Buhanga, who was one of our best loved Silverbacks, was easy to recognize. He had a pronounced jaw; a feature he shared with his brother Karateka, another Solitary Silverback. Their father, Ndungutse, was killed in 1997 in crossfire between the Congolese troops and Rwandan rebels.

Buhanga near Gatovu.

Buhanga particularly likes bananas.

Buhanga could often be found near the Gatovu patrol post - so the rangers usually found him fairly easily. When Gatovu’s rangers returned to their patrol post after the occupation of the park in 2008/09 they were anxious to find Buhanga. He was right where they had left him and it was an emotional re-union. Buhanga was spotted eating and looking well throughout the rest of 2009 but in March 2010 rangers reported that he seemed to be weak and to have trouble walking.

On 1April 2010 Buhanga was found near Gatovu patrol post, his favorite haunt, lying face down in a stream struggling to breath. 30 mintutes later he was dead. Innocent, Dr Magda and the Rangers were with him when he took his last breaths.

Dr Jan performed the necropsy to determine the cause of death and found that his body was covered in maggots and fly eggs; his hands and feet were swollen and had superficial wounds, likely from the water and maggots; he had no body fat, no fat in his abdomen or around his heart. He was emaciated.

The molar teeth in his lower jaw were all loose and there was severe infection in the gums and the tooth roots.  His mandible was very deformed, probably from the injury described by Innocent that happened in 2000.

We believe he had such bad dental disease that he could not effectively process food.  His dental disease could also have resulted in septicemia.

He was buried in the Gorilla Cemetary at Rumangabo and will be badly missed.