Titus (Gorilla)

Titus (1974–2009) was a male mountain gorilla who lived in the area of ​​the Virunga volcanoes . He has been constantly observed since his birth - among others by the well-known gorilla researcher Dian Fossey - and is thus one of those wild gorillas that have been scientifically studied the most in depth. He is the subject and protagonist of the 2008 BBC documentary Titus: The Gorilla King .

biography

Titus was born on August 24, 1974 and named by Fossey, who was then watching his group, after the novel hero Titus Groan by the British writer Mervyn Peake .

When Titus was four years old, his family was joined by a black back who was called by Fossey Beetsme . (When asked by a friend for his name, she replied “beats me”, dt. “No idea”.) Shortly afterwards, Uncle Bert , the father of Titus and dominant silverback of the group, was killed by poachers . Beetsme then tried to take over the family, killing the daughter of the dominant female ( Aunt Flossie ). However, he was rejected as a leader and all of the females left the group.

Beetsme got along very well with Titus, and the two formed the core of an (unstable) bachelor group that had no contact with female gorillas for eight years. During this time, homosexual behavior was observed between them. Eventually they were joined by five females, and Beetsme - now a fully grown silverback - established himself as the leader of the group, driving away all of the other male gorillas except Titus.

The females were evidently more attracted to Titus and mated with him behind Beetsme's back. DNA analyzes show that he fathered his first child ( Kuryama ) with the dominant female Papoose at the age of 11 (1985) , although he was still a black back and thus subordinate to Beetsme. The sexual contacts, which were kept secret, lasted for six years, while Titus gradually developed into a silverback. He increasingly exercised control over the group and eventually replaced Beetsme as their leader at the age of 18 (1992). The takeover was nonviolent, and Titus was supported by the dethroned Beetsme until his death in 2001.

Titus sired more offspring than any other known gorilla and was the lord of the largest gorilla family in the world. At the age of 30, however, his strength and influence waned and he had to fight repeatedly with his firstborn son Kuryama.

In the spring of 2007, Titus led his family to the top of one of the Virunga volcanoes. The low temperatures at this altitude were life threatening for the adolescents. While Titus lingered there - too long - Kuryama nonviolently took control of the majority of the group by bringing them down from the summit.

In the following two years all females left the group except for Titus' long-time companion Tuck ; besides her, it now consisted only of three black backs and two adolescents. Among them was the four-year-old Ihumure , abandoned by his mother , whom Titus was the only one to protect and who did not leave his side.

In August 2009, 17-year-old Mushikirano (called Rano ) suddenly reappeared , another son of Titus who had previously lived as a loner. His challenge was too much for the weakened 35-year-old silverback. To avoid them, he kept his family on the move, preventing them from eating and taking necessary rest. The stress of Rano's persistent pursuit apparently accelerated Titus' physical decline.

On September 14th, 2009, Titus was found dead in his sleeping nest with the young Ihumure by his side. This died - now without the protection of the silver back and also badly worn by the long wandering - only four days later. Titus was buried on September 16 in a special ceremony in the gorilla cemetery of the Karisoke Research Center, not far from the final resting place of Dian Fossey.

Rano's strategy worked. He then took over his father's group - which still bears his name - and led it until his untimely death in July 2014.

Web links

• The Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund International: Titus: The Gorilla King
• The Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund International: Legendary Silverback Titus Dies
• Image from Titus' funeral
• The documentary Titus: The Gorilla King online on PBS

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Article on Mail Online (2008), in English
2. ↑ Article on BBC Online on the death of Titus (2009), in English
3. ↑ Archived copy ( Memento of the original from March 5, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. 
4. ↑ Archived copy ( Memento of the original from April 15, 2015 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.