Volume 50 | Issue 2 Article 10

1988 Gorilla Researcher Has Humeston Connections Mary Ellen Stanley Iowa State University

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Recommended Citation Stanley, Mary Ellen (1988) "Gorilla Researcher Has Humeston Connections," Iowa State University Veterinarian: Vol. 50 : Iss. 2 , Article 10. Available at: https://lib.dr.iastate.edu/iowastate_veterinarian/vol50/iss2/10

This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the Journals at Iowa State University Digital Repository. It has been accepted for inclusion in Iowa State University Veterinarian by an authorized editor of Iowa State University Digital Repository. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Gorilla Researcher Has Humeston Connections

By Mary Ellen Stanley

Two doctors ofveterinary medicine with Wayne Morris Animal Foundation ofEnglewood, CO, Dr. County connections got together at Iowa State Foster and his wife, Jane, who took a leave of University in Ames, recently when Wildlife absence from her duties at Bellevue Community Researcher James W. Foster, Bellevue, WA, class College, headed fOf Rwanda. of '54, returned to his alma mater as guest speak­ Their job was to make a medical evaluation of er in the Frank K. Ramsey lecture series. the status ofthe animals and to develop a program Dr. Foster is the son ofthe the late Henry Foster, after the evaluation was completed. who grew up in Humeston. The grandparents, In the meantime, the Rwandan government Fred and Adah Foster, were long time Humeston found an American research student, Wayne residents. McGuire, guilty of Fossey's murder; however, Dr. Ramsey is no stranger to this area either. The before the trial, officials of the Rwandan govern­ director of the ISU Achievement Foundation and ment and the American embassy arranged to get for many years head of the department of veteri­ him out of the country. nary pathology grew up in northern Missouri and A Rwandan tracker, also convicted of the crime, also has family in Wayne County. reportedly committed suicide. Dr. Foster returned to the United States in "Some agree with the verdict, and some dis­ March after spending a total of 14 months in the agree," was Dr. Foster's comment. He has been tiny central African country of Rwanda, studying in contact with many of those who worked closely mountain gorillas. with Fossey. The mountain gorilla is a race that has been A movie starring Sigourney Weaver as Fossey is forced into a high mountain habitat by' human scheduled for release this fall. pressure. Through the centuries, it has adapted Karisoke, Fossey's camp, was reopened in the well, with long hair, a shorter arm length, and summer of 1987, and efforts are being made to different food preferences. restore it and develop it into an international There are no mountain gorillas in captivity. research station. "The gorillas you see in zoos are western lowland Dr. Foster spent a lot of time in the forests gorillas." Dr. Foster explained. observing the mountain gorillas and recording In 1984 Dr. Foster began corresponding with health related problems. Dian Fossey, the American who lived and worked "The thing that impressed me the most," he among the gorillas for nearly 20 years until her recalled, "was it was like no other animal 1'd ever brutal murder on Dec. 28, 1985. worked with. Their behavior, the way they inter­ Fossey indicated a need for a veterinarian to acted with one another and with me was like assist in training personnel to immobilize the visiting a form of early man." gorillas for snare removal and treatment when they Only 279 animals are left. About half of them had been traumatized by poachers. have been habituated and can easily be approached Since the gorillas are susceptible to human by human visitors and researchers. diseases, Fossey was also concerned that the tourists Four groups are used strictly for tourism, a big who visited the Parc National des Volcans to industry in Rwanda. Tour groups ofno more than observe the gorillas would introduce diseases. eight pay $120 per person to visit the gorillas at Research activities ceased following Fossey's distances of no less than four or five feet for one death, but in Sept. 1986, with funding from the hour daily. Interaction with the animals is not

