By Dr. Fabrice Katembo Malonga, field veterinarian, DR Congo

On Saturday July 5 we received a call from park rangers that an infant mountain gorilla in Mapuwa group of the Mikeno sector in Virunga National Park, DR Congo was observed with a wire snare embedded deep in her left wrist.

We outfitted our medical ‘go bags’ and left for the park the next morning. We arrived at the park around 12:30PM on Sunday July 6 and immediately trekked into the forest with the intervention team.

After walking along the river for a little over an hour, we found Mapuwa group just before 2:00. We located the infant, two-year-old Ngike, with her mother Palumate and observed the snare to be tight, deeply embedded in her skin, and it had likely been there for several days. We were very concerned that if the snare was not removed soon, she was at risk of losing her hand.

Unfortunately, as we were preparing the medication and dart guns it began to rain. Since it was already late in the day at this point, we made the difficult decision to spend the night at the nearest ranger station and return early the next morning.

It was 10:30AM on Monday July 7 before we located the gorillas. Once again we prepared the medication and darts, deciding it would be necessary to anesthetize both Palumate and Ngike in order to safely remove Ngike’s snare and treat her serious wounds.

We successfully darted Palumate just before 1:00PM and as she became anesthetized she held Ngike close to her chest. Some of the other gorillas attempted to retrieve Ngike but the brave intervention team managed to keep the gorillas at a bay by forming a line and gently pushing the gorillas back through vocalizations and shaking the surrounding vegetation. We were then able to successfully dart Ngike and quickly removed the snare, treated her wounds, provided medication and performed a physical exam.

The wire snare had cut very deep into Ngike’s wrist, reaching her wrist joint. Our prognosis remains guarded – she may still lose the hand or never regain full use of it. Only time and close monitoring for any signs of infection will determine the ultimate outcome. Despite the severity of her wounds, we were all relieved and grateful to be able to enter the Mikeno sector of the park and save Ngike’s life.

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