I recently watched John Bishop, a British comedian of whom I am a fan, in a documentary film entitled Gorilla Adventure recorded in 2015, of his trip to Rwanda to visit the rare and endangered mountain gorillas. Bishop and his hosts, Gorilla Doctors, travelled up the Visoke Volcano, to a height of 2,000 metres to view a family of twelve gorillas. Mountain gorillas live in the Virunga Massif, a chain of volcanoes where Uganda, Congo, and Rwanda meet. Mountain gorillas are one of the most endangered animals on the planet.
Two species of gorillas exist – Western Gorilla and Eastern Gorilla – each with a subspecies, all of which are endangered. The mountain gorilla is a subspecies of the Eastern Gorilla and currently survive in only two regions of Africa. In 1981 there were an estimated 254 mountain gorillas. Numbers climbed as awareness and care of the gorilla increased – 380 gorillas in 2003, to 480 in 2010, to 1063 in 2023.
Humans are the worst enemy of mountain gorillas. We share 98% of our genetic code with gorillas, which puts gorillas at risk for the same infectious diseases we are susceptible to, yet they have no antibodies to protect them. Gorilla habitat is shrinking as the human population continues to take gorilla habitat for our own use. A Canadian veterinarian played a vital role in helping to increase the numbers of mountain gorillas. His name is Dr. Peter Cranfield.
Peter Cranfield is a Peterborough, Ontario native. In 1998, he became the director of the Mountain Gorilla Veterinary Project formed in 1986 at the urging of Dian Fossey. Fossey studied the mountain gorillas for 18 years and was laid to rest in Rwanda after her death. The mission statement of the Gorilla Project is “saving a species one gorilla at a time”. Dr. Cranfield spent 25 years working in Africa, treating injured and sick gorillas. Under Cranfield’s leadership, the Gorilla Doctors project grew from a single veterinarian to 13 vets, with 80 per cent of the staff coming from African partner nations. Cranfield helped the project become a world-class conservation project. He died 28 August 2023, at the age of 71, from the Powassan virus spread by infected ticks found in North America.
In the film, John Bishop travelled to the protected area in Rwanda with the team of Gorilla Doctors and trackers. The veterinary team visits each gorilla family or troop every month to check for illness and/or injury. They trek through dense forest for hours each day, no matter the weather, to monitor gorilla health. The team is masked as they get close to the gorillas and stay at least seven metres away as much as possible to prevent the passing of pathogens. The team make a throaty sound to mimic the gorilla’s noise to tell them all is okay. Bishop asked Dr. Cranfield why he chose to do this work. “It was an opportunity I couldn’t refuse,” Cranfield explained. He finds the gorilla so humanlike and fascinating and beautiful. His passion has helped the mountain gorillas to survive.
The dominant Silverback, leader of the troop, was sitting and eating, relaxing for an afternoon rest. He leaned over and passed gas. John Bishop erupted into laughter. “A fart is never not funny,” he joked, acknowledging the burden of digestive gas, from one vegetarian to another; gorillas are herbivores. The females breastfeed their young up to the age of four and do not mate during this time. They live in family groups of about ten individuals where both males and females hug and carry and play with their young. The troop settles into a nest at night, the family tucked in together.
Young gorillas were climbing trees, infant gorillas were on mother’s back, while the dominant Silverback kept watch over his troop, all seemingly comfortable with the intrusion of the familiar guests. The back of the male gorilla begins to turn to silver at the age of twelve. Their lifespan is listed as 50-60 years on one site, but another says they have an average age of 35 years.
I was once again reminded of the wisdom of animals and how we so often ignore what they could teach us. The mountain gorilla is only aggressive when the troop is under threat, and even when another troop gets too close, the dominant gorillas have a stand-off, with roaring and chest pounding, but seldom engage in physical battle.
I watched the Gorilla Adventure film three times, each time getting a little bit more of the story of gorillas as well as the recovery of Rwanda from its tragic past. It is well worth the watch should you have the opportunity. I hope the progress Dr. Cranfield was part of will continue in his memory.
wendistewart@live.ca
