Death of an Orphan

WARNING: Graphic images ahead.

The orphaned Grauer's gorillas, Mapendo and Vumilia, in Mutsora, DRC,
on Jan. 10, 2008. Photo: Dr. Eddy Kambale

After 10 days of caring for the two orphaned Grauer's gorillas in Mutsora, we thought both would live. Vumilia was weak, but he regularly drank plenty of water and ate fairly well, especially fresh fruit.

We continued preparations to move him and Mapendo to Goma. Workers rushed to construct a temporary home at the Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund International (DFGFI) office there. The staff of the NGO WildlifeDirect arranged for a plane flight. Soon, we'd have all four orphans in one city.

Dr. Eddy Kambale and Dr. Magdalena Braum weigh the corpse of Vumilia. Photo: LHS

Thirty-six hours before the planned move, Eddy called me in the middle of the night. Vumilia had suddenly cried out and collapsed. Using CPR, Eddy managed to revive the young gorilla. I called Dr. Magdalena Braum, our new regional field vet who lives near me in Ruhengeri. We traded phone calls with Eddy, offering ideas and advice, hoping the problem wouldn't recur. But it did and Vumilia died. We'd be meeting a plane carrying one live gorilla — and one dead one.

Andre with Mapendo just after arrival in Goma on Jan. 14, 2008. Photo: LHS

Early on the day of the flight, Magda and I drove to Goma, stopping at the DFGFI office to check that everything was ready. Unfortunately, the walls of the outdoor gorilla enclosure still reeked of fresh paint and the newly poured cement floor in Mapendo's night house needed another day to dry. I decided that our part-time office space was the better — indeed the only — option.

Out went the desks and bookshelves and in went a mattress. When we let Mapendo out of her transport crate, she looked around calmly and walked straight into Andre's waiting arms.

MGVP vets Jacques, Magda and Eddy perform the postmortem on Vumilia
in a makeshift necropsy tent. Photo: LHS

With Mapendo settled, we began the postmortem on Vumilia. As with any complicated procedure, each of us had an assigned task. Magda and Eddy collected samples; I photographed; and Jacques recorded the findings and helped weigh or measure the various internal organs. The staff of DFGFI-Goma provided us with a makeshift tent; two of its sides open to the fresh air and a table. The flies found us quickly, however, making for a long afternoon. At least the weather was cloudy.

Vumilia had enlarged, deformed joints, evidence of severe metabolic bone disease. Photo: LHS

The little gorilla was emaciated and stunted. Though he'd been eating while under our care, he had no fat stores and his muscles were severely atrophied. His knees and elbows were abnormally large, the result of bony swellings characteristic of metabolic bone disease. Known as rickets in humans, this problem results when a young, growing animal is fed a diet too low in calcium or too high in phosphorus. Without access to sunlight, it develops more quickly. This condition, along with the scars around his wrists, suggested that Vumilia had been captive for many months.

Dissection of abnormal knee joints found during the postmortem exam on the
orphaned Grauer's gorilla, Vumilia. Photo: LHS

The gorilla's internal organs were pale in color with tiny pinpoint hemorrhages in some areas. We did not find any evidence of a communicable infection — good news for Mapendo and all who worked with Vumilia, though these findings are only preliminary.

Next we apply for permits, ship the samples to the University of California, Davis, and wait for the tissues to be analyzed by the expert veterinary pathologists. Only then will we be able to determine the cause of death. Sometimes, we never find out for certain what happened.

Clearly, Vumilia suffered from months of malnutrition, rickets and severe stress, all of which contributed to his death and may have been enough to kill him. We found a small amount of food – partly digested fruit – lodged in the gorilla's larynx, right at the opening to the trachea or windpipe. This could explain what happened at the very end. If the gorilla vomited a mouthful of food and choked on it, he may simply have been too weak to cough it out on his own. Eddy's CPR cleared the airway, but only temporarily. This is only speculation, but it's also our best guess until the final report comes in.

