GORILLAS!

Rwanda is a beautiful country, more vertical than horizontal, with heavily cultivated slopes to support its ever growing population. The genocide of 1994 already seems a distant memory and the country is rapidly moving into the 21st century. While it’s nickname is the country of 1000 hills, its main claim to fame is as the home of the mountain gorillas.







Our group of eight is walking through the cool twilight of dense bamboo forest. Shafts of sunlight illuminate the forest floor carpeted in golden bamboo leaves. The slender segmented trunks of the bamboo spindle their way into the canopy above protecting us from the fierce equatorial sun. The silent forest gives us a few moments to contemplate our expected encounter with the gorillas. After a gentle climb of less than half a mile we are confronted with three men in green uniforms. Nothing sinister here; these are the trackers. I know that the gorillas are close now because the trackers are here to guide us to the gorillas..

We break out of the cool forest into the harsh sunlight and slip and slide down a steep muddy slope in dense undergrowth of shrubs full of nettles. As I round a bush, suddenly I am face to face with a giant silverback sitting on his haunches. He seems unconcerned as I fight a rising panic at being only six feet from this massive gorilla. He is a regal creature with deep black fur, and a face that it is foreboding yet somehow not hostile. The dominant feature is his eyes as I gaze into them to see the intelligence within. I am still intimidated by this creature who probably weighs 800 pounds and could snap me like a twig with his massive arms and hands. The good news that he is a vegetarian and despite his imposing presence intellect overcomes emotion and I realize that there is no threat from him.

As we watch him, a juvenile literally tumbles into view as he drops off a solitary bamboo stalk. He rolls to the feet of the silverback. He continues to amuse us with his antics as he rolls around on the ground and does a backwards somersault into the brush. Meanwhile, the silverback is stripping branches of shrubs with his teeth to get at the juicy inner layers beneath the bark. Other members of the family become visible in the undergrowth. Then there is a commotion of chattering and grunting behind the silverback and with a speed that belies his size he scampers several feet back into the brush. Our guide informs us that there is some dispute between two of the older gorillas and father is acting as mediator as he grunts and gestures at the unseen combatants. The gorillas move off through the brush and we follow as our guide and one of the trackers breaks branches and hacks at the undergrowth with machetes. As most of our group moves to follow the silverback the guide grabs me and tells me to go back. I don’t understand until he points to a female with two new babies; a rare set of twins only born this February.

All too soon our guide instructed us to take our last pictures as our hour with these gentle beasts was nearly over. He told us to spend our final moments imprinting our memories without aid of cameras. As we turned away, I looked back over my shoulder for one last glimpse. I was gratified to know that such magnificent creatures were protected and that my entry fee had helped in some small way to insure their survival.