Dunia_GRACE

It is with great sadness that we announce that Dunia, a 10-year-old female Grauer’s gorilla living at the Gorilla Rehabilitation and Conservation Education (GRACE) Center in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), died unexpectedly after a sudden onset of severe intestinal illness.

Gorilla Doctors cared for Dunia for years, initially while she was based in Kinigi, Rwanda. We helped airlift her to GRACE in 2011.

Dunia received intensive around-the-clock care from GRACE staff, and six veterinarians in three different countries consulted on her case, including our Gorilla Doctors team and Disney’s Animal Kingdom.

“Dunia was one of my favorites,” said Gorilla Doctors Co-Director Mike Cranfield. “So much personality packed into a small body. She used to make me laugh every time I saw her.”

Gorilla Doctors plays a crucial consulting role at GRACE, helping with emergencies, and sometimes health checks when we’re in the area. When Dunia fell ill, Cranfield, along with Regional Manager Joost Philippa consulted with GRACE staff to develop a treatment plan.

Dunia was confiscated from poachers in 2006 and cared for in Rwanda by Gorilla Doctors and Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund International before being transferred with five other Grauer’s gorillas to GRACE in 2011. Since then, she has been living in a surrogate family group with 10-13 other orphaned Grauer’s gorillas.

Dunia stood out because she was very curious and liked to be the first to check out any new visitors to GRACE. She was also highly intelligent and a quick learner. In 2015, Dunia was the first to be trained for an awake ultrasound exam, the first ever performed on a Grauer’s gorilla. Such exams can help track cardiac health, which is important for gorillas because heart disease is an issue of concern in captive gorillas.

“This was a devastating loss for GRACE,” said Jackson Mbeke, GRACE Center Director. “Grauer’s gorillas are highly endangered, so every gorilla is precious. More than this, they are each special to our team. It is like a member of our family has been lost.”

Dunia’s mothering tendency marked a milestone for GRACE too, since she was the first adult female other than alpha Pinga to become a dedicated surrogate mother to a younger orphan. Since then, other females have followed Dunia’s lead.

“We want so badly for each of these gorillas to have a happy ending because they have been through so much already,” said GRACE Executive Director, Dr. Sonya Kahlenberg. “Most captured gorillas don’t even make it to confiscation, so in many ways, Dunia did have a happy ending. She survived the awful trauma of being taken from the wild and went on to develop close ties with other orphaned gorillas, forming a family that she enjoyed for almost 10 years. We just wish her story had not ended so soon. Dunia will be greatly missed at GRACE, both by the gorillas and our staff, and in her memory, we will continue our work to give Grauer’s gorillas a future.”

Eastern lowland gorillas – also known as Grauer’s gorillas (Gorilla beringei graueri) —are found only in eastern DRC and their numbers have dropped alarmingly by 77% over the past 20 years due to poaching, habitat loss, illegal trade, disease, and regional instability. GRACE is the world’s only sanctuary for Grauer’s gorillas confiscated from illegal poachers and traders and is working to rehabilitate them for reintroduction back into the wild.

“GRACE highly values our partnership with Gorilla Doctors,” said Kahlenberg. “We want to thank them for supporting our team with this difficult case.”