Gasusa is a good playmate and fools around with pretty much everyone. He rolls around in the undergrowth for hours on end with other gorillas.

Gasusa’s lost all the toes on his right foot when he was caught in a trap at the end of 2005. It all happened very quickly. I was on patrol – we found the trap with the toes still trapped in the metal wire. It was absolutely horrible. We then tracked down Gasusa and saw that he was being taken care of by his mother Rubiga who was constantly licking the wound. This motherly treatment meant that Gasusa’s wound did not get infected and he was lucky not to have to need any veterinary help. Others have not been so lucky.

The word ‘Gasusa’ in Kinyabwisha means the leaf of the courgette plant but this ‘Gasusa’ was named in honour of a Ranger of the same name who died.

Sadly Gasusa has been missing since August 2007. Finding a missing gorilla is difficult at the best of times but from during 2008 and early 2009 it was simply impossible because rebels occupied the park and denied the rangers access to the Mikeno sector.