Mapendo eats ficus leaves; she has a probable fungal skin infection with patchy
and itchy areas of hair loss on her hands and body. Photo: Dr. Magda Braum

Three days after the postmortem, Magda returned to Goma to check on Mapendo as well as Ndeze and Ndakasi. Earlier, we'd noticed patchy hair loss on Mapendo; by the time of Magda's visit, the condition had worsened and the little gorilla was itchy. The problem looks like ringworm, so Magda started Mapendo on the appropriate medication. She and Jacques hope to confirm the diagnosis with analysis of hair samples.

Fortunately, the new orphan is taking her bottle quite well and shows no overt signs of rickets. Milk, sunlight and plenty of fresh browse will ensure that Mapendo does not suffer the same fate as Vumilia.

Jean Paul holds Mapendo; he and at least one other ICCN ranger have
joined the gorilla caretaker team in Goma. Photo: Dr. Magda Braum

Mapendo has two new caretakers, Jean Paul and Babo. Like Andre and the group caring for the mountain gorilla orphans, both are ICCN staff who have helped care for orphaned gorillas in the past — namely Pinga and Serufuli, two of the eight orphans who live at the Kinigi facility in Rwanda.

The rangers have been stuck in the city since last summer anyway. The situation in the Virungas section of the park is chaotic and the forest border is being destroyed by illegal charcoal manufacture. We have no news of the gorillas that live in the area.

Mountain gorillas Ndeze and Ndakasi are thriving in Goma. Photo: Dr. Magda Braum

I'm happy to report, though, that Ndeze and Ndakasi are doing fine, gaining weight slowly and playing most of the time. And the best news of all: both orphans have normal stool, formed and brown in color, rather than runny and white, and neither has had to be treated with antibiotics for several weeks — acidophilus did the trick. Now that they’re healthy, it was time to give them their vaccines. Magda and Eddy had the honor. Neither gorilla seemed to notice the needle stick. Apparently, Ndeze thought Eddy was just playing a game!

Ndakasi and Ndeze with their dedicated caretakers in Goma. Photo: Dr. Magda Braum

We've also started Ndeze and Ndakasi on a new milk formula, one I brought back from the U.S. that is supplemented with both fatty acids and probiotics. It seems crazy to pay extra baggage fees to transport tins of milk powder such a great distance, but the supply and selection of milk formula vary widely here. Thanks to the donations many people have made recently to MGVP, we can afford it. The caretakers are following a schedule, mixing the new with the old powder and gradually increasing the concentration. So far so good.

[Rwanda, Jan. 21, 2008. Pictures: Dr. Eddy Kambale, Dr. Magda Braum and Lucy Spelman/MGVP]

Comments

[Kim Dixon]

Dr. Spelman,

Thank you for your weekly blog. I am currently training teachers here in Maryland on the Mountain Gorillas and People curriculum, and I faithfully read your blog to keep the teachers updated. I have to say, I have developed quite an attachment to the orphans and I wait on baited breath at each new set back or crisis. This death has caused me grief and it has given me more of a drive to make sure I reach more teachers on this situation. The more we educate, the more money and resources we can generate for this cause.

Please forward my kind regards to Andre and Dr.Braum, and Dr. Kambale for all of their hard work and dedication.

With Great Respect,
Kim Dixon
The Maryland Zoo in Baltimore

[Jonathan Coral]

Dr. Spelman,

I am a Library-Science student and i am doing a school project on the plight of the mountain gorillas. I just want to thank you for your informative output and your dedication. More power.

Jonathan Coral

[Sharon Travis]

I am so touched by the stories of these wonderful creatures, and by the detailed information your website provides about the ongoing work to save them. My thoughts are with each of you who are touched by their plight, and for the grief you must be experiencing at the news of the slaughter of so many. Please know that many of us in the "outside" are concerned as well, and that we do care. I can only hope that those who are poaching and slaughtering them in order to produce charcoal will gain an understanding about why these creatures are important to the health of the country around them, and that the understanding will also come that these creatures have value and a place in the world.