Post by Molly Feltner
The Gorilla Doctors (Mountain Gorilla Veterinary Project) suffered a terrible blow last week when an infant mountain gorilla in Virunga National Park died from wounds sustained while trapped in a poacher's snare despite interventions and careful monitoring by the Gorilla Doctors and ICCN park rangers. Baby Sekenabo, a two-year-old male in Kabirizi group which resides in the Democratic Republic of Congo, was buried at the gorilla cemetery at Virunga National Park headquarters after his death on February 8.
Virunga National Park rangers discovered Sekenabo caught in a snare on Friday, February 5, and a call was put in for the Gorilla Doctors' help. Poachers in the Virunga Massif hide snares in the vegetation to catch antelopes but mountain gorillas are often victims of these cruel traps. ICCN Warden Innocent Mburanumwe and other rangers were able to cut the infant free of the snare late Friday, but he had sustained serious wounds that required attention from the Gorilla Doctors.
The Gorilla Doctors and ICCN trackers were unable to locate the infant on Saturday , even after searching through the forest all day, but found him Sunday morning with his mother Tumaini and the rest of the Kabirizi group. Dr. Magda observed Sekenabo's terrible injuries--the snare was still tight around his leg and somehow in the struggle to get free from it, the skin of his upper lip and nostril had been torn off--and decided a medical intervention was essential.
A team of park rangers helped kept the others gorillas at a safe distance while Dr. Eddy darted Tumaini, who was holding Sekanabo tightly, with a sedative, and then Dr Magda moved in to sedate Sekanabo. Once both were asleep Dr. Magda put in two layers of stitches to hold the baby's skin in place but was concerned about the poor condition of Sekanabo's facial tissue. The snare was cut and Sekanabo was given an strong, long acting antibiotic. Mother and son received reversal drugs and slowly awakened and moved back to the rest of the group.
The Gorilla Doctors hoped for the best but realized the young gorilla's chance of survival was not certain because of the severity of his wounds. Sadly, the next day, Sekanabo was found dead. Rangers retrieved the baby's body and the Gorilla Doctors performed a necropsy to determine Sekanabo's exact cause of death. His wounds were very serious, and the snare caused more damage than initially thought. They suspect that when the snare was removed from the baby's leg, toxins may have been released causing cardiac or renal disease. Test results are still pending.
Sekanabo's death was a tragedy, but the Gorilla Doctors and ICCN park rangers hope they can learn from this experience so that hopefully such deaths can be prevented in the future.
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