Ruhondeza, Oldest Gorilla in Bwindi Laid to Rest.

The death of Ruhondeza, the eldest silverback gorilla and the head of the first habituated gorilla family in Uganda’s Bwindi Impenetrable National Park, on June 28th demonstrated that even giants must finally fall. Since he marked the start of protected great ape tourism in the region, the UWA was very saddened to learn of his passing.

When the park’s Mubare family was originally protected in 1991, the stately silverback, who was more over 50 years old, was the leader of the family. When habituation first started that year, he was thought to be between the ages of 28 and 32.

Due to his reputation as a mild-mannered, sluggish leader, Ruhondeza—which translates to “sleepy fellow” in the local Rukiga dialect—was often questioned about his capacity to maintain control over the 17 members of his gang.

As his namesake gradually came up to him, Ruhondeza spent his last four months of existence alone. The gradual extermination of the Mubare family’s male members made Ruhondeza even more vulnerable to losing its female members to other families.

The Mubare group was whittled down to six individuals via contacts with other, more strong families of wild gorillas. In order to keep Mubare together, his surviving royal black back, Kanyonyi, who is also said to be his biological son, has since defended the other two family members and taken four other members from nearby clans. Recently, the family’s Bwindi visitation was reopened.

After being beaten to death by a renegade gang in March 2012, Ruhondeza was left to live alone on neighboring private property for the rest of his life. Since attempts to return him to the park failed, UWA management came to an agreement with local people to let him to live on their property in Rubona village. He was watched there till he passed away.

The rich literature and anecdotes of Ruhondeza’s life will be included in the monument that will be placed beside his burial, which is close to the park offices. This unique silverback will continue to support ecotourism, education, and the preservation of his species and the habitat in which it lives long after he passes away.