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.