Gorilla gazette - Issue 10

Welcome to Gorilla gazette!

Postings from the gorilla inhabitants of the Bwindi Impenetrable Forest, in Western Uganda.

Hello. I don’t think we have met before. My name is Tabu, and I’m one of the young guys in the Nkuringo family. I’m afraid I haven’t yet got a photo of me, so you can’t see me in person, but I’m second-in-charge in the family. Currently, the Silverback is Rwamutwe. But my time will come, and when it does, I’ll challenge him and win, and he will have to go. Meanwhile, I’m keeping myself busy and that’s why I volunteered to do this edition of the Gorilla gazette. 

In this picture you can see the part of Bwindi where the Nkuringo family lives. The valley is our feeding ground, as it is for the Xmas family, whom you know, and the Bikyingyi and Mishaya families. And, it’s pretty much opposite Nkuringo where the NCENT women live. Personally, for a change of diet, I’d be happy to take myself over there and eat some of the vegetables that they are growing, but they really don’t like it. So what do they do? They plant tea bushes. Can you see them in the picture. Boy, they scratch when you go through them, so any self-respecting gorilla is obliged not to try. You’d think that the women would like to share their cabbages with us, but no… Not that I mind that much as there’s always plenty of young green leaves to eat in the Forest. And sometimes we can find some fruits. I’m the one who has to go up the trees to get them. But that will change, when I am the Silverback. Mind you, I’ll have a lot of responsibilities in taking care of the family. As for Rwamutwe, he won’t like it when he has to leave and he’ll probably be really grumpy so I will have to keep all the family out of his way, if he comes around. There’s nothing worse than a ‘grumpy gorilla’.

As for the NCENT Women, they have been busy with their singing and dancing for the tourists. They have been given another sewing machine to add to the two that you kindly funded for them, so they are busy doing a lot of sewing. They have to spend time, of course, collecting water, as it’s still the dry season and the children have to help. Fortunately, the children have been on holiday so they haven’t had to kept out of school. (A picture of child carrying water, (No 1 or 2 that Steven sent on 17 Dec. Not one near the water tank.) Mind you, I couldn't imagine any youngster of mine doing this, could you? One way and another, humans and gorillas in this area seem to support each other, which is why I’m enjoying doing this issue of the Gorilla gazette.

I do have to tell you that we, the Bwindi gorillas, are very proud that our numbers have increased from 298 in 1993 to over 459 currently, which is the biggest number of mountain gorillas in one place in the world. Out of the 91 global groups, 50 live in Bwindi, and the Nkuringo gorillas are one of them. As it might be said: “We are world beating”… 

But we have to give a ‘shout out’ to the elephants as well as they have also been increasing in numbers. So that you know, if you decided to come to see us in Bwindi, the photo of this fine animal was taken in the parking area near Rushaga in the Southern sector of Bwindi, close to Nkuringo. They feed in the area just behind the top of the ridge in the top picture. I tell you, no self-respecting gorilla would want to get anywhere near those tusks, even though they point downwards to make it easier for them in moving through the forest… 

Bye for now, please keep donating to Commat for its work with the NCENT women, as if my contribution isn’t helping, I might be out of a job!

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