By Wolfgang H. Thome, eTN | Aug 26, 2010
(eTN) - The Ruhengeri/Musanze area of Rwanda is best known around the
world for being the access point for tracking the famous mountain
gorillas living up by the volcanic mountains, which form the
ever-present background against the horizon.

Over the past 5 years alone, the number of tourist-quality hotels and
safari establishments has more than doubled, providing added job
opportunities while a large number of cooperatives have sprung up,
which provide local crafts and curios to the hotels, lodges, markets,
and shops where foreign tourists can then purchase genuine items
produced in the area. Porter services, operating in form of
cooperatives, have also allowed people to earn a living every day by
carrying the backpacks, water bottles, and camera cases for tourist
visitors tracking the gorillas or taking hikes up and around the
mountains, a service incidentally highly recommended, not just to
spread some income into the communities but also to ease ones' own
burden of carrying something, which originally weighs two or three
pounds but in the end feels like the proverbial ton.

http://www.eturbonews.com/18120/gorilla-tourism-shows-results-rwanda-local-economy

A sanctuary in east Africa dedicated to gorillas has been one of PASA's priorities for almost aa decade," said Doug Cress, executive director of PASA. "Our member sanctuaries care for almost 100 gorillas, but none in east Africa, and many orphans confiscated over the years in the region died before we got them to safety. We are confident the GRACE center will have a profound impact on conservation efforts in the region."

 http://pasaprimates.org/2007/07/pasa-posters-id-cards-support-cites-task-force/

Hutchinson JE & Fletcher AW (2010) Using Behavior to Determine Immature Life-Stages in Captive Western Gorillas, American Journal of Primatology, 72, 6, 492-501

Abstract:

Ontogenic development is divided into infant, juvenile, adolescent and adult life-stages. Although the developmental trajectory of an individual is a flexible entity, which differs within species, environment and sex, life-stage classifications are generally structured, age-based systems. This invariably leads to rigidity within a dynamic system and consequently hampers our understanding of primate life history strategies. We propose that life-stage classifications should be quantitative, flexible entities, which use a reliable measurement of development. Here, we provide a methodological example where placement into a life-stage is based upon behavioral variance between other similar-aged individuals. Behavioral data were collected from 12 male (3-11 years old) and 9 female (3-8 years old) captive immature western gorillas (Gorilla gorilla gorilla) housed in five family groups, using continuous focal sampling; 900 hr of data were collected over 131 days. Data were applied to four published life-stage classifications for mountain gorillas (Gorilla beringei beringei), which showed variable ability to determine life-stage in western gorillas. A new life-stage classification (Hutchinson & Fletcher) was proposed specifically for western gorillas, whereby multiple co-varying behavior provided a robust measure of linear development across immaturity. Each life-stage was found to be a distinct ontogenic phase and the classification discriminated life-stage with a high level of accuracy. Using the Hutchinson & Fletcher classification we provide evidence for disparity in developmental trajectories between the sexes from the juvenile period onwards. To expand the understanding of primate life histories, we propose that flexible classifications should be used to enable comparison of allometric life history traits within and between species, from birth onwards. Am. J. Primatol. 72:492-501,2010. (C) 2010 Wiley-Liss, Inc

Abello MaT, Holtkoetter M, Vermeer J and Colell M (2010) An analysis of breeding results for hand-reared Gorillas Gorilla gorilla born over a 25 year period in the European Endangered Species Programme (EEP) population, International Zoo Yearbook, 44, 232-237

Abstract:

In December 2004, a questionnaire was sent to 44 institutions that maintained Gorillas Gorilla gorilla. Twenty-six institutions replied (59% response rate) providing information about 91 hand-reared Gorillas in the European Endangered Species Programme (EEP) population. Using other sources, such as the international studbook and EEP reports, data on 63.54 (male.female) Gorillas that had been hand reared between 1980 and 2004 were analysed. Over this period, 23 (43%) female female and 15 (24%) male male bred successfully. However, when the numbers used to make the analyses were corrected by removing Gorillas (1) that had not yet reached full sexual maturity (> 12 years for male male and > 10 years for female female) and (2) were not maintained in breeding groups, and including three female female that bred before they were 10 years of age, the percentages for breeding success are 65% for male male and 61% for female female. These results demonstrate that hand-reared individuals contribute to the increase in the EEP Gorilla population observed over the past 25 years.

Kanngiesser P & Call J (2010) Bonobos, chimpanzees, gorillas, and orang utans use feature and spatial cues in two spatial memory tasks, Animal Cognition, 13, 3, 419-430

Abstract:n

Animals commonly use feature and spatial strategies when remembering places of interest such as food sources or hiding places. We conducted three experiments with great apes to investigate strategy preferences and factors that may shape them. In the first experiment, we trained 17 apes to remember 12 different food locations on the floor of their sleeping room. The 12 food locations were associated with one feature cue, so that feature and spatial cues were confounded. In a single test session, we brought the cues into conflict and found that apes, irrespective of species, showed a preference for a feature strategy. In the second experiment, we used a similar procedure and trained 25 apes to remember one food location on a platform in front of them. On average, apes preferred to use a feature strategy but some individuals relied on a spatial strategy. In the final experiment, we investigated whether training might influence strategy preferences. We tested 21 apes in the platform set-up and found that apes used both, feature and spatial strategies irrespective of training. We conclude that apes can use feature and spatial strategies to remember the location of hidden food items, but that task demands (e.g. different numbers of search locations) can influence strategy preferences. We found no evidence, however, for the role of training in shaping these preferences