Karisoke Research Center

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The Karisoke Research Center was originally a research station for mountain gorillas in Rwanda . She became known through the primatologist Dian Fossey , who founded the station in 1967.

Gorilla mother with baby in Volcano National Park

Fossey's research station

Fossey founded the station on September 24, 1967 near the border with the Democratic Republic of the Congo in the area of ​​the Virunga volcanoes , between the Karisimbi and the Visoke , from whose name it derived that of their station. At the time, Rwanda was ravaged by political and economic problems. Initially just a camp with two tents, Fossey and her crew gradually built several huts that served as the basis for their daily excursions to the gorillas. The station gained international renown through its intensive study of animals and was visited by scientists and students from many countries. After Fossey's death in 1985, the original camp remained in operation for a while, but was abandoned during the Rwandan genocide . It has since fallen into disrepair, but is still an attraction today for many tourists and admirers of Fossey's life's work.

Re-establishment

In response to the killing of Digit , the gorilla she valued most , Fossey founded the Digit Fund , a foundation that actively works to save the endangered great apes. After her death, the foundation was renamed Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund International in 1992. This foundation re-established the Karisoke Research Center in the nearby town of Musanze (formerly: Ruhengeri ) and has continued Fossey's efforts to conserve the species ever since.

The research center employs over 100 people and ensures constant monitoring, medical care and, in general, the protection of mountain gorillas, especially from poachers. It works closely with both the Rwandan authorities and the people living in the immediate vicinity to ensure the successful coexistence of humans, gorillas and other animal species in a common ecosystem.

Many Rwandans have now been convinced of the importance of the gorilla population and their natural habitat. At the suggestion of the tourism authority, they transferred the traditional ceremony of baptizing their newborns ( Kwita Izina ) to the gorillas, and so every gorilla baby has been given a name every year for three decades now. This Baby Gorilla Naming Ceremony is held as part of a special celebration under the patronage of the President and in the presence of mostly prominent guests.

Gorilla cemetery

Fossey's grave in Karisoke, in the background the graves of her gorilla friends

The so-called gorilla cemetery is located on the site of the original station, where Fossey buried the silverback Digit and her other deceased protégés and where she herself found her final resting place in 1986 at her own request. The cemetery and the now dilapidated camp are a tourist attraction that is visited by numerous admirers of Fossey's life's work. The silverback Titus , who died in 2009, was also buried there.

Today the gorillas are mostly buried in the headquarters of the Virunga National Park in Rumangabo (DR Congo), about 20 km from Karisoke. The best-known among them is the silverback Senkwekwe, killed in 2007 .

Film adaptations

  • Gorillas in Fog, 1988 Oscar nomination with Dian Fossey
  • Virunga - The Movie, 2014 (Netflix only) - Oscar nominated

literature

  • Martha M. Robbins, Pascale Sicotte, Kelly J. Stewart: Mountain Gorillas: Three Decades of Research at Karisoke . Cambridge University Press, 2001, ISBN 0521780047 .

Web links

References and comments

  1. ↑ Archived copy ( Memento from July 26, 2011 in the Internet Archive )
  2. ↑ http://gorillafund.org/dian-fossey/karisoke/today
  3. ↑ http://www.kwitizina.org/background.php
  4. ↑ Archived copy ( Memento from March 5, 2016 in the Internet Archive )
  5. ↑ http://www.flickr.com/photos/gorillacd/4392115984/
  6. ↑ Senkwekwe from Deceased Gorillas ( Memento from July 23, 2012 in the web archive archive.today )

Coordinates: 1 ° 28 ′ 38.7 "  S , 29 ° 29 ′ 31.9"  E