Gorilla gorilla berengei

Yesterday we finally arrived at Bwindi Impenetrable Forest, home to over half of the remaining mountain gorillas in the world and the highlight of my Uganda tour. The sad fact is that there are only about 700 of these magnificent creatures left and there are none in captivity, so if we aren't particularly diligent about protecting their habitat, we risk their extinction. Along with the chimpanzee, gorillas share about 98% of their DNA with homo sapiens. Watching them interact with each other, many of their behaviors and mannerisms are strikingly human-like. I feel privileged to have had the opportunity to watch them, even for a brief time.

After our miraculous view of the Uganda lion, we drove south out of Queen Elizabeth National Park and into Bwindi Impenetrable Forest National Park. 'Impenetrable' must mean something closer to 'exclusive' than what we think of as 'impenetrable'. While the forest is dense and rugged, it is hardly 'impenetrable'. Tours go every day, rain or shine, but visitors are limited to 18, six for each of the three gorilla families that have been habituated to human presence. Also, the gorilla trekking permits sell for $500 per day for foreign visitors. Although this seems like an exorbitent amount for a park entrance fee, revenue from this park supports a sizable portion of the budget for the entire Ugandan national park system and provides a significant subsidy to the villages surrounding the park (in order to encourage them to protect the forest, the gorillas, and the long-term tourism business).

There are several tourist lodges at Bwindi - odd when you consider that there are at most 18 visitors to the park each day. (We met one woman who had an entire 20-room lodge to herself.) We drove passed a couple that looked nice enough only to arrive at a mysterious stairway into the forest. At the base of the stairs, 10 or so of the lodge staff waited to greet us with cool towels, cool drinks and warm smiles. Our bags were quickly taken from us and we were led up the stairway and into a clearing where we had our first view of our new lodge - Gorilla Forest Camp, the 'Ritz Carlton' of Bwindi. This place gives a whole new meaning to 'luxury tented camp'. The reception staff ushered us into the bar for complimentary welcome beverages and our orientation to the camp. The bar was a large, open-air hut with a high, thatched roof and magnificent views across the valley to the the national park. We dropped into the canvas chairs and were at home before Ian had even finished handing out our tent assignments. When we finished our drinks and were led to our tents, further astonishment awaited. The 'tents' were indeed the large canvas structures familiar from other safari camps, large enough for two queen beds and plenty of space to move around. However, these were surrounded by a thatched structure with a covered verandah in front and full, en suite facilities in the back. These facilities included a separate bathtub room open to the forest for the real 'au natural' bathing experience. Gorilla Forest Camp is definitely the nicest place I've stayed in Africa so far.

We awoke the next morning well rested and anxious for our first gorilla trek. The morning was beautiful and clear after a hard rain the previous afternoon. We got to the park reception early to check in. Because there are seven in our tour group, we were divided between two different trekking groups - four in one and three in the other. I was in the group of three and we expected three others to join us for the full group of six. However, this is 'shoulder season' in Uganda (between the high and low seasons) and we had only one other visitor in our group. Our guide, Moses, gave us the orientation on what to expect from the hike and the very strict rules about what we could and could not do when we reached the gorillas. No eating, no sudden movements, stand perfectly still if the silverback charges, no loud noises, absolutely no flash from the cameras. And we would only get 60 minutes with the gorillas in order to minimize our impact on their daily activities. With the orientation over, we set out for our trek.

Each day, advance teams of trackers are sent out to where the gorillas were seen the previous day. They then follow the gorilla tracks and provide updates back to the visitor guides so we can take the most direct routes to where the gorillas are foraging today. Most of the hike follows the border of the park where we can hike through tea and banana plantations - much easier than scrambling through the forest itself. The morning turned hot and humid, the terrain became steeper and steeper, and our conversation lagged as we focused on the climb. We finally turned into the forest after two and a half hours and were glad for the shade. After another 30 minutes, we met up with our advance trackers. The gorillas were nearby! We dropped our day packs and walking sticks, checked the camera batteries and film one last time, then started the final approach.

We spoke in whispers as Moses and one of the trackers led us through the forest, machetes cutting a path that we could follow. We all had silly grins on our faces as a combination of excitement and a little fear drove us forward. Then we heard the grunts. And leaves moving. And tree limbs snapping. Moses started his 60-minute stopwatch and we moved in closer. There! A dark shape moving in the tree. There! Was that a glimpse of silver fur? There! A pair of eyes staring down at us from the leaves. We quickly realized that there were several gorillas around us and we might have walked within yards of them without seeing a thing. They checked us out for a few minutes then moved off. Apparently we were interrupting their lunch. They led us on a merry chase through the forest for about 15 minutes before finally resigning themselves to our presence and settling down.

Moses tried to move us closer to the silverback for photo opps. We caught glimpses of silver and black fur and could see leaves moving but couldn't seen to get a clear view. Then the tracker grabbed a small tree branch, pulled the tree to the side and we were face-to-face with the proverbial 400-pound gorilla! He stared back at us for a while then, deciding we weren't much of a threat, went back to munching on whatever leaves were within reach - quite a selection given his 5-foot reach. It is hard to explain why watching him sit there and eat was so fascinating. It would make a terribly boring video, I'm sure. But the sight of something so human-like yet so obviously a wild animal was compelling. Eventually, other members of the group came back to where the silverback was sitting and we had good views of adult females, juveniles and a couple of babies. Some seemed curious about us, some oblivious and others seemed to snub us by turning their backs. It was incredible.

The second day turned out to be even better. The morning was humid but not as hot so the climb wasn't as difficult. And the gorillas, graciously, were foraging closer to the edges of the park so we didn't have to go as far to find them. We were pleasantly surprised to meet our trackers after only two hours. Once again, this silverback tried to give us the slip when we first arrived and led his group up a steep hill. But we would not be deterred and we gave chase. ('Chase' may imply some amount of speed that was not possible as we scrambled over trees and under vines.) When the gorillas settled down, the silverback was much more accommodating than the first day - this one chose a nice little clearing that provided unobstructed views and camera angles. In fact, he seemed to pose for us, turning his head occasionally to catch the best light. At one point, he stood to reach a higher branch and we were treated to a view of his full height and mass. As he pulled half the tree down with non-chalant ease, we all took a couple of steps back thinking what he could do to us.

But the day's real excitement came as our guide tried to position us for some better views of the rest of the group. Joanna stepped forward to take a photo of the silverback when he suddenly charged at her! He moved straight at her, raised his arms, yelled then veered off. Apparently, we had come between the silverback and one of the females with a baby and he didn't like having us separating them. It startled all of us, although it happened so fast we barely had time to react. Joanna did exactly the right thing and froze; running is a signal that something is prey. (Unfortunately, she froze her finger too and missed out on snapping the picture of the week.) We all congratulated her on her presence of mind while she insisted that she hadn't felt frightened. Regardless, it made for the best story that night.

Once again, the hour felt like 15 minutes and our guide had to tear us away from the gorillas. And, again, we spent the afternoon and evening recounting all the nuances of our 60-minute encounter. Of all the wildlife I've seen in the past month, the unique combination of power, gentleness and vulnerability makes the mountain gorillas the most amazing. I hope the people of Uganda, Rwanda and Congo, along with the rest of us, continue to make an effort to protect the gorilla habitat so all of you will have the opportunity some day to experience these magnificent creatures for yourselves.

Photo Album: Uganda Gorillas

http://www.ofoto.com/I.jsp?c=c931oof.9jtse8qf&x=0&y=m68808