Wild Conservation – A Houston Zoo Blog

Mbeli Bai Gorilla Project: 

Nouabale Ndoki National Park (NNNP), Republic of Congo

We have talked about this on a past blog so briefly; the Mbeli Bai Gorilla Project is the only long-term demographic study on western gorillas which uses direct observations to provide important baseline information on the social organization, demography and behavior of an intact population of gorillas. Detailed studies are also undertaken on the activity of other large mammal species using the bai, such as forest elephants, sitatungas, forest buffaloes as well as otters and many other species. Information and a video from the site can be seen at http://www.houstonzoo.org/gorilla-study/. Nouabale Ndoki National Park is situated in the northwest region of the Republic of Congo near the borders of both Cameroon and the Central African Republic 

The focus of this program is not only wildlife research but also supports a  very strong community education effort. Lead Researcher Thomas Breuer writes “If we want to ensure the long-term survival of the great apes and limit the risk of diseases transmission, we need to change the attitudes of locals towards the intrinsic value of wildlife in general and the importance of conserving the great apes in particular.” Wildlife research can neither be successful nor sustainable without support from the communities which depend on the same habitat used by the wildlife. Cultural heritage, community knowledge and partnerships are invaluable piece of any effort to protect wildlife and wildlife habitat.

Gorilla at Mbeli Bai. Photo Thomas Breuer

Long-term studies, such as that at Mbeli Bai can provide crucial demographic and life history data which improves our understanding of life history evolution and adaptation and help to refine conservation strategies. Indeed recent findings from Mbeli Bai demonstrate that in this western gorilla population, infants are weaned at a later age (4 years compared to 3 years in mountain gorillas), have higher infant mortality (43% to age 3 compared to mountain gorillas (27.1%) and have much longer inter-birth intervals which could translate into a slower growth rate. Thus, the slow life histories of western gorillas could have major consequences for social structure, mortality patterns and particularly on population growth rates that will affect recovery from population crashes and prospects of survival of this critically endangered great ape species.

The Houston Zoo is hosting Dr. Michael Cranfield, Executive Director of the Mountain Gorilla Veterinary Project as part of our Call of the Wild Lecture Series September 10^th, 20009. Please go to http://www.houstonzoo.org/lectureseries/ for ticket information

Join us tomorrow for a few simple things you can do to help gorilla’s.

Cross River Gorilla:

Looking for one of the most Critically Endangered primates on the planet? Well, you may have just found one in the Cross River Gorilla. According the Year of the Gorilla website, Cross River Gorillas are restricted to a limited area (<10,000 km²) of southwest Cameroon and neighboring parts of Nigeria:

Nigeria: 75-110 individuals remaining

Cameroon: 125-185 individuals remaining

Remember that Harry Potter movie the Mountain Gorillas went to in Blog #2 of Gorilla Week? Well, this group could all fit in one screening room. 300 or less individuals of Cross River Gorillas left in the world, almost hard to believe a population of wildlife can hold so close to the brink of extinction. Add habitat loss and the Bushmeat Trade (more on this unpleasant topic in a later blog) to the problems facing this population and it is clearly high on the priority list.

Cross River Gorillas form the most northern and western of all gorilla populations and are separated from the nearest Western Lowland Gorilla population to the south by approximately 250 km. The Cross River area and the nearest outpost of western equatorial African forest occupied by Western Lowland Gorillas are separated by the grasslands and fragmented forests of the Cameroon highlands, and the relatively densely settled lowlands of western Cameroon, effectively isolating the Cross River Gorillas from the other west African gorilla populations.

Take into account that the 250-300 individuals are fragmented into at least 10 separate populations spread across 12,000 square kilometers and the difficulty in protecting this population becomes clearer. A current project to create and support Nigeria’s first community managed Wildlife Sanctuary in the Mbe Mountains will involve the establishment of a gorilla guardian monitoring network with 8 local communities in the Mowambi and Mbulu-Mone forest areas. This and other similair efforts are critical to the survival of the Cross River Gorilla.

The North Carolina Zoo in Asheboro, NC is currently supporting conservation effotrs for the Cross River Gorilla and you can access their webpage at: http://www.nczoo.org/conservation/International/CrossRivGorilla.html

 The Houston Zoo is hosting Dr. Michael Cranfield, Executive Director of the Mountain Gorilla Veterinary Project as part of our Call of the Wild Lecture Series September 10^th, 20009. Please go to http://www.houstonzoo.org/lectureseries/ for ticket information.

Tomorrow: Eastern Lowland Gorilla

For more on Year of the Gorilla, go to http://www.yog2009.org/

Western Lowland Gorilla

This population occurs within the countries of Cameroon, Central African Republic, Gabon, Republic of Congo, and Equatorial Guinea. The largest of the gorilla populations, with approximately 150,000 individuals across Central Africa, gained a large boost in known numbers when researchers from the Wildlife Conservation Society discovered an unknown (to researchers) population in 2006/2007 in the Republic of Congo which in effect doubled their numbers in the wild from previous estimates. For more information you can link to: http://www.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/africa/08/05/congo.gorillas/index.html

The Western Lowland Gorilla is listed as Critically Endangered even though they occur over a wide area with relatively low human population densities. The fragmented subpopulations generally occur at low numbers and their distribution is patchy with an estimated 80% of the population live outside protected area.

Western Lowland Gorilla photo courtesy Thomas Breuer

Currently the major threats to this population are poaching and disease epidemics such as the Ebola Virus followed by future habitat loss. Outbreaks of the Ebola virus alone since 2000 has claimed thousands of great apes in Africa.

Because gorillas have a low reproductive rate, they are very susceptible to even low level of hunting which can easily fragment a family unit’s social structure. Reproductive groups of Western Gorillas almost always contain only one dominant silverback male plus three or four females and four or five offspring (Fay, 1989). Adult females in any group are mostly unrelated, and the social ties that exist between them are weak. In contrast to many other primates, it is the bond between each individual female and the silverback, rather than bonds between the females, that hold the group together. Upon reaching maturity, both males and females leave the natal group. The females usually join another group or a lone young adult male, whereas the males remain solitary until they can attract females and establish their own groups (www.YOG2009.org).

We have mentioned Eastern Lowland Gorillas and Western Lowland Gorillas and the two populations are separated geographically by over 600 miles and have a few distinguishable physical differences.

The Houston Zoo is proud to support the Mbeli Bai Gorilla Study in Nouabalé-Ndoki National Park, Republic of Congo. More on this in a later blog but for now you may go to http://www.houstonzoo.org/gorilla-study/ for more information and to watch a short video from the site.

The Houston Zoo is hosting Dr. Michael Cranfield, Executive Director of the Mountain Gorilla Veterinary Project as part of our Call of the Wild Lecture Series September 10^th, 20009. Please go to http://www.houstonzoo.org/lectureseries/ for ticket information.

Tomorrow’s Blog: Cross River Gorilla – the world’s most endangered great ape.

For more on Year of the Gorilla, go to http://www.yog2009.org/

*This is part 2 of 10 in our Mountain Gorilla Membership Madness giveaway. Post a comment on 3 mountain gorilla blogs before August 14 and enter to win a free Houston Zoo membership!