Iain Bruce, Author at Ecoflix | World's First Not-For-Profit Streaming Platform

Who Cares About Gorillas?

Posted on September 24, 2024September 24, 2024 by Iain Bruce

Ecoflix Blog for World Gorilla Day 2024

Ian Redmond

Happy World Gorilla Day!

First celebrated in 2017 to mark the 50^th anniversary of the Karisoke Research Centre, founded by Dian Fossey on September 24^th, 1967, World Gorilla Day has grown into a global phenomenon. Since Dian’s murder in 1985, many people have risen to the challenge of protecting what she used to refer to as ‘the greatest of the great apes’, so I thought this blog would be a good opportunity to raise the profile of some of the unsung heroes of gorilla conservation.

Just before World Gorilla Day this year I travelled around Rwanda and eastern Democratic Republic of Congo with the French author, Yasmina Kramer, who is researching her next book by seeing first hand the lives led by rangers, trackers, researchers, vets and others in the multi-national community of conservationists in the Great Lakes region of Africa.

We had arranged to meet at the Hotel Muhabura, where Dian used to stay when she came down from the mountains. The owners, two Rwandan sisters Gaudentia and Theresa, gave me a wonderful welcome as I cycled in from the bus station; they remember Dian warmly and have named her favourite room The Dian Fossey Room – where Yasmina was busy typing when I arrived, just as Dian would have been – the tappety, tap, tap, zzzz-ting of her Olivetti portable typewriter was part of the soundscape that surrounded Dian wherever she went! I remember first staying in the Hotel Muhabura in 1977 when working as Dian’s Research Assistant; she had been invited to give a public lecture in Ruhengeri (the town closest to Volcanoes National Park, now known as Musanze), something she did every year to share the results of her work with the local chamber of commerce and officials. She spoke in a mix of English, French, Kiswahili and Kinyarwanda which must have perplexed the audience but I recall they were captivated by her enthusiasm and the film and photos of the gorillas. Much has changed in the intervening years but despite the many new hotels and luxury lodges, the Muhabura remains my favourite place to catch up with old friends and talk gorilla! One evening the Chief Warden on Volcanoes National Park, Prosper Uwingeli, joined us for a catch-up and Yasmina learned of the plans to restore some 37km² of the park land lost to agriculture in the early 1970s. How extraordinary that in one of the most densely populated countries in Africa, the government has taken the bold decision to make more room for the growing population of mountain gorillas while simultaneously creating thousands of jobs and resettling families in new purpose-built accommodation.

Retraining former poachers is the goal of the Iby’iwacu Cultural Village, founded by Edwin Sabuhoro, a former ranger who realised that many members of his community turned to poaching out of poverty and set about providing better alternatives. You can read his amazing story here. Yasmina learned about how communities had relied on the forest for food, building materials and medicinal herbs – all resources lost to them when the Volcanoes National Park was founded (originally part of Africa’s first National Park, created in 1925 by King Albert of Belgium). She met some of the reformed poachers, one of whom, and elderly chap named Ezekiel Kaziboneye, had worked as a porter for Dian Fossey in the early days and recounted tales of building the cabins at 10,000ft/3,000m in the saddle between Mounts Karisimbi and Visoke (hence the name Karisoke, which Dian invented).

Ian Redmond, Emmanuel Harerimana and Ezekiel Kaziboneye, three generations of gorilla workers.

We were greatly assisted by Emmanuel Harerimana, a gorilla guide, former poacher and founder of Muhisimbi, Voice of Youth in Conservation, which now runs a wonderful centre for teenage mothers and their children. Emmanuel was mentored by Edwin Sabuhoro and is now mentoring dozens of young Rwandans, passing on his passion for conservation.

A highlight of our time in Rwanda was climbing up to the site of the old Karisoke cabins, now completely demolished, to pay our respects at Dian’s grave. Yasmina told me she was first captivated by Dian’s story when she saw the movie, Gorillas in the Mist as a girl. Now, decades later she was greatly moved by visiting the place where it all happened and spending some quiet time in the beautiful glade where Dian and several gorilla poacher victims are buried.

On the way down, walking quietly along the Porters’ Trail, where twice a week supplies and post were carried up the side of the mountain on the heads of a long line of local men – all of whom depended on this work to supplement their subsistence farming – we encountered a group of gorillas who had just crossed the trail. It was not a formal gorilla visit, just a wonderful bit of luck that gave Yasmina her first glimpse of a blackback, feeding quietly in the lush green vegetation as bees buzzed in the sunshine. Magical!

