It is with great sadness that we announce that Dunia, a 10-year-old female Grauer’s gorilla living at the Gorilla Rehabilitation and Conservation Education (GRACE) Center in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), died recently after a sudden onset of a severe intestinal illness.
Dunia received intensive around-the-clock care from GRACE staff, and six veterinarians in three different countries consulted on her case, especially staff from Gorilla Doctors and Disney’s Animal Kingdom. Sadly, her illness was aggressive and did not respond to treatment. Dunia passed away peacefully in her sleep with Head Caregiver Dalmas Kakule at her side.
“This was a devastating loss for GRACE,” said Jackson Mbeke, GRACE Center Director. “Grauer’s gorillas are highly endangered, so every gorilla is precious. More than this, they are each special to our team. It is like a member of our family has been lost.”
Dunia was confiscated from poachers in 2006 and cared for in Rwanda by Gorilla Doctors and Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund International before being transferred with five other Grauer’s gorillas to GRACE in 2011. Since then, she has been living in a surrogate family group with 10-13 other orphaned gorillas.
Dunia stood out because she was very curious and liked to be the first to check out any new visitors to GRACE. She was also highly intelligent and a quick learner. In 2015, Dunia was the first to be trained for an awake ultrasound exam, the first ever performed on a Grauer’s gorilla. Such exams can help track cardiac health, which is important for gorillas because heart disease is an issue of concern.
“Dunia was calm and kind,” said Caregiver Castro Kasereka Visika. “She was a friend to all the other gorillas, mostly Isangi and Mapendo. She also liked baby gorillas so much.” Dunia’s mothering tendency marked a milestone for GRACE too, since she was the first adult female other than alpha Pinga to become a dedicated surrogate mother to a younger orphan. Since then, other females have followed Dunia’s lead.
“We want so badly for each of these gorillas to have a happy ending because they have been through so much already,” said GRACE Executive Director, Dr. Sonya Kahlenberg. “Most captured gorillas don’t even make it to confiscation, so in many ways, Dunia did have a happy ending. She survived the awful trauma of being taken from the wild and went on to develop close ties with other orphaned gorillas, forming a family that she enjoyed for almost 10 years. We just wish her story had not ended so soon. Dunia will be greatly missed at GRACE, both by the gorillas and our staff. In her memory, we will continue our work to give Grauer’s gorillas a future.”
Eastern lowland gorillas – also known as Grauer’s gorillas (Gorilla beringei graueri) —are found only in eastern DRC and their numbers have dropped alarmingly by 77% over the past 20 years due to poaching, habitat loss, illegal trade, disease, and regional instability. GRACE is the world’s only sanctuary for Grauer’s gorillas confiscated from illegal poachers and traders and is working to rehabilitate them for reintroduction back into the wild.
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GORILLA REHABILITATION AND CONSERVATION EDUCATION (GRACE) CENTER – Founded in 2009 by the Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund International in collaboration with the Congolese Wildlife Authority (ICCN) and Tayna Center for Conservation Biology, GRACE is the only facility in the world dedicated to providing in situ rehabilitative care for orphaned Grauer’s gorillas and ultimately aims to reintroduce gorillas back into the wild. GRACE also works with local communities, through education and other outreach programs, to help ensure the long-term survival of wild gorilla populations. Other major partners for this project include Disney and the Houston, Dallas, Nashville, Detroit, Jacksonville, Los Angeles, and Utah’s Hogle Zoos. For more information about GRACE, please visit gracegorillas.org and follow us on Facebook and Twitter. If you would like to help, please visit our secure online donation page.