Gorillas!
From Not All Who Wander Are Lost in Ruhengeri, Rwanda on Jan 31 '08
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Tracking the mountain gorillas in the Parc National des Volcans was one of the highlights of our travels. We got up at the crack of dawn to hike up the side of a volcano through lush bamboo forest to visit these magnificent creatures.
Habituated to humans, the gorillas are continuously tracked by armed park rangers who protect them from poachers 24/7. Visitor groups are limited a maximum of 8 people per gorilla family; with 8-9 separate groups that can currently be visited, this means ~70 people per day make the trek to spend one hour observing the gorillas at close proximity. Depending on the movement of the gorillas, it can take anywhere from 30 minutes to several hours to find them; we reached our particular group after walking for 2-1/2 hours.
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It is here that Dian Fossey dedicated her life to researching the mountain gorillas, and it is easy to understand her attraction to them. (The film "Gorillas in the Mist" was filmed in this area.) Watching these majestic animals, one cannot help but wonder: are they like us, or are we like them?
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