The next day we caught the bus south to Cyangugu, around countless hairpin bends with beautiful views across Lake Kivu, to cross the border into the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). There we were met by Eddy Kahekwa, a rising young conservationist, son of one of my oldest friends John Kahekwa, founder of the multi-award-winning Pole Pole Foundation (PoPoF), which has built a school and now an agricultural college and Spirulina farm to improve the quality of life of people living around the gorilla habitat. John often cites a poacher who explained why he ignored the advice of conservationists by saying, “empty stomachs have no ears!” Community conservation has been shown to work and PoPoF has received awards from Whitley Fund for Nature, Tusk and most recently the Earthshot Prize!

John was a gorilla guide in Kahuzi-Biega National Park when we first met in 1983. Many visitors to gorillas in Rwanda and Uganda do not know that it was here in Congo that habituated gorilla tourism began, thanks to the work of Adrien Deschryver, a Belgian hunter-turned-conservationist who established and was the first warden of Kahuzi-Biega. He had a very different approach to gorilla habituation than Dian Fossey, preferring to face the charging silverback speaking softly rather than using gorilla contentment vocalisations and non-threatening body language as practiced by Dian and her students. In the 1980s many tourists visited both sub-species of gorilla but sadly the years of civil war and insecurity mean that few tourists venture into the DRC today. This is such a shame because the warm welcome and gorilla tracking experience is equal to that which you might find in Rwanda and Uganda, and is significantly cheaper. By arrangement with the park, it is easy to get a visa on the border and visit the gorillas, thereby helping to fund the park and create employment opportunities in the surrounding area.

The park is now co-managed by the Congo Conservation Institute (ICCN) and the Wildlife Conservation Society, and by chance Yasmina and I arrived just as a new cohort of eco-guards were graduating and being presented with their certificate. The Warden, Dr Arthur Kalonji, a veterinarian, gave a rousing speech about the new graduates being the future of conservation in the park and their pride in becoming eco-guards was self-evident.

Graduation Day, PNKB.

The challenges they face were made clear afterwards in a briefing by Erik Saudan of WCS, who had helped train them. With the latest GIS mapping, he showed how serious the deforestation for illegal agriculture and charcoal production was in parts of the park too insecure to patrol regularly.

4,000 bags per week of Charcoal from PNKB go to market in Bukavu, DRC.

The most westerly part of the park, for example, requires a six-day hike to get to the boundary to then begin to patrol! Most serious is the damage to the corridor that links the montane sector with the much larger lowland sector – here, influential people have built homes and roads to access them, despite the park being a UNESCO World Heritage Site, considered to be of outstanding universal value to the world. The Pole Pole Foundation has the task of restoring the forest here – essential to maintain gene flow in animal populations in both sectors – but this will not be easy given the local politics. Most important is keeping the corridor open for elephants to re-populate the montane sector, where they were all killed during the civil war. One of the saddest sights is the pile of elephant skulls at the park headquarters – remains of the mega-gardeners of the forest whose loss has led to a deterioration in the quality of gorilla habitat.

Lambert Cirimwami laments the killing of elephants by poachers.

Before leaving DRC, I called in to see Carlos Schuler, who with his wife Christine Schuler-Deschryver, managed the German Technical Aid (GTZ) support for Kahuzi-Biega during eight years of civil war, refugee crisis and turmoil. He tells his remarkable story in Vivre et Survivre en RD Congo (originally in German but not yet in English – publishers please take note!). At a time when almost all expatriate left the DRC, Carlos worked with his ICCN colleagues to keep the park going, organised food distribution for thousands of local people and with the help of the Born Free Foundation, develop the infrastructure of the park HQ.

It is no exaggeration to say that had they not been there during the war after the Rwandan genocide, the gorillas of the highland sector would likely have gone the same way as the elephants! Carlos is also a talented photographer, as the amazing images in his book attest.

He and Christine (daughter of Deschryver, the park’s founder) have now created the City of Joy, helping women who have been raped build new lives – an inspirational project that was the subject of a recent documentary on Netflix, – search for City of Joy.

As I pedalled back over the border into Rwanda and up the looong, steep hill (that was such fun to wizz down), Yasmina took the ferry across Lake Kivu to Goma to meet Henry Cirhuza, another unsung hero who has for many years managed the DRC projects of The Gorilla Organization (now an Ecoflix partner NGO (https://www.ecoflix.com/ngo/the-gorilla-organization/), supporting community conservation of gorillas in one of the most difficult and unstable parts of the world.

