Extreme weather behind the deaths of four Mountain gorillas in Rwanda?

FEW LEFT: Only about 380 members of the Virunga mountain gorillas remain Picture: Martin Harvey / WWF Canon

May 2010: Four highly endangered mountain gorillas have died - three of them infants. The gorillas, which lived in Rwanda's Volcanoes National Park, were part of an estimated 380 members of the endangered Virunga population. It is thought they could be victims of the extreme weather conditions from which the area has been suffering.

Trackers from the Karisoke Research Centre who were visiting the Pablo group, reported they had found a dead female, and her baby, Mutesi, alive but very weak. As the trackers went to find the rest of the group they then discovered another dead baby gorilla. Fortunately, the second baby's mother was found a day later with no signs of illness. The Rwandan Development Board was alerted and vets sent to try to save Mutesi but she died two hours later.

On Monday morning the fourth gorilla death was reported from a different gorilla group. The dead infant was only two weeks old. 

Grave implications for population as a whole

‘Each baby mountain gorilla is a source of great hope and is monitored very closely,' says Eugene Rutagarama, Director of the International Gorilla Conservation Program (IGCP), a coalition of the African Wildlife Foundation, Fauna & Flora International, and WWF. ‘We are all shocked and saddened by the death of these baby gorillas as well as the adult female, and by the grave implications for the mountain gorilla population as a whole.'

While the cause of death has yet to be determined, the gorillas are thought to have died because of the extreme cold and rainy conditions. The gorillas' current range is high on Mt Karisimbi, and at high altitude it will be even colder. There are no signs of foul play. However, all the dead gorillas were taken to the Mountain Gorilla Veterinary Project laboratory for necropsy in order to determine the possible causes of the deaths.

Since the dead gorillas were discovered, rangers have identified all other gorilla groups in Volcanoes National Park to confirm that there have been no further casualties.

There are only about 680 mountain gorillas in the wild, making them one of the world's most highly endangered great apes. About half the population lives in the Virunga Volcanoes, a chain of active and inactive volcanoes that straddles the borders of Rwanda, Uganda, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The other half lives in Bwindi Impenetrable Park in Uganda. 

Census brings cause for hope

Since the dead gorillas were discovered, the Rwanda Development Board and Karisoke Research Centre staff have identified all other gorilla groups in Volcanoes National Park to confirm that there have been no further casualties.

‘We can thankfully report that for all other research and tourism gorilla groups all individuals were identified,' says Maryke Gray, IGCP's technical adviser. ‘There were no missing gorillas and no gorillas were found to have serious health problems.'

The news of the gorilla deaths is casting a pall over enthusiasm being generated by a mountain gorilla census being conducted across the Virunga Volcanoes. Facilitated by IGCP and funded by WWF, a team of 80 park officials and other experts over two months collected data on gorilla activity as well as faecal samples for genetic analysis and health.

The results are now being analyzed and are expected to be released in October. The last census of mountain gorillas in the Virunga Volcanoes, conducted in 2003, revealed the population had increased 17 percent since the previous census in 1989. Conservationists are hoping to see another rise this time around.