Umoja Grown Up

Umoja seemed fine the last time I saw him, the day after his mother left the group. That was a little over a month ago. I remember thinking he looked suddenly very grown up for a three-and-a-half-year old. Even so, I was concerned that he might show signs of weaning stress, and had planned to check on him again within a week or so. But things got busy after Magda left for vacation. There was the snare in Pablo Group, the orphans were coughing, and I had to do the year-end accounting. Fortunately, the reports from the trackers were all good. They made a point of telling me that Umoja had a huge appetite.

We found Kwitonda Group easily this time. The gorillas were in the bamboo zone, just inside the park boundary. The adults were foraging for the few remaining bamboo shoots, while the infants — including Umoja — raced around on the forest floor. At one point, he glanced in my direction with what I thought was a hint of recognition, then spun around on his heels and rejoined the game.

Not long after we reached the group, the gorillas began to move purposefully in the direction of the park boundary. The trackers told me Kwitonda, the lead silverback, wouldn’t accompany them. His old teeth weren’t sharp enough to scrape the eucalyptus they were bound for. But the others were on their way. We sprinted to get ahead and scrambled over the stone wall just in time to see a dozen gorillas emerge into the bright sunshine. To my surprise, Umoja was in the lead!

Umoja ran right past me, heading straight for a eucalyptus tree. From the side, I could see that his belly nearly touched the ground. His entire body shape had changed dramatically — something we’d expected. Once they’re weaned, infant gorillas rely solely on plant food for their calories, and their bellies fill up with all that fiber. They need to eat a lot of leaves, bark, berries, flowers, and branches in order to extract the same number of calories from plants as they were getting from their mothers’ milk. I also got a good view of the scar on his right flank from his surgery a year ago. And he was using his right wrist normally.

Umoja started in on the tree. He smelled the bark, then stripped off a piece with his thumb and index finger as if peeling a banana. If a silverback gorilla is ten times as strong as a professional football player, I’m guessing that Umoja is at least as strong–in his arms and hands, anyway.

Umoja chewed for a few seconds, then plunged his nose into the soft dirt at the base of the tree. Maybe the bark is softer or tastier here? Within seconds he had a mustache of dirt, which made him look suddenly a lot younger. At that point, I asked the trackers about his mother, Nyiramurema. We’d been right. She’d been unable to keep up with Nyakagezi Group, and after a few days, she went missing again. Then she appeared in Hirwa Group, but the females drove her off. Now she hadn’t been seen in a week.*

When the blackback in the group appeared at Umoja’s tree, he pushed the infant out of the way. Umoja sat back and watched while the larger gorilla took his turn at the bark. I couldn’t help but feel the gorillas were in a vulnerable position. They were completely absorbed in their special meal — heads turned toward the tree trunks, backs to the farmland. From where I stood, I could hear the voices of farmers and their children behind us, not far away.

Umoja, three-and-a-half years old and one year after surgery to repair herniated intestines and torn ligaments in his right wrist; he also had a broken right leg.

Just as I began to worry that the gorillas might eat eucalyptus all morning, they suddenly filed back into the forest. This time, Umoja was last.

*Note: Nyiramurema rejoined Kwitonda Group two weeks later. Though she and Umoja do spend time together, the trackers report that he has retained his independence.

Comments

[michael]

These gorillas are wonderful animals

[Jessica]

I just found this blog and I've been enjoying reading it! Keep it up! You do amazing things for amazing creatures of the earth! Imagine life without them.. I couldn't!

[Bill McGoldrick]

Wonderful pieces! The plight of gorillas has always fascinated me. Keep up the good work.

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