Saturday, 29 September 2012

SILVER BACK KWITONDA PASSES AWAY AT AGE 40



 
On Monday September 10th, Volcanoes National Park trackers found the lifeless body of silver back Kwitonda, the dominant silver back of Kwitonda group, some distance from his group. He had been missing from his group since August 30, and despite daily efforts to locate him in the thick forest, his body was not found until 10 days later. Over the last several years the aging silver back, estimated to be about 40 years old, had been showing signs of fading health and was losing ground to the three younger silver backs in the group, Akarevuro, Kigoma and Magumu.

Originally formed in Virunga National Park in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Kwitonda group migrated to Rwanda in 2003 to escape pressure from other groups. The group settled in the area between Mt. Sabyinyo and Mt. Gahinga, and is now comprised of 23 family members. Kwitonda quickly became a popular group for tourists to visit. The silver back was famous for his relaxed attitude towards humans and his many babies.
Porters carried Kwitonda’s body out of the forest so that the Gorilla Doctors could perform a post mortem exam. Because of the degree of decomposition, it was not possible to determine the cause of death, but our pathologist will further analyze the tissue samples in the coming months.

 
Akarevuro new leader of Kwitonda group

Silver back Akarevuro is the new leader of Kwitonda group. He has assumed leadership of the group but the other silver backs, especially Kigoma, may challenge his authority. We’ll be sure to report on any major changes in the group.  

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