(Volcanoes National Park) The huge male nibbles an appetizing bamboo shoot, then lies down with phlegm and even noisily releases a few gases: he does not seem in any way bothered by the mooing of the cows and the blows of the farmers’ spade, which the ‘you can see about fifty meters away.
This “silverback” gorilla and his family live that day near the embankment that marks the end of the Volcanoes National Park in Rwanda, a sanctuary where great apes are now cramped.
Rwanda shares with Uganda and the Democratic Republic of Congo the famous Virunga massif. Located in the heart of the densely populated Great Lakes region, this chain of eight majestic volcanoes is also, along with the Ugandan Bwindi Forest, the only habitat in the world for mountain gorillas, whose population is increasing.
“In the 2010 census, there were 880 mountain gorillas. In 2015, another census showed that there were 1063 ”in total, proudly exhibits the ranger Felicien Ntezimana, before starting the hike which, through fertile fields, leads to the misty forest where the mythical animals live. .
This primate with superb dark fur, thick and shiny, has since 2018 been considered “endangered” and no longer “critically endangered”, like all other great apes.
Mountain gorillas have come a long way. In the 1980s, when the famous American primatologist Dian Fossey was assassinated here, the Virunga massif numbered only 250, after decades of ruthless poaching.
Since then, their number has quadrupled, in particular thanks to enhanced security and the involvement of communities. In Rwanda, 10% of tourism income (or C $ 32 million before COVID-19) goes to residents in the form of projects and 5% through a compensation fund.
“Hated” in the past, primates are now nicknamed “those who bring the milk”, laughs an old inhabitant of Musanze, the town bordering the park.
“Tourists spend money on them and this money comes back to us in the form of food, accommodation and good living conditions,” says Jean-Baptiste Ndeze.
Diseases
This spectacular resurrection is not without consequences.
With around twenty families known and monitored by the Rwandan authorities (compared to six 25 years ago), the density has increased. And these primates accustomed to humans therefore venture to their neighbors.
“We more often observe gorillas coming out of the park and looking for food outside. […]. They also spend more time outside the park, and tend to move further away from the border, ”says Felix Ndagijimana, country director of the Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund.
The Herculean-strong monkey, which can weigh up to 200 kilograms, is vulnerable to human diseases, such as influenza, pneumonia or even Ebola.
Density poses other threats within the sanctuary itself. Interactions between these families have greatly increased and can trigger fights, in which babies are at great risk.
The Fund, which was worried about seeing the growth of the population slow down, carried out a study ten years ago on a specific area of the park: it notably concluded that the number of “infanticides” had increased by 5.
“Infanticide is a big problem because it has an immense downward impact on the growth of the population,” laments Felix Ndagijimana.
4000 families
This density problem is much more significant today in Rwanda, where due to demographic pressure the surface area of the park was half eaten away in the 20th century.
Only one gorilla family lives in the Ugandan part of Virunga, and the park is “huge” on the Congolese side, notes Benjamin Mugabukomeye, of the International Gorilla Protection Program, a regional organization.
Rwanda has decided to extend the surface area of its park by 23% within five to ten years. An ambitious project, which is due to start in 2022 and will require restoring the forest but also displacing 4,000 farming families.
“It is a process that we are carrying out in a very, very cautious manner”, insists Prosper Uwingeli, the director of the park, stressing that feasibility studies are in progress as well as a precise mapping of the families concerned.
Kigali provides compensation but also the construction of “model villages”, a prototype of which has emerged from the ground in Musanze. In addition to a huge school and an egg factory, brick buildings house impeccable apartments, furniture included.
In a country where the regime is hailed for its development plans but also criticized for its authoritarianism, officials say the extension is a “responsibility” to apes and an “opportunity” for humans.
But at the edge of the park, a few stone throws from the enormous gorilla, a peasant digging his black soil is worried.
Gorillas “are not a problem”, sweeps this potato producer.
But “this place is very fertile, it allowed me to feed my family,” he adds. “Where they want to relocate us, the soil is not as fertile. So the money they give us must be meaningful for our livelihood. ”