122 The Veterinary Student allowed because of the threat of disease or risk of and shop at the market. injury. There they bought tomatoes, macaroni Three groups of gorillas are for research only. products, coffee, and occasionally, eggs. Cheese Here, closer interaction is possible because the could be purchased on the black market. "Some­ researchers have been isolated and quarantined. thing like a limburger smell, but meltable," Jane "It's not unusual for a gorilla to come up and noted. stare into your eyes, or even put his forehead There was no milk, and meat was available at directly on yours," said Dr. Foster. only one market. The owner had a tiny freezer, "When a gorilla looks at you directly, it can much smaller than home models, which contained mean agression, but it's easy to recognize when pieces of beef and pork roasts, purchased in the there's no threat involved. They're just curious and capital city of Kigali. interested," he explained. "The only other animal Ordering and eating chicken was quite an I've ever seen look at me in this way has been the experience, Jane recalled. "The chicken was liter­ whale.' , ally chased down after it was ordered," she said, The young males like to attract attention and "and was so tough, probably from running for its encourage play with the members of the research life! " group. Dr. Foster noted this can get quite rough Beans similar to our soup beans and potatoes because of the animal's size. Males can weigh up were the dietary staples. Onions and pili pili, a hot to 525 lbs. pepper, were also abundant. Dr. Foster dispelled the myth that gorillas eat Their living quarters had water, collected in a bananas. They're vegetarians, subsisting on a tank from rain water running off the roof. Since variety of wild plants, including thistles, nettles, it rained almost every day, this presented no celery, and bamboo. problem. He laughed, "Ifit's true you are what you eat, Jane laughed as she remembered how acquain­ a gorilla would be a tossed green salad." tances of hers, unfamiliar with Jim's work, were The average life expectancy of the mountain horrified to think she was going to Africa in the gorilla is 35 years, although some have lived into midst of a revolution. Telling them about the their 50's. laboratory and medical supplies only encouraged The park covers 110 square miles in the Virunga their belief that she was talking about" guerillas" volcano area ofRwanda, Zaire, and a small ponion instead of gorillas. ofUganda. Its boundary begins at an elevation of Dr. Foster was staff veterinarian for the Wood­ 8,000 ft., extending to the peak of the highest land Park Zoological Gardens in Seattle, WA, for volcano, Mt. Karasimbi, at 14,700 ft. 14 years. During that time he initiated a rehabili­ Since the area is in the rain forest close to the tation program providing medical treatment for equator, Dr. Foster said it is not unusual to see bald eagles who had been shot by hunters or were plants which have been domesticated and brought ill. They were then reintroduced into the wild. back to the U.S. He mentioned heather, which can For four seasons he studied the den site activi­ be up to 30 ft. tall in Africa, compared to a foot ties of the Alaskan gray wolf and also assisted in or so here. a caribou field study in Denali (formerly Mt. Jane Foster accompanied the tourist and research McKinley) National Park in Alaska. groups into the forests to observe the gorillas and Dr. Foster also worked with the Department of assisted her husband in setting up and furnishing the Interior as a consultant with the mountain goat a small brick structure which was built to house program in Washington's Olympic National Park. the laboratory and their living quarters. His interest in gorilla diseases and reproduction, All supplies and furnishings were brought from combined with a love for the mountains, led him the states. Paper towels, tape, pots and pans, and to the mountain gorillas of Africa. even peanut butter were among the many neces­ He has climbed Mt. McKinley in Alaska by a sities that accompanied them, she recalled, as well new route and, on several occasions, Mt. Rainier as all the medical supplies. in Washington. They had to brush up on their French, the The Fosters' spirit ofadventure has been passed second language after the native tongue of on to their children. Jeff, the oldest, has just Kenyarandan. Very little English was spoken. returned from spending six months relocating The Fosters made a weekly trip down the rough killer whales from Iceland to Japan while the mountain road to Ruhengeri to collect their mail youngest, Jonathan, an anthropology student,

Vol. 50, No. 2 123 spent a lot of time in Africa wirh his parents smaller and gray in color. Since there are so few studying primitive cultures. of them in the V.S., inbreeding is a concern, and Jill is a housewife and the mother ofthe Fosters' several are being imported to provide new stock. first grandchild, with another baby due later this The animal is difficult to move and requires a month. Julie is a flight attendant with Continen­ great deal ofveterinary care, explained Dr. Foster. tal airlines. Meanwhile, back at the college of veterinary In June Dr. Foster will return to Africa for a medicine in Ames, where student Jim Foster completely different project. He goes to Zaire to dreamed ofone day working with exotic animals, assist in preparing and disease testing okapis for Dr. Ramsey continues to give guidance and en­ air transport to the V.S. couragement to the doctors oftomorrow, perhaps The okapi is a relative of the giraffe that lives nurturing another future mountain gorilla in the rain forests of central Africa. Dr. Foster researcher. describes them as shaped like a giraffe but much

Editors note: the preceding article appearedin the''Humeston New Era" andthe''Corydon Times Republican" in May of 1988. We would like to thank Ms. Stanley for permission to reprint it here.

Mingling with the mountain gorillas Dr. Jim Foster, an Iowa-born veterinarian and wildlife researcher, interacts with two mountain gorillas in their native habitat. Foster spent 14 months in the tiny central Mrican county ofRwanda, studying the health problems ofthe animals, of which only 279 remain. Photo courtesy of Dr. J. W. Fosrer

124 The Veterinary Student