Training on Mt. Tshiaberimu

In February 2000, with funds from the Berggorilla & Regenwald Direkfhilfe and the DFGF (Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund), Claude Sikubwabo and Vital Katembo conducted a training course for 21 rangers and other employees in the Mt. Tshiaberimu area. The training consisted of these courses: introduction to monitoring, importance of the park's conservation, conflicts between conservation and communities, orientation with maps and GPS, habitats and animals of Mt. Tshiaberimu, ecology, biology and behaviour of gorillas, conservation problems on Mt. Tshiaberimu and gorilla census techniques including transects. After the 3-day training, activities in the field started. The participants conducted a survey on the gorillas and other mammals of Mt. Tshiaberimu, registered the cultivated area on Mt. Tshiaberimu, practised orientation in the forest and analyzed human activities.
From 7 to 11 February, the gorillas were surveyed by the employees and from 12 to 22 February by the rangers. Their nests were registered and sometimes a few individuals were seen. When the survey team approached the gorillas, the silverback charged every time. The survey revealed that there is only one gorilla family left in the area. It was named Lusenge. As the group is only partly habituated, it was not possible to determine the gender of all group members. There are definitely 9 gorillas; among them are one silverback male and two adult females with babies. Another silverback lives in the vicinity of the family; his relationship with the Lusenge family is not clear. Three more males, two silverbacks and one blackback, range in the Kivya area. Recently, the gorillas have started to occasionally visit the fields.
The team also collected samples of the gorillas' feeding plants, listing a total of 37 species. Compared to the results from Kahuzi-Biega (about 140 plant species) and Virunga (about 75), this might indicate that gorilla food on Mt. Tshiaberimu is not sufficiently varied. Therefore further research on the nutrition of the Mt. Tshiaberimu gorillas is urgently required.
In addition to the gorillas, the following mammals were also observed on Mt. Tshiaberimu: blue monkey, black-fronted duiker as well as unidentified species of genet, mongoose, galago, squirrels and bats. Baboons were noticed near Kasimbi. The occurence of the jackal, the owl-faced monkey and the potto could not be confirmed.
Part of the training course was also to survey the area of the park utilized by the local population since 1990. In that year, people started cultivating fields, collecting firewood and plants and setting traps for rodents. The rangers and the responsible persons in Kiavinyonge did not try to stop these illegal activities. Currently, 6.4 km² are affected. Park staff are trying to prevent the allocation of land for new fields. The situation in the part of the park which is actually protected has improved considerably over the last few years. Only a few, usually old, signs of human activity could be found here.
It is essential for the future of the Mt. Tshiaberimu area and its gorillas to sensitize the local population; to conduct development projects around the park and to involve the people living close to the park in conservation measures.
To improve the conservation of Mt. Tshiaberimu, we recommend the following:

• Continue the support of the project for the park.
• Conduct a survey (at least for 3 months) on the mammals.
• Examine the health of the gorillas in cooperation with the MGVC (Mountain Gorilla Veterinary Center).
• Study the food plants of the gorillas in detail.
• Develop a community action plan that coordinated the action of the population concerned with the conservation of the site.
• Establish development projects for the surrounding population.
• Keep the pistes for patrols. This is necessary since the elephants have been exterminated.
• Carry out large public awareness campaigns.

Claude Sikubwabo Kiyengo and Vital Katembo Mushengezi

Claude Sikubwabo Kiyengo conducted a gorilla survey in the Maiko National Park from 1989 to 1992, and in 1994 he took part in the gorilla census in Kahuzi-Biega. After that he worked for the ICCN in Goma and from 2000 to 2004 for the IUCN program PPP. After having worked for IUCN to develop programs that will be implemented during the next years, he joined ICCN again in 2006.
Vital Katembo Mushengezi at first worked in the Ituri Forest for WCS (Wildlife Conservation Society) and has been active in the Virunga National Park since 1994. Now he is project leader for Mt. Tshiaberimu and field assistant for DFGF (Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund) Europe in North Kivu.

Tshiaberimu overview

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