GORILLA MASSACRE

  On June 8, 2007, rangers were in the forest on a routine patrol, when they came upon a female gorilla, Nsekuye, who had been shot to death, execution style, and her 2 month old baby, Ndakasi, was clinging to her.  Ndakasi had been left to starve to death.  The rangers immediately called their supervisor who then called Andre Bauma to come directly to the scene and look after the baby.  (Andre has experience working with orphaned gorillas.)  The rangers knew that this was not the work of poachers because sadly, the baby would have been taken and the process of selling the infant would be underway.  

  When Andre arrived it was around 6pm.  He saw the infant and didn’t think the baby was still alive, she was almost lifeless.  It was determined that Ndakasi would have been without her mother’s milk for 24 hours and would have had to survive the cold temperatures of the night.  She was so weak she couldn’t even open her eyes or turn her head but there was a beating heart that was stronger than all the elements that she had endured.  

  Andre picked her up and placed Ndakasi in a box that he had filled with cotton.  He then placed a clean towel over her to keep her warm.  Rangers started a fire for Andre so that he could warm some water to mix with the powdered milk that he had brought.   He attempted to give her small amounts of milk with no success as she was too cold and weak to drink.  After a few minutes Ndakasi was getting warm so Andre opened her mouth positioning her neck correctly so that the milk would not enter into her lungs, as this could be fatal.  

   This time it was successful!  Andre picked up the box with Ndakasi and placed her where there was no noise and where there would only be the two of them.  Andre wrapped her in 2 towels, keeping her warm and placed her on his chest.  Throughout the night when Ndakasi would move and attempted to feed, Andre would wake up and give her small amounts of milk then Ndakasi would fall back asleep.  This would repeat itself 6 times throughout the night.  

  They stayed in the forest until daybreak as the road out of the forest was unmanageable in the dark and the region very unstable.  At dawn, Ndakasi had enough straight to open her eyes.  The bond that was formed and the love that was given, brought her back to life.  

  A car was sent to pick up Andre and Ndakasi and take them to the Mountain Gorilla Veterinary Project (MGVP) where Ndakasi would be checked over by Veterinarians.  Once they arrived, Dr. Mike Cranfield, Executive Director of MGVP was first to check over Ndakasi.  

Dr. Mike Cranfield examines Ndakasi with Andre.

  One and a half weeks after Ndakasi was removed from the forest, she went into acute respiratory distress, pneumonia.  She weighed less than 2 kg and could barely breathe.  Andre huddled together underneath a heavy blanket and with a pot of hot water and eucalyptus leaves, it was exactly what she needed to stay alive. They soon got oxygen therapy to her as she needed to be placed in a makeshift oxygen tent for one week. 

Ndakasi in the incubator

Ndakasi drinking water from a sponge

  Andre never left her side.  They were together day and night.  If not for the round – the – clock medical attention from the MGVP veterinarians, Andre Bauma, oxygen therapy from the doctors of MONUC (the peace keeping unit of the United Nations security team) Ndakasi would not have survived.

Oxygen therapy from the doctors of MONUC

 On July 22, 2007, six weeks after rangers found Nsekuye, senselessly shot to death, they came upon another horrific scene.  Four members of the Rugendo family were massacred.  Lying there were three female mountain gorillas; Neza, Safari, Mburanumwe and the male silverback, Senkwekwe.  It was an unbelievable sight and filled with a cross section of emotions; sadness, disbelief and OUTRAGE! 

 GORILLA MASSACRES
 WHO IS KILLING OUR GORILLAS?
made headline news around the world. 

  Park rangers gently placed the four massacred gorillas on makeshift stretchers and carried them out of the forest like the kings they are.
  (An update to this story: In March of this year, authorities arrested a senior park official in connection to the gorilla massacres of 2007.  Authorities believe the killings were a plot to get rid of the gorillas so that the forest could be used for the lucrative charcoal trade that generates over 30 million dollars a year.)

   The day after the massacre, rangers saw Ndeze, a four month old, whose mother, Safari, was killed the day before, on the back of her older brother.  This was amazing to see, however there was no way the brother could provide Ndeze with the nourishment that she would need in order to survive.   Rangers notified MGVP veterinarians, who responded immediately knowing what the alternative would be.  They anestitized the brother and carefully grabbed Ndeze.  They watched to make sure the brother was fine after he woke up.  He looked around for his young sister and continued following the remainder of the group.

Ndeze drinking milk after her rescue

  The two orphaned gorillas Ndakasi and Ndeze have been looked after by MGVP, the DFGFI, (Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund International) and the ICCN ( Institut Congolais pour la Conservation de la Nature).  In December of 2009, the orphans were moved from Goma to a new facility, the SENKWEKWE CENTRE in Rumangabo, Democratic Republic of Congo.  They reside beside their families in the wild in a safe, healthy and lush environment.

The area of the Senkwekwe Centre in which the orphans reside, was funded by
Canadian Friends of the Mountain Gorilla Veterinary Project.

For the lastest update on these two precious orphaned mountain gorillas, GO HERE.