All in all, I guess my conclusion for this World Gorilla Day is that there are so many people devoting their lives to help gorillas and the communities around their habitat that despite all the bad news and population declines in almost all great apes, there is hope!

Check out the documentaries collated for World Gorilla Day on Ecoflix and please support the NGOs working to protect gorillas across the ten African countries where they live.

In memorium: On my return to the UK, I received the sad news that Dr Antoine ‘Tony’ Mudakikwa, a Rwandan vet and one of the key people I had hoped to introduce to Yasmina, is no longer with us. One of the original Gorilla Doctors, Tony was a charismatic and courageous conservationist who pioneered methods of treating mountain gorillas in the difficult conditions of their natural habitat, thereby saving many lives. He represented Rwanda at many UN meetings such as CITES and will be missed by his many friends and colleagues. My condolences to his family. For more details of his scientific work, see https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Antoine-Mudakikwa

The Impact of Trophy Hunting: Science, Ethics, and Conservation

Posted on May 21, 2024May 22, 2024 by Iain Bruce

Explore the intricate relationship between trophy hunting and wildlife conservation in this comprehensive analysis by Ian Redmond OBE. Learn about the scientific, ethical, and ecological impacts of this controversial practice, focusing on the hunting of elephants and other species. Understand how trophy hunting affects animal behavior, genetics, and ecosystems, and discover sustainable alternatives that benefit both wildlife and local communities.

Trophy hunting is a hot topic at the moment. Two news stories in particular are fuelling a heated debate: one concerns the legal killing of ‘super-tuskers’ in northern Tanzania – these are well-known elephants whose lives have been studied for decades by scientists in Amboseli National Park, Kenya, where trophy hunting is not allowed; three have been shot and their bodies burned after the trophies had been removed, and more permits have reportedly been issued despite a 30-year agreement between the two countries not to give hunting permits for this trans-boundary population. The second is that the UK parliament has recently passed the second reading of a bill to ban the import of hunting trophies of endangered species.

Setting aside for the moment the ethical questions raised by selling the life of an intelligent sentient being with a brain nearly four times the size of ours, let’s look at the science. Conservation science is a complex multi-faceted discipline, but two main arguments emerge from pro-trophy hunting advocates; the first is numerical – that the number of animals killed is relatively small, they are claimed to be old and their loss is not significant to the species’ overall population; the second is that hunting areas allegedly bring an income from habitat that might otherwise be converted to agriculture or other land use that would be bad for biodiversity. Both may at first glance appear to be strong arguments, but do they stand up to scrutiny? And what of the many other considerations.

Some pro-trophy hunting commentators like to characterise opponents of the practice as being driven purely by emotions, ignoring the science they say supports trophy hunting (see for example https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2024-03-25-loaded-for-bear-animals-rights-activists-and-climate-change-deniers-have-a-few-things-in-common/ and https://twitter.com/AmyDickman4/status/1775138862022463577), so I thought it might be useful to review the scientific rationale behind some very eminent scientists’ opposition to the ‘taking’ of ‘trophy’ animals from their habitat and social group. I’ll focus on elephants but recognise that these arguments apply to other species coveted by trophy hunters.

Ethology is a science – the study of animal behaviour. After decades of dedicated fieldwork, we now know that elephants live in a complex, multi-tiered, society with matriarchal family groups and bachelor groups maintaining long-distance communication. They also have cultural traditions and geographical knowledge that is passed down through the generations, not just from parent to offspring but also from grandparent to grandchild. This makes the term ‘post-reproductive old males’, sometimes used by hunters to suggest the impact of their killing is minimal in ‘conservation biology’ terms, entirely misguided. In fact, killing the elders of a community has many effects on the behaviour of the survivors and risks losing knowledge that may be critical to survival, for example during severe droughts that may only happen every few years. In the case of trophy hunting of predators, killing alpha males leads to social disruption, increased conflict and in some cases, infanticide, further depleting the population of the species concerned.

It is self-evident that low-level subsistence hunting of fecund species can be sustainable, but for slowly reproducing species with long lifespans and complex societies, even a low hunting pressure of 1-2 per cent per year can cause a long-term decline in addition to any genetic impact, as has been shown by computer modelling of ape populations.

