Maisha

Maisha was confiscated by Rwandan authorities in December 2004. Three poachers were arrested and tried in Rwanda. They had been keeping Maisha in a cave, tied inside a sack for approximately two weeks, letting her out periodically only for occasional feeding on sugar cane and maize.

On arrival she was thin and her blood protein was very low. No wonder: two year old gorilla infants need milk to keep them healthy and the poachers did not give her any for many days!

Maisha is very calm and confident she may show aggression in only one case: around food.

Maisha loves to eat, and claims all the best food, which may also be caused by her starving in early childhood. Every feeding keepers have to spread the food evenly and even then you can hear Maisha’s warning grunts whenever any other gorilla approaches the piece of food she as much as looked at!

But at all other times Maisha is very generous and caring, and she seems to enjoy not only respect, but also real affection from other orphaned gorillas.

She is also very affectionate towards the keepers, and loves to rest on the lap of her human friends. Actually when entering enclosure for the closer check up, Gorilla Doctors are often pulled down by this amazing gorilla and used as her deck-chair.