Snare Scare

Okapi (left) watches Magayane (right) eat.

I'd just started out on a hike near Visoke with friends when I got a call from Elisabeth (the ORTPN vet tech) saying that a young female gorilla in Kwitonda group had been snared and was still attached to a tree. Having just returned from international travel, I'm officially in quarantine for several weeks, forced to avoid close contact with the gorillas in case I've been exposed to an illness during my travels, but David (Dr. Gardner-Roberts) and Jean Felix (Dr. Kinani) had gone to Kigali for the day to examine a confiscated chimpanzee.

I hesitated for maybe 30 seconds, then decided I couldn't not go. We might be able to dart the animal quickly and get the snare off before it did any damage. I'd wear a mask and gloves (we do that anyway) and minimize my contact with the patient; Elisabeth could do most of the hands-on work. With luck, the gorillas might have removed the snare themselves by the time we got there. Unfortunately, Elisabeth said this one was made of wire.

Lucy and Elisabeth, ORTPN vet tech, arrive at the parking lot on their way to check on Magayane.

Explaining the situation to Julie and her visiting friend, Virginia, I urged them to continue with their hike and started running down the mountain. My friends would have none of that, so they ran, too. (Virginia remarked later that this had been a unique form of exercise.)

Julie drove me to the office to pick up the darting kit and medical bags, then to Kinigi to pick up Elisabeth and then to the meeting point near the park border. As Julie and Virginia drove away, I apologized for ruining their peaceful excursion. No problem, they said; they were glad to help the gorillas.

The Kwitonda group's home territory includes the slopes of Sabinyo Mountain with a view of Gahinga and Muhabura mountains.

At the park wall we were joined by Leonadas (ORTPN), Bosco (a member of the Karisoke patrolling unit) and several other trackers. The silverbacks — first Kwitonda and then Akarevuru — had just intervened and set Magayane free from the tree by gnawing on the wire cable until they broke it. She'd run quickly into the forest, the snare cinched tight around her middle finger.

We followed the group's trail, hoping they'd calm down enough so that we could at least get a good look at Magayane. The sooner we got the snare off the better, but it wasn't worth pushing the group if they remained nervous. Magayane was traveling at the front — we never saw her. Kwitonda brought up the rear instead of leading and hooting often, a clear indication that he was upset. Just after noon, the trackers advised leaving the group and going after them again first thing the next day. Things would be easier then and we could also assemble a full team.

Magayane, a 6-year-old female mountain gorilla with a wire snare on her left hand.

When we reached the nest site the next morning, the Kwitonda group had just begun to move about and look for food. Not only were the gorillas calm and behaving normally, as if nothing had happened the day before, but we also had a clear view of our patient. We watched Magayane climb into a tree to eat favoring her left arm. I saw a flash of silver — the end of the wire snare protruding from her middle finger. Though she moved before I could focus the camera it didn't matter, we had the information we needed.

Dr. Jean Felix Kinani prepares an anesthetic dart for Magayane.

Jean Felix prepared the anesthetic dart while Elisabeth and David readied the bags. My job was to be both photographer and videographer for this intervention. We had enough trackers and vets, the weather was good and by documenting the procedure, I could contribute while also remaining a tourist's distance away from the gorillas. The only trouble with this plan was that I was too far away to hear the ongoing discussion and subsequent translation about who was who among the gorillas.

It's still very hard for me to identify every individual unless the group is stationary and together, but I do know the silverbacks. And that's important. The No. 1 rule during an intervention is to know the location of the chief and his second in command. They are the ones who can, and will, attack human intruders.

MGVP's field medical kits are carried up the mountain for the intervention to remove Magayane's snare.

For nearly three hours the team followed the gorillas as they foraged for food. Finally, Magayane lay down under a tree. We'd already passed Kwitonda, who'd stopped to rest earlier on the trail — exactly what we'd been waiting for. Akarevuru (the second silverback) was ahead of us — out of sight, but not far away. A half-dozen gorillas rested near Magayane — they'd have to be moved after the dart hit its mark.

Jean Felix readied the air-powered pistol while David and the trackers formed a human screen to hide the darting barrel from the gorillas. I managed to position myself just in time to get the darting on film — a perfect shot. The next few minutes were the riskiest for the intervention team, yet we had to feign nonchalance. Magayane pulled the dart out, looked at it and dropped it to the ground. She moved away but began to act sleepy within minutes. Akarevuru arrived and checked out the dart, but left it on the ground. As soon as our patient fell deeply asleep, the trackers lined up in a row, ready to force the other gorillas to move away by waving big sticks and yelling at them.