Genetics is the study of a species’ genes and how inheritance of certain characteristics affects their evolution. Elephants have an unusual growth curve for mammals – instead of levelling off after puberty as in most species, including humans – male elephants continue to grow in overall body size as well as tusk size for their entire lives. Growth in female elephants levels off around 25 years (a decade after puberty) but even so, they seem to prefer to mate with the biggest, most impressive males, who are often those with the biggest tusks. This sexual selection for large males has led to the marked size difference between females or younger animals and males in their prime, in their 40s and 50s. Killing these successful breeders has, in only a couple of elephant lifetimes, changed the genetic make-up of most of Africa’s elephant clans, reversing millions of years of evolution! It is obvious that killing trophy animals in their prime effectively removes their genes from the gene pool, and so selects against the very characteristics valued by the hunters. This is un-natural selection, and results in the removal (or at least a reduction) of genes for big horns/tusks/antlers/manes over time. Even the term ‘super-tusker’ elephants – now defined as an elephant with at least one tusk weighing more than 100 pounds – is indicative of that change. Look at the size of trophies in the 19^th century, such as this pair photographed in Zanzibar and thought to have originated on Mt Kilimanjaro – imagine the size of elephant able to wield them! Now HE was a super-tusker!

Trophy animals are also likely to be the fittest, in evolutionary terms, and the genes for large secondary sexual characteristics may be linked to those for a strong immune system and the ability to survive emerging diseases. The fact that they have lived to reach their prime implies their immune system is effective! At least one of the three Amboseli tuskers killed recently had barely reached his prime – from a photograph of the carcass, scientists in Amboseli who have detailed records of hundreds of their study animals, identified him as Gilgil, the 35 year-old son of a magnificent tusker known as M22 Dionysus. We will never know whether Gilgil might have exceeded his father’s tusk size – his genetic line ended in September 2023 when he was shot (see extract of Amboseli Elephant Trust Newsletter, below). M22 Dionysus did have other offspring (Cynthia Moss, pers.comm.) but if the agreement not to allow trophy hunting of this trans-boundary population is not reinstated, any of them growing tusks in excess of 100 pounds weight will likely end up on some hunter’s wall rather than maturing into successful breeding males!

Given the competition among hunters to bag the biggest trophies, it is ironic that elephants put on more ivory per year in later life than when young, so the best way to get the biggest tusks is to let them die of old age!

The economic arguments for and against trophy hunting rather depend on the nature of the alternatives being proposed. While it is true that some rural communities in Southern Africa may benefit from part time jobs as trackers or porters for trophy outfitters, and the meat of carcasses, research has shown that only a tiny percentage of the cost of a hunt typically goes to local communities, which begs the question: are there not better ways to lift these communities out of poverty and still protect biodiversity? In public debates, I use the example of mountain gorillas, which a century ago were the ultimate trophy animal, only accessible to the richest hunters. Today, living gorillas are the basis for a multi-million-dollar tourism industry bringing significant foreign exchange for impoverished governments, huge employment opportunities and tangible community benefits from revenue sharing. What was it that changed 45 years ago when gorilla tourism began? The answer is habituation – winning the gorillas’ trust – and then the sharing of life-affirming experiences of peaceful gorilla encounters in documentaries, articles, movies and social media. The proliferation of amazing mountain gorilla photos and videos is a measure of this change in public attitudes; the steady recovery of mountain gorilla numbers is a conservation success story that would not be possible if these families of gorillas still feared humans as harbingers of death. Likewise with elephants; a recent analysis of elephant population estimates across much of Southern Africa reveals that between 2018 and 2022, areas with trophy hunting saw a fall in elephant numbers. This is not to say that statistically significant numbers of elephants were killed; rather it suggests that elephants leave areas they perceive as dangerous when they are able to do so. Their flight distance also increases, which makes photo-tourism more difficult – and dangerous, because frightened elephants are more likely to react aggressively when encountering people. This puts locals as well as tourists at greater risk.

Not all tourism focuses on photography, however. Animals previously targeted by trophy hunters could become the focus for adventure or cultural tourism – where the experience of tracking and observing them on foot is what clients pay for – similar in some ways to hunting tourism, but without killing the target. This can be developed without the infrastructure and facilities that mass tourism requires – in fact, it is the lack of amenities that makes it more attractive to those seeking a wilderness experience, with the knowledge of indigenous people and local communities to enrich the experience. What an opportunity for African entrepreneurs!

What about the impact on the ecosystem of killing an elephant like Gilgil at just 35 years old? Ecology is the study of the intricate relationships between species of animals and plants. In the case of mega-herbivores, their role in the ecology of their habitat is crucial for nutrient recycling, seed dispersal and soil health – they are the #GardenersoftheForest and Savannah. The fact that across Africa, elephant numbers have plummeted by ninety per cent or more in the last century means that every individual alive today is critical – each one performs an important service. Killing an elephant decades before death from old age, for example, means that roughly 52 tons of manure and millions of seeds are not being spread every year. Elephants can live into their 60s, so we can calculate that if Gilgil had lived to 65, he would have dispersed another 30×52 = 1,560 tonnes of first class organic manure containing billions of seeds and feeding trillions of invertebrates – a loss to the ecosystem that is now recognised to have economic as well as ecological consequences, and therefore a huge loss to us all.

