GORILLAS AT HOME

Sun (Auckland), Volume III, Issue 849, 18 December 1929, Page 13

GORILLAS AT HOME

SANCTUARY IN BELCIAN CONGO The greatest of all the apes, the African Gorilla, now exists only In two widely separated parts of Africa, the high volcanic district of Kivu, on the marches of Uganda and the Belgian Congo, and the low forests and hills on each side of the Equator in the South Cameroons and the Gaboons, says “The Cape Times.” The two sets are at most only racially different. Those of the West Coast have been known since they were first described to an unbelieving public by du Cbaillu. Although their haunts are thick and miasmatic forests, they have long been in contact with human beings, both natives of Africa and Europeans. Whatever their original character may have been, they are now sophisticated, keeping out of the reach of human beings as much as they can, but attacking fiercely when disturbed. The gorillas of Kivu have been known to science for a much shorter time, and, indeed, it is only within the last few years that any serious attempt has been made to study them. They live in remote and barren regions at a great elevation. There is probably no resident human population, although natives occasionally go into the district, especially on the Uganda side, to make charcoal. As a result, these mountain gorillas have not yet learned to fear man, or to modify their habits to avoid him. When a male, taking his afternoon nap beside the family of one or two wives and children that he is gaurding, is disturbed, he will attack the intruder savagely, but otherwise they are harmless and peaceable, living chiefly on bamboo shoots and leaves. Possibly, when they have the opportunity, they may take eggs, grubs, or even young birds, but they are characteristically vegetarian. The great scientific interest of these mountain gorillas is the c pportunity they provide of studying the nearest relatives of the human race under natural conditions. They are less arboreal than the gorillas of the West Coast, spending most of their lives on the ground, although they climb trees In search of food and to make their nests or sleeping beds. They live the kind of life that was probably that of the earliest human beings, before the invention of weapons, or the use of fire or even of fixed abodes, for the nests are made one day to be abandoned the next. For the present, sufficient is known of their anatomy, and there is no excuse for killing them for that purpose. Even museums, clamouring for specimens to mount, should be resisted or referred to the Cameroons at least until protection has led to an increase in numbers and until their habits have been thoroughly explored. We wish to know if their family relationships are temporary or permanent, if there is any primitive tribal organisation, if there is a recognition of death or what happens when one of the family dies, and a multitude of other matters which might throw light on the early psychology of mankind. The study of these great apes can be carried out adequately only if they are allowed to live their own lives in absolute security. The Belgian Government has done all that it can. The Parc National Albert, which covers all the area in the Belgian Congo occupied by gorillas, has now been made an absolute sanctuary. The last step was taken on June 28 of this year, when the Royal Decree organising the Parc was formally accepted by the Colonial Council. Since then the Council has been strengthened by the appointment of representatives from other nations, and Lord Grey of Fallodon and the Earl of Onslow have accepted invitations to serve on it. But there remains an important step for <Great Britain to take if, in the charming phrase of the Belgian Ambassador, the “world is to be made safe for gorillas.” Over the frontier in Uganda there is an area of about 24 square miles marching with the National Parc Albert, and consisting of the exactly similar mountainous land without permanent inhabitants. It would be impossible for. the guardians of the Parc to watch efficiently the mountain passes of the frontier, and native poachers, lured by the high prices given for gorilla skins, are said to cross over and to raid the Belgian gorillas. Other natives make periodical visits to burn charcoal, and are said to be reducing seriously the forests which give the gorillas food and shelter. It is not known exactly how many gorillas still exist. Estimates made by Dr. Derscheid and others put the number of gorillas in the Belgian territory at between 500 and 700. With regard to the part of their area within Uganda, opinions differ. The District Commissioner at Kabale, who knows | the volcanic ranges well, thinks that I any gorillas seen or killed on the British side were temporary stragglers from Belgian territory. On the other hand, there is fairly strong evidence from those who have camped on the I British slopes of Mount Mgahinga that there are resident gorillas there. But i whether they are temporary or permanent, these gorillas are the only examples in British territory, with the possible exception of a few on the northern end of the Cameroon Mouni tains. Even if they are only tempori ary stragglers, there is no reason why they should not be encouraged to beI come permanent subjects of the Brit- ; ish Empire. And there is every reason ' why Great Britain should support the great step taken by Belgium and place i the small volcanic area in Uganda i under exactly the same conditions of 1 sanctuary for gorilla*