livestock in all parishes surrounding Bwindi Impenetrable National Park (BINP) where gorillas were found to have a high human parasitic burden. This was done to reduce the prevalence of parasitic infections in the Gorillas.

Gorilla births

In other exciting news, we are thrilled to share the birth of two baby gorillas this quarter! The first baby was born to Adult Female Furaha from the Nkuringo Family in Bwindi Impenetrable National Park. This brought the total number of individuals in the group to 15. The second baby was born to Adult Female Nyampazi from Mubare Gorilla Group. This birth led to the growth of Mubare gorilla family from 8 to 9 members. These additions symbolize hope for conservation efforts by the Uganda Wildlife Authority and other government agencies, NGOs, local communities, and other stakeholders in conservation and tourism.

We appreciate your continued support to Conservation Through Public Health.

Links:

• Visit our website to learn more about our work