Payment for ecosystem services (PES) attributable to keystone species is a new concept being pioneered by www.Rebalance.Earth. The idea is that the monitoring of ‘client animals’ by rangers, community members and even tourists could build a culture of conservation and an economy that values nature. Today’s reliance on wildlife tourism revenues (or even trophy hunting fees) to finance conservation and alleviate poverty has a fatal flaw: if a war or a terrorist atrocity or a pandemic stops tourism, the finance for conservation dries up. PES, however, would continue to bring economic benefits as long as the communities are collecting the data to prove the ‘client animals’ are alive and well in their ecosystem. The potential value of PES is staggering, even though most ecosystem services do not yet have a market value. Only carbon sequestration and storage currently has a tradable value and despite the well-publicised examples of fraudulent carbon credits, the voluntary carbon market has already financed the conservation of numerous important biodiversity-rich habitats and benefited neighbouring communities. Thus far the role of animals, however, has largely been ignored. In 2019, however, it was calculated that each African forest elephant is responsible for an additional $1.75 million worth of carbon being stored in ‘above-ground biomass’ (mostly wood) in the Congo Basin (and the market price of carbon goes up every year). Similar calculations have yet to be published for savannah elephants but research shows they significantly increase the level of soil carbon and other nutrients.

In summary, the unintended consequences of trophy hunting include:

Social disruption leading to increased mortality through fighting and, in some species, infanticide;
Increased flight distance and aggressive behaviour towards humans;
Loss of cultural knowledge and behaviour that may be critical to survival;
Killing the ‘best’ specimen is the opposite of natural selection, with long term evolutionary consequences if it happens over a long period.
Ecological impact – removing an individual in his/her prime removes decades worth of the ecological role of that individual.
Loss of natural capital and potential payment for ecosystem services.

Moreover, as soon as hunting becomes commercial, the economic imperative to make more money has time and again proved that many hunters and fishermen have little self-restraint, and that legally imposed restraints only work if accompanied by strong enforcement. Thus, whether you think trophy hunting is a legitimate way of contributing to habitat conservation or an unethical, atavistic perversion left over from the colonial era, there are far more scientific arguments against than in favour!

This blog first appeared on the Born Free website

Ecoflix & Hopefield: A partnership that was meant to be.

Posted on September 12, 2023September 12, 2023 by Iain Bruce

The view from Hopefield:

When Ecoflix was first put on Hopefield Animal Sanctuary’s radar thanks to our wonderful Trustee, Leona Lewis, we instantly knew that this was a company that fully aligned with our own ethos and beliefs.

As well as the animal rescue and welfare side of what we do here at Hopefield, we also strive to help educate people on how to make better choices when it comes to all animals, birds and reptiles, as well as the environment as a whole.

Given that ‘Ecoflix was created to unite those who care about animals and the planet,’ this is the perfect collaboration and joining forces with such a like-minded company makes us very excited! We can’t wait to create content that will reach a wider audience thanks to Ecoflix, and in turn this will help educate even more adults and children when it comes to us all doing what we can to do our best by our planet.

Tuning in from Ecoflix:

Ecoflix was introduced to the amazing team at Hopefield Rescue Sanctuary via our lovely, shared ambassador Leona Lewis. Leona spoke to us so passionately about Hopefield that we were excited to meet Lianne and the rest of the incredible team.

When you visit Hopefield, you immediately get a sense of how special a place it is. It is beautifully maintained for the 500 animal lodgers who live there. Our favourite area is the ‘Shetland Village’ which has eye-catching stable ‘cottages’ complete with coloured doors and windowsfor the rescued Shetland Ponies to enjoy.

Every animal guest has an inspirational back story,and the Hopefield team know them all. Hopefield is a perfect example of the type of non-profit organisation Ecoflix wants to support and champion. The animals are loved and caredfor exceptionally well, and no animal is ever turned away. Hopefield also works very closely with local schools to help educate young people about caring for animals, and informing them that not all animals should be in the UK or kept as domestic pet.

Author: Iain Bruce

Who Cares About Gorillas?

The Impact of Trophy Hunting: Science, Ethics, and Conservation

Ecoflix & Hopefield: A partnership that was meant to be.

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