Mother gorilla Duma presses her one-day-old baby Bokonya to her breast as he lies sleeping in her arms. She can’t take her eyes off him. Boyonka drinks and Duma gently takes his little hand in hers, pressing her lips on his fingers.
Moments like these are special glimpses into the lives of the wild gorillas I had the privilege to follow the gorillas of the WWF CAR gorilla habituation project for a year.
I have been back from the forest for a few months now. The past year, I spent listening and observing thee groups of wild gorillas.
To collect my data, I went into the forest at Mongambe and Bai Hokou to follow the gorillas and record their behavior and sounds. The help the WWF team gave me was indispensable.
Without the amazing WWF trackers, I would not have been able to find the gorillas every morning and get back safely in the evening.
I had a great time in Dzanga-Sangha and I am very happy and grateful to WWF CAR and my promoters Dr. Shelly Masi (Muséum National d’Histoire Naturelle) and Prof. Klaus Zuberbuehler (Université de Neuchâtel) for the opportunity to study the gorillas here!
More News
Is it a boy? Or is it a girl?
Even habituated gorillas remain wild animals and can only be observed from a distance. That's why trying to identify the sex of a juvenile gorilla is like a game of chance, and even trained observers can hardly get more than a fifty percent hit rate.
Successful rescue in Dzanga-Sangha
DSPA ecoguards helped to rescue a BaAka girl who had been kidnapped near Bayanga, the main village in Dzanga-Sangha, in late January 2021.
African elephant under pressure
African elephant species now Endangered and Critically Endangered - IUCN Red List
Why our work is important
CAR ranks among the top 10 countries in the world in wildlife conservation
Wildlife inventory measures
Janika Wendefeuer is responsible for biomonitoring in the DSPA