258 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1936 



have unlimited sanctuary in the east to which they could satisfac- 

 torily migrate. 



The abundance or scarcity of gorillas in the vast eastern, impene- 

 trable region is at present unknown, though it is quite definite that 

 on the hills of Mpororo and Niguru at the southern extremity, there 

 were several gorilla troops, believed to total about two dozen indi- 

 viduals, at the same time that the western estimate was made. Also, 

 in the unvisited northerly region astride the Kishasha (or Irwi) 

 River, where the rainfall is greatest, a reliable informant records 

 numerous gorillas; and therefore the claim that there possibly exist 

 at least 80 of these magnificent anthropoids in the Kayonsa and im- 

 penetrable forest region does not appear extravagant. 



Normally the troops vary in size from five to eight or nine, and 

 consist of one full-grown male, the father of the flock, and, accord- 

 ing to the size of the band, two or three females, the remainder being 

 juveniles of varying sizes. In the western region there is apparently 

 one huge troop permanently of the abnormal dimensions of nearly 

 two dozen. As I had unsolicited information about this large, and 

 I imagine truly terrifying, troop from no fewer than three reliable 

 and independent sources covering a period of 2 years, there is no 

 reason to doubt its existence. It would be most interesting to dis- 

 cover the exact constitution of so large a troop, and whether it is 

 limited to one adult male only. Actually I missed by a few hours 

 the opportunity of having a glimpse at this horde. The indispensa- 

 ble Wambutte spying out the land for me prior to His Excellency 

 the Governor of Uganda being introduced to his humblest subjects, 

 encountered far away and unexpectedly this supertroop, and too late 

 for me to have a hope of making contact before darkness fell, came 

 back gibbering with excitement to tell me of their great adventure. 



Before further casual allusion to the Wambutte is made, it will 

 be best to record the reason for the presence of any Wambutte, true 

 pygmies, in Uganda, when this name is usually associated with the 

 Ituri forest to the west of the mighty Ruwenzori range, and the ele- 

 vated mountain ridges on the Belgian Congo side of Lake Edward. 

 The half-pygmy Batwa of the Mufumbiro volcanoes, those domiciled 

 in the Belgian zone of the Pare National Albert, being regarded as 

 part of the natural fauna ( !), have long been familiar to me. But, 

 on first acquaintance with the little men of the Kishasha valley, 

 I was extremely puzzled by the unvarying reference of the local 

 Bachiga to the Wambutte, instead of the Batwa. These little folk, 

 on being interrogated, hotly denied any relationship with the Batwa 

 of the volcanoes, and emphatically affirmed that they were true 

 Wambutte. On being further questioned to account for the isolation 

 of their little group — in addition to the aged and infirm, the tally 

 of adult males is now about nine — so far away from the Wambutte 



