THE GORILLAS OF THE KAYONSA EEGION, WESTERN 

 KIGEZI, SOUTHWEST UGANDA ^ 



By Capt. C. R. S. Pitman, D. S. O., M. C, C. M. Z. S. 



[With 6 plates] 



The occurrence of gorillas in the Kayonsa region of Uganda has 

 been known for many years, but until recently opportunities and 

 facilities for investigating this interesting locality have been lacking. 

 The opening of the road to Rutshuru (Belgian Congo), from Kabale 

 (Uganda), however, has made it more accessible, and the extension 

 of prospecting activities into the forest itself, rendered a visit impera- 

 tive to ascertain, from a conservation point of view, the extent of the 

 disturbance to which the forest is being subjected, and what effect this 

 is having on the gorillas. These notes are based on knowledge 

 acquired during two brief visits, each of a few days' duration only, 

 made respectively in November 1933 and February-March 1934. 



The long-haired mountain gorilla {Gorilla gorilla henngei), of 

 east-central Africa, has in recent years had an excellent press, and 

 around the question of the adequacy of the measures taken for its 

 protection and perpetuation much controversy has raged. It is un- 

 necessary, therefore, to refer in detail to the generally accepted 

 description of habits and attributes of the mountain race, which 

 will be discussed where relevant in connection with the Kayonsa 

 representatives. 



It must be realized before proceeding further that this is not an 

 endeavor to create a new race of gorilla, though on account of its 

 markedly diverse habitat, food, and habits, the Kayonsa species may 

 well have developed structural characteristics differing from those 

 of its relatives in the more elevated volcanic region. A little more 

 than a decade ago it was suggested that different races of gorilla 

 probably occurred on each of seven (a startling total) adjacent, 

 extinct volcanoes of the Mufumbiro (or Birunga) mountains — an 

 extravagant and preposterous claim. 



* Reprinted by permission from the Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London, 

 pt. 3, 1935. 



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