Gorillas in the mist

Uganda’s Bwindi Impenetrable National Park is 331 square kilometres of rolling green hills, dotted with tea plantations and flanked by misty mountain tops and extinct volcanic peaks – all of which are covered in dense, lush vegetation.

I’m walking down one of these hills when my local guide, Joseph whispers in a calm but urgent tone, “Make room!”

Unbeknownst to me, there is a mountain gorilla, a juvenile female, knuckle-walking her way casually toward me. She is a latecomer to the family we’ve been tracking the last hour and half in the depths of the forest.

My mind is frantic for a moment. My eyes dart back and forth between the thorn bushes and stinging nettle that surround me. I’m still processing where to move, when the female gorilla nonchalantly brushes past to join her family feasting on the rich vegetation below.

The female takes a seat close to Rafiki (Swahili for “friend”). He is the leader of the family with a glorious silver tuff on his back. This only appears on mature males and is where the name of “Silverback Gorillas” comes from. The female and Rafiki use their chubby, human-like fingers to pull vines from the bush in front of them to their mouths and begin to strip the leaves off. They chew hungrily and keep pulling at the seemingly never ending vines to feast on the lush leaves.

The female turns toward me and my group of seven less-hairy primates who are looking on in awe and amazement. She glances at us for just a moment, and then goes back to her meal. What strange creatures, she must be thinking.

Uganda and neighbouring Rwanda and Congo offer visitors the chance to observe Mountain Gorillas in their natural habitat. Mountain gorillas are only found in Eastern Africa in the Virunga National Park, which covers Rwanda and Congo and Bwindi, in Uganda. There are some 880 mountain gorillas in the wild, and none in captivity.

Although these numbers are astonishing low, this is a vast improvement compared to the 620 gorillas recorded in 1989, and even lower numbers which proceeded this.

Following the scientific discovery of mountain gorillas in 1902, poaching, habitat infringement and destruction, disease and conflict in surrounding areas, led to a dramatic decline in numbers. The drop was so significant that many feared mountain gorillas would become extinct within the first century of their discovery. A would-be first for any species.

Conservation efforts, particularly the work of Dian Fossey of Gorillas in the Mist fame whose Karisoke Research Centre in Rwanda celebrates its 50th anniversary this month, has helped greatly these challenges, however Gorillas are still critically endangered.

The need for land to cultivate for farming means expanding human settlements severely encroach upon the gorilla’s habitat. Mountain gorillas are also illegally hunted for trophies and live infants while war and instability and disease still present threats.

Conservation efforts have helped raise awareness, provided funding to the protected national parks and kicked started initiatives in areas of reforestation, sustainable livelihood training for the community and “rehabilitating” and retraining former poachers as farmers, to name a few. Although, with a nine month gestation period and females reproducing once every four to eight years after they past their tenth year, population growth for mountain gorillas will always take a slow pace.

Seeing the gorillas is one way to contribute to their conservation. Each day, groups of eight are permitted to visit the various gorilla families. Treks can take anywhere from one to eight hours, depending on where the gorillas have chosen to set up camp. Once found, visitors have an hour to watch the gorillas in all their glory. The permits costs roughly $600 USD in Uganda. Although this may sound steep, money earned through gorilla tourism has a significant and powerful impact on conservation. Permits provide funds for conservation projects and is a boon to the local economy, creating jobs and bringing other benefits to communities living near the gorillas.

It’s a long drive up the mountain to see the gorillas from the nearest “big” city, Kisoro. As we ascend, the air becomes fresh and crisp, and the houses at the base soon become tiny dots peppered along the foothills, before disappearing as we enter the thick undergrowth of the forest.

After a 2.5 hour “African massage” thanks to bumpy roads the entire way, we arrive at a meeting point for orientation. Here, we learn Gorilla 101. This includes keeping a good seven foot distance from the gorillas at all times as well as no pointing or direct eye contact (gorillas can interpret this as aggression). If you need to sneeze cover your mouth and turn away from the gorillas. This is because they can easily catch diseases because they share 98% of our DNA. Keep your voice to a whisper to remain inconspicuous and not disturb their habits. And in the highly unlikely case that a gorilla charges at you, do not run. Show your submission by lying on the ground.

We then collect our hiking sticks and begin our walk down a rocky, dusty incline avoiding massive piles of elephant dung and their caldera-like footprints. We take the hill route and walk through the tea farms, some of which are worked by former poachers. We pass bubbling streams which take steeping stones to cross. We skilfully learn to avoid thorn bushes, stinging nettle and rouge branches. We dredge through mud, down slippery slopes, climb rocky hills using our hiking poles to hoist ourselves up, all while our guide in front machetes brush out of the way, and an armed guide at the back watches over us. They don’t call in the impenetrable forest for nothing.

It’s just over an hour into our trek when our guide tells us we are approaching the gorillas. A quiet excitement overcomes the group. We leave our bags and poles with the porters and quietly make our way down yet another hill where a family has stopped to eat. Rafiki, who is roughly 30 sits in front. On the vegetated slopes, you can make out two shy babies that are clinging to their mothers’ backs, along with several juveniles and other adult females. Our fearless female joins the group after brushing past me.  That’s 11 of them. They sit chewing contentedly, unfazed by our presence as we marvel at their sheer size and beauty. Growing up to 6 foot tall and weighing over 200 kilos, mountain gorillas are truly something to behold.

Then, another rustle in the bushes reveals a slightly younger silverback in the distance. That’s 12. Although he is part of the group, as the subordinate silverback, Mzuri whose name translates to Handsome, follows at a distance to avoid confrontation with Rafiki. Mzuri has a very fresh looking gash on his shoulder as a reminder of his position. Peripheral silverbacks like Mzuri, follow their group at a distance before setting out to establish his own range area. In the meantime, Mzuri sadly lives in the shadows of Rafiki. Mzuri is about 28 and with mountain gorillas living up to 35 – 40 years, he still has time.

Perhaps noticing Mzuri in the distance, Rafiki, remaining cool and calm shifts himself forward to make his presence well known. He now faces directly toward us and we quietly shuffle backwards to give him his space. Rafiki makes some gentle grunting noises as he eats. With a frontal view of Rafiki, you can see how magnificent he is. He has a glorious silver tuff of hair on his back, giant pectorals, a rotund belly, darling little ears, chunky fingers with strong nails and hints of white corners in his eyes that make him look uncannily human-like.

Families like Rafikis have been habituated to a degree, in the sense that they are used to limited human contact. They are not threatened by humans and happily go about their day to day activities in their presence. They are used to the occasional visit and quite frankly, aren’t fussed by it. This allows visitors an entirely unique chance to observe them in their natural habitat. Cameras click away and visitors gasp, and even shed a tear at just how majestic these animals are.

While breathtaking, the gorillas are generally rather quiet. Most of the time you’ll find them eating, napping or if you’re lucky, you might catch the youngsters playing. There’s nothing to be startled about and the guides and trackers are experts in reading their behaviour. In the rare case of the gorillas becoming animated, the guides will be able to pacify them, and will direct you to step back or break eye contact.

Although population growth is slow, gorillas have made quite the comeback. The fact that they share such a large part of our DNA, reminds us of how close to home this all is and makes the experience all the more moving. Gorilla trekking is indeed an emotional and intimate experience. I wasn’t alone in feeling chills and an indescribable connection as tears welled in my eyes when look upon these majestic animals. Being in their presence is almost a family reunion of sorts for us with some rather hairy, distant relatives.

The encounter is brief but extraordinary – which makes it all the more important to remember to put the camera down and simply soak up the surroundings. This is once in a lifetime.