A visit to the Congo
In May Amos Courage travelled to the Congo with a group of visitors that included the Chairman of the Aspinall Foundation, James Osborne. The beginning of the trip saw visits to the youngest group of five orphan gorillas who are still being looked after by carers in the nursery area to the south of the reserve. The four year old female Tanga, is the oldest, largest and most dominant gorilla in the group. The reintroduction of this group into the reserve, may be considered as a threat by the elder groups due to the sex ratio being male dominant.
They then visited the new reserve headquarters positioned opposite Abio Island. This is home to a silverback known as Sid who now lives alone. Apart from having a chronically infected tooth, Sid is happy and in good health, and Amos and his party watched Sid eat his dinner from the safety of a dugout canoe a couple of metres from the shore.
The trip to the Congo finished with a visit to Makoua, along with his many females and his new baby Teke. A week after Amos’s visit, the dominant female of the group had a second baby Djembo.
The Aspinall Foundation, in conjunction with Howletts and Port Lympne Wild Animal Parks, has reintroduced over 50 gorillas to the wild. The foundation extends its protection to nearly one million acres, and continues its amazing work in protecting the Western Lowland Gorilla.
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