Extraordinary Journeys | Forbes | October 10, 2019
The Wild Earth: Gorillas In The Midst of Africa
Mary Ann Anderson
Extraordinary Journeys | Forbes | October 10, 2019
RWANDA: Gorillas have become an immense source of income for the
country since they are the main tourist attraction of Rwanda. Every year,
thousands of tourists arrive from all over the world to take part in expeditions
on the slopes of the
Hiking up Rushura Hill in Bwindi Impenetrable Forest in westernmost
Uganda, right in the heart of Africa, guides lead the way as our small
eight-person group passes fragrant angel trumpet vines in full bloom, then
banana, sugarcane, and tea plantations before we climb to some 7,000 feet in
elevation.
As the guides machete-hack through what I am sure is the thickest jungle
growth on the planet, I didn’t think I would make it up the side of that
rain-slick, mud-swathed mountain.
After two hours of grueling climbing, stepping over gorilla dung and dodging
vicious soldier ants, one of the guides stops and turns around.
Extraordinary Journeys | Forbes | October 10, 2019
“You,” he points to me in a commanding yet soft voice. “Come with me and be
very quiet.”
My heart pounds as it never had before. For the first time ever I was about to
see endangered mountain gorillas in their natural habitat. I momentarily
forget about the electrifying heat and drenching humidity of the rainforest as I
grab the young man’s hand before slipping and sliding a few more steps up the
hillside. The rest of the group is but a millisecond behind us.
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Extraordinary Journeys | Forbes | October 10, 2019
The numbers of highly endangered mountain gorillas of the Virunga
Mountains of Uganda, Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo have
risen to just over a thousand because of intensive conservation efforts.
Trekking the Virungas to see them is aDIAN FOSSEY GORILLA FUND
At first, all I see is a ghostly black shape in the verdant jungle, but then my
eyes adjust to the darkness of the jungle—even in midday, it’s shadowy, almost
like twilight—and the shape begins to take the form of a young female gorilla.
I’m trembling not with fear but complete awe as she cradles her tiny baby. And
then more gorillas appear, apparitions come to life, and they’re in the trees, on
the ground, all around.
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Extraordinary Journeys | Forbes | October 10, 2019
From a few feet away I hear low rumbling, not menacing, really, but a
snore-like, throaty groan that absolutely commands dignity and respect.
“That’s the silverback,” the guide whispers and points. “There he is.”
All I see is a patch of black striated with iridescent silver. His back is turned to
us, and out of profound arrogance or sheer protectiveness, his eyes never leave
his family. He knows we are there. Never once does he glance our way, but
without a doubt he would be upon us in a terrifying instant if we venture too
close to his beloveds.
All under the eyes of that watchful old silverback, we observed the troop of
great apes and laughed quietly as the juveniles rolled on the ground, turned
expert cartwheels, and swung from the low-lying limbs of the canopied forest.
Sometimes, even, they would beat their chests to communicate with their
brethren, and I was instantly reminded of all of those old Tarzan movies I
watched when I was a child.
Extraordinary Journeys | Forbes | October 10, 2019
With the greatest of reluctance, our group had to leave after only an hour,
which is all the time you’re given to stay with the gorillas. That hour seemed
only moments, and those were moments I never wanted to end. As we turned
to slog through the mud and back down the mountainside, I turned for one
last look at the happy family. Whether it was in my imagination or reality, the
old silverback turned his head slightly toward us as if to say goodbye.
Extraordinary Journeys | Forbes | October 10, 2019
The greatest concentrations of mountain gorillas live in the volcanic
rainforests of the Virunga Mountains in elevations ranging from 6,000 to
13,000 feet. DIAN FOSSEY GORILLA FUND
Learning About Mountain Gorillas. According to the World Wildlife
Fund, about a thousand mountain gorillas remain on Earth. The greatest
concentrations of them live in the volcanic rainforests of the Virunga
Mountains of Uganda, Rwanda, and the Democratic Republic Congo in
elevations ranging from 6,000 to 13,000 feet.
The highly intelligent gorillas are slightly larger than their eastern lowland,
western lowland, and Cross River cousins that live across central and western
Africa. They stand four to six feet tall and weigh up to a quarter-ton, just a
solid wall of sinewy muscle. To protect against cool high altitude
temperatures, their luxuriant fur is longer and thicker than their lowland
cousins.
Extraordinary Journeys | Forbes | October 10, 2019
BUKIMA, VIRUNGA NATIONAL PARK, DRC: The Bageni family in the gorilla
sector of Virunga National Park, on August 6, 2013 in Bukima, Democratic
Republic of Congo. DRC's Virunga National Park is a protected World
Heritage Site and most biodiverse parkGETTY IMAGES
Troops of gorillas—they’re also known as a band or the less common
whoop—number up to 30 or so and are led by the older, wiser, dominant
silverback, so named for streaks of silver fur that prominently stand out
against his otherwise black coat. Challenge him and he might pound his chest,
Extraordinary Journeys | Forbes | October 10, 2019
throw rocks, or release guttural roars, but he won’t eat you, as the vegetarian
mountain gorillas feast on about 40 pounds a day of sweet roots, shoots, and
fruit.