Close up view of the snare around Magayane's left finger.

I turned the cameras off at that point with an eye to my own safety. Everything happened quickly and just as we had hoped. A few of the gorillas bolted upright and turned to offer aggression, but the moving wall of loud humans was too scary. Frightened, they ran off. My guess is they didn’t recognize the stick-waving figures as the trackers they know so well. Oddly enough, Kwitonda did not come to investigate the commotion. Nor did any of the other gorillas return to check us out.

Elisabeth, ORTPN vet tech, monitors Magayane's anesthesia during the intervention.

Elisabeth, David and Jean Felix worked quickly to remove the snare, collect blood samples and give Magayane an injection of antibiotics. Her anesthesia went smoothly; even the portable (in-home) blood pressure unit I'd bought at a CVS drugstore in Washington, D.C., worked perfectly. Just as the vet team finished, about 40 minutes after the darting, Magayane raised her head. She was given her anesthetic reversal while we packed away the gear. On cue it seemed, the skies opened and rain poured down.

Magayane receives a complete physical exam under anesthesia after the snare is removed.

Still favoring her left arm, Magayane sat up a few minutes later, then stood and wandered off in search of her family. She appeared tipsy and a bit confused, so for the next 10 minutes we stayed with her, forming another line of people — a quiet one this time — to push her in the direction of the group. As Magayane recovered her senses more fully, she picked up the trail and found her way quickly. We heard Kwitonda beat his chest as she rejoined the group.

Everyone felt good at that moment, but as we hiked back to the truck, a wave of frustration and sadness hit me. Yes, we'd helped a wild gorilla and saved her from suffering the loss of a finger or even a hand. But how is it that we've had two snared gorillas in Rwanda over the course of one month, when there hasn't been a case like this here in years?

We'd also heard earlier in the day that the decomposed body of another gorilla had been found in the DRC, a fifth victim of the shooting at the end of July. At least the gorillas in Uganda are OK. So while we (MGVP and our partners) have saved two wild mountain gorillas from snares, we've also lost seven mountain gorillas from the wild — five dead, two orphaned. Right now, it feels like one step forward, two back.

[Rwanda, Aug. 16, 2007. Pictures: Lucy Spelman/MGVP]

Comments

[Sheryl]

Very impressive work by yourself and your team, Dr. Spelman. I hope Magayane recovers quickly from that disgusting snare. Thanks for posting the great pictures and narrative.

I agree, the deaths of the gorillas in DRC and the increased use of snares in your park are depressing events. The rangers on the Wildlife Direct blog report a newborn in the Munyaga family, so there's a bit of good news.

s.

[Lisa, California]

Dr. Spelman,
Great work by you and your team. It's just almost unbelievable that someone would want to harm these totally wonderful animals. I feel sadness everyday for the loss that was suffered this summer. The thing that keeps me feeling positive are the people like you and the people at Wildlifedirect. You are all so awesome to be doing what you are doing. If only I could be there to help as well, but since I can't, just know I and people like me, all around the world, are cheering you on. I hope to God we can save these beautiful creatures. Lisa, California

[Annie]

Thank you for helping this poor baby! And all of the gorillas on a daily basis...you have a wonderful yet dangerous job...

[Annie]

Thank you for helping this poor baby! And all of the gorillas on a daily basis...you have a wonderful yet dangerous job...

[Annie]

Thank you for helping this poor baby! And all of the gorillas on a daily basis...you have a wonderful yet dangerous job...

[Annie]

Thank you for helping this poor baby! And all of the gorillas on a daily basis...you have a wonderful yet dangerous job...

[Faye]

Dr. Spelman, I am enjoying your accounts of your work in the field. As someone who is watching from the sidelines and giving money to causes such as Wildlife Direct, I am frustrated at times when I read about good news (such a births) that is sometimes overshadowed by senseless killings. If it is any consolation to you, at least you and your team are there and able to provide immediate relief to them from man made pain and see these rare animals in their natural environment. I bet if they could, the gorillas would thank every one of you. What I would do to get a chance to visit Central Africa and the Virungas to see them! That would be a dream. Please keep the posts coming whenever you can.

[ann]

thanks for the time you take to keep us informed.

i thought that Rwanda was safer for gorillas than the DRC? i guess the whole region is having continued poaching problems?

[Felicia Tudal]

I am hoping to visit rwanda to see the gorillas for the 1st time. I am also reading with sadness and hope at the same time about these real life reports from the jungle - we need to make more American's aware of this struggle and that our money does really help you help the gorillas - please do not get discouraged - there are many of us who are supporting you and your rangers with our resources and prayers each day. Very kind regards, Felicia California