Six months old Gaia in Prague Zoo. Photo Miroslav Bobek
Text: Miroslav Bobek; Photo: Miroslav Bobek / Jo Gaweda
Today the female gorilla Gaia is exactly six months old. To have current pictures of her for this opportunity, I went to take her photos ahead of time.
It is a joy, watching our little Gaia. Without the slightest fear she moves away from her mother and explores the large exhibit of Dja Reserve and its inhabitants, tastes the green feed, swings on ropes, or plays in another way. It is a really happy baby.
When I was going through the photos at home afterwards, I was delighted by the series, which nicely documents Gaia’s facial expressions. I had the feeling that her joy in life radiated from the photos.
And at the same moment I received an email. Its content was blood-curdling. It brought information about another gorilla baby and a not-so-good photo was attached. Nevertheless, it was apparent that it captured a shaky bundle of nerves.
On Saturday, August 24th, I wrote in my column that one of the inhabitants of east Cameroonian town Lomié offered a baby gorilla to a staff member of our project Wandering Bus. He said he found her in the forest caught in a trap.
We did our best to get the poached young into good hands as soon as possible. This was done, and now more information about the operation is finally being declassified.
Little gorilla female in the rescue station in Méfou. Photo Jo Gaweda, Ape Action Africa
It is a female, one-and-a-half-year old, maybe even two years. She was transported to the rescue centre in Méfou, near the capital city Yaoundé. The name of this place may be familiar to many of you. Méfou is the destination of our Wandering Bus, where its child passengers get to know the gorillas and attend education programs.
In Méfou, the little gorilla had to undergo a surgery. Besides the abrasions from the rope it had tied around her waist, she was found to have a skull injury and the vets had to remove a part of a broken bullet from it.
I am writing this and I am getting chills…
A piece of a bullet in the head of the little gorilla female clearly disproved the account about her being accidentally trapped. Unfortunately, there is no doubt that her entire family was massacred. And she herself is desperate and stressed. She will most likely never return to the wild.
We have been trying to fight against similar things happening, especially in Cameroon, for years. The gorillas who live in our zoo and are ambassadors for their wild relatives also help us in this fight. But sometimes we fall into despair…
I have nothing more to write about now. I will go and look at little Gaia. Hopefully looking at her will cheer me up. Although, who knows… Maybe it will remind me more of the misfortune of the little female gorilla from Lomié…
MIROSLAV BOBEK, is Director of Prague Zoo since 2010. Under his leadership the zoo managed to break its record for annual attendance and increased its level of economic self-sufficiency. He often explains his view of animals in zoos as wildlife ambassadors. In 2014, Miroslav Bobek was awarded the Medal of Friendship by the Mongolian President for returning 18 mares and one stallion of the Przewalski’s Horse back home. The success of the endeavour can be judged by the fact that only a year after their arrival, some of the mares were already raising their own foals. Gorilla conservation in Central Africa is another Prague Zoo’s flagship in situ project. ‘Helping Gorillas’ project continues to provide news about the life of Prague Zoo’s gorilla family and champions gorilla conservation.