Park rangers Innocent Mburanumwe (L) and Sekibibi Dareke (R) stay quiet as
an adult gorilla pushes by as they take notes, while conducting a gorilla
population census, on the slopes of Mount Mikeno in the Virunga National
Park in 2008. (ROBERTOAFP/GETTY IMAGES
Extraordinary Journeys | Forbes | October 10, 2019
Why Mountain Gorillas Are Endangered. Although mountain gorillas
are highly protected and their numbers have slowly increased from near
extinction, they still face numerous threats to their existence, including being
hunted for meat or the highly illegal bushmeat trade. Sometimes they are
unintentionally caught and killed in traps designed for other animals such as
antelope. Habitat loss because of commercial logging, agricultural practices,
and bushfires is a major factor in their near demise, but so are civil unrest and
war and diseases, including the Ebola virus and human-transmitted
respiratory-related illnesses.
Although not as prevalent as it once was, gorillas are also hunted for their
body parts for medicinal uses or grisly souvenirs. Infants have been stolen to
be sold as pets, and often the adults are killed in the process.
Extraordinary Journeys | Forbes | October 10, 2019
A young Poppy studies famed primatologist Dian Fossey in 1977.IAN REDMOND AND
DIAN FOSSEY GORILLA FUND
The Importance Of Saving Mountain Gorillas. Primatologist Dian
Fossey, played so convincingly by Sigourney Weaver in the movie “Gorillas in
Extraordinary Journeys | Forbes | October 10, 2019
the Mist,” wrote of the gorilla’s “precarious existence” in the January 1970
edition of National Geographic: “Unless a better plan and more determined
effort is made to save the mountain gorilla, it is doomed to extinction within
the next two or three decades.”
Because of the efforts of those like Fossey, the Leakeys, and Jane Goodall—and
these are but a scant few names of well-known conservationists who stepped
up to help save gorillas from extinction—the beautiful animals would have
certainly been fated to never again walk the face of the earth.
Extraordinary Journeys | Forbes | October 10, 2019
Contributions to gorilla conservation projects provide funding for help and
support for the rangers in the parks, education for reducing threats from
humans, and establishment of more anti-poaching programs, among other
endeavors.DIAN FOSSEY GORILLA FUND
What You Can Do To Help. The most important thing is to become more
educated about the gorillas and their habitat. If you’re not able to visit them in
Africa, you can support them with donations to or adoptions with programs
such as the Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund, Wildlife Conservation Society, Jane
Goodall Institute, International Gorilla Conservation Programme, Endangered
Species International, African Wildlife Foundation and World Wildlife Fund.
Contributions to these worthwhile projects provide funding for conservation
projects, help and support for the rangers in the parks, education for reducing
threats from humans, establishment of more anti-poaching programs, and
long-term habitat protection.
Extraordinary Journeys | Forbes | October 10, 2019
Gorilla trekking can be easy or difficult, depending on the weather, and there
are no guarantees that you’ll see the gorillas, although chances are high. The
trackers know what they’re doing.DIAN FOSSEY GORILLA FUND
Visiting the Gorillas. To see the gorillas in the wild, you must travel to
places like Parc National des Volcans in Rwanda, Bwindi Impenetrable Forest
in Uganda, Mgahinga National Park in Uganda, and Virunga National Park in
the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo.
Extraordinary Journeys | Forbes | October 10, 2019
Typically you fly into Kigali, Rwanda’s capital, or Entebbe in Uganda.
Transportation to the parks is generally by smaller planes or tiny bush planes
over some of the most absolutely stunning scenery of the whole of Africa.
Permits are required for gorilla trekking, and the cost is $600 per person in
Uganda ($700 after July 2020), $1,500 in Rwanda, and for the DRC it’s $400.
Permits must be purchased in advance through the country’s tourist office or a
reputable tour outfitter such as Extraordinary Journeys, Adventure Consults,
Micato, Volcanoes Safaris or Mountain Travel Sobek.
Extraordinary Journeys | Forbes | October 10, 2019
BUKIMA, NORTH KIVU, DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF CONGO: In 2008,
this was the first sighting of mountain gorillas by Congolese Conservation
Authorities in more than 15 months. (Photo by Brent Stirton/Edit by Getty
Images)GETTY IMAGES
The Last Word. Visiting the gorillas is not for the faint of heart, certainly,
and you should be in pretty good physical shape before taking on such an
endeavor. The treks range from easy to difficult, and there are no guarantees
Extraordinary Journeys | Forbes | October 10, 2019
that you’ll see the gorillas once you get there, but the chances are high. The
trackers know what they’re doing.
You’re allowed only one hour to watch them, but hands-down it’s one of the
best hours you’ll ever spend.
Mary Ann Anderson
As a longtime travel and nature writer, my work has been syndicated in hundreds of newspapers around the world, currently through Tribune News Service (TNS) and its predecessors McClatchy-Tribune Information Services (MCT) and Knight-Ridder Tribune Information Services (KRT). Before writing almost exclusively for TNS, I also wrote for Scripps Howard News Service and Hearst News Service. I’m also a longtime features writer and columnist for Georgia Backroads Magazine, but I’ve written for many other regional
Extraordinary Journeys | Forbes | October 10, 2019
magazines. Among my myriad adventures, I’ve flown on Fat Albert with the Blue Angels, trekked with the mountain gorillas in Uganda, hot-air ballooned across South African savannas, swam with the manatees in Florida, sidestepped diamondback rattlesnakes on numerous nature preserves and islands in Georgia, and walked among the giant tortoises in the Galapagos. I live in a small town in Georgia few have heard of and even fewer have visited.