Ndakasi



One year later, in November 2010, Ndakasi and Ndeze gained two new mountain gorilla neighbors: older orphans Maisha and Kaboko, who had been living at the Gorilla Doctors’ orphan care facility in Rwanda for several years, were moved into an adjacent large forest enclosure right next door. Ndakasi and Ndeze climbed to the tops of the trees in their enclosure and studied Maisha and Kaboko’s behavior intently. The process of integrating the two pairs of gorillas into one family group had begun.
Bringing the orphans together was more complicated than one might think. In the wild, a family group’s dominant silverback, the strongest and most experienced male, helps determine the social structure of the family and the ranking of the different members. In the case of these four mountain gorilla orphans, there was no silverback: Maisha held the highest social ranking, but had no serious leadership experience. Kaboko, the sub-adult male, was a moody adolescent. Ndakasi and Ndeze had never interacted with bigger gorillas before, and were quite convinced they were the queens of their realm.The orphans were brought together in an indoor enclosure with the two pairs residing in two rooms separated by bars so that they could see each other up close but not touch. Gradually, over a period of many weeks, the young gorillas were allowed to share the same space. There was much angst, yelling, and confrontation while the two youngsters learned to accept Maisha’s authority, and Maisha learned to protect Ndeze and Ndakasi from the mischievous Kaboko. However, the four gorillas learned to live together in the same enclosure, venturing outdoors during the day and sleeping indoors in the evening. No single orphaned mountain gorilla has ever been successfully reintroduced from captivity to a gorilla family in the wild. Gorilla Doctors and other stakeholders believe that if the orphans are ever to be released, their best chance for survival would be if they were reintroduced as a cohesive family unit. In February 2011, Gorilla Doctors and Virunga National Park staff decided it was time for the four orphans to live together. Bringing the orphans together was more complicated than one might think. In the wild, a family group’s dominant silverback, the strongest and most experienced male, helps determine the social structure of the family and the ranking of the different members. In the case of these four mountain gorilla orphans, there was no silverback: Maisha, an adult female, held the highest social ranking, but had no serious leadership experience. Kaboko, the subadult male, was a moody adolescent. Ndakasi and Ndeze had never interacted with bigger gorillas before, and were quite convinced they were the queens of their realm. The orphans were brought together in an indoor enclosure with the two pairs residing in two rooms separated by bars so that they could see each other up close but not touch. Gradually, over a period of many weeks, the young gorillas were allowed to share the same space. There was much angst, yelling, and confrontation while the two youngsters learned to accept Maisha’s authority, and Maisha learned to protect Ndeze and Ndakasi from the mischievous Kaboko. However, the four gorillas learned to live together in the same enclosure, venturing outdoors during the day and sleeping indoors in the evening.


Sadly, on July 25, 2012, Kaboko, who had a history of gastrointestinal problems, suddenly became very ill and passed away. Due to intense fighting between armed groups near the Senkwekwe Center, the Gorilla Doctors were not able to reach him in time. Thankfully, Ndakasi, Ndeze, and Maisha remained safe and healthy during this difficult time thanks to their dedicated Virunga National Park caretakers.
In late June 2013, another infant male mountain gorilla was rescued outside of Virunga National Park. Matabishi was found alone in a cornfield with a large wound on his back (possibly due to a rope restraint) suggesting he may have been a victim of gorilla trafficking and had been held captive by poachers for several weeks. Under the Gorilla Doctors medical care, Matabishi’s health improved and after a period in quarantine, he was integrated into the group with Maisha, Ndeze, and Ndakasi. Maisha immediately appointed herself as the infant’s surrogate mother and carried the little male gorilla everywhere. Ndeze and Ndakasi displayed occasional bouts of jealousy, but Maisha was always quick to defend the new youngster in the group.
At 10 years old, Ndakasi has grown more confident and doesn’t need as much attention from her human caretakers. While she suffered some serious health problems in 2011, including a concussion and a gastrointestinal infection, she has been in good health in the last few years. She regained the weight she lost and her hair is thick and lustrous again.
In the summer of 2017, the little orphan family suffered another loss when Maisha became extremely ill and passed away after many medical interventions and different types of treatment to try to save her. At the same time, another baby mountain gorilla, Yalala, who had been severely injured by a poacher’s snare, came into Gorilla Doctors medical care. Unfortunately, the injuries sustained from the snare were so severe that Yalala’s foot had to be amputated. It took several months for her to recover and learn to move around confidently in her enclosure and she is now ready to be integrated into the family of orphan mountain gorillas. We hope that Ndeze, Ndakasi and Matabishi will happily welcome Yalala into the group and the foursome will continue to thrive at the Senkwekwe Center.