The mountain gorillas are a defining figure of Rwanda. They attract people from around the world and do wonders for Rwanda's economy (tourists need to pay $500 per visit). These are absolutely incredible creatures and Rwanda is so lucky to have them here.
My friend Nancy from university is currently living in Nairobi and came up for the weekend to visit me and join me on my adventure to see the mountain gorillas. We had been planning this for months and so we were both so excited when 'Gorilla Weekend' had finally arrived.
The entrance of Volcano Park - where the Mountain Gorillas reside
In Volcano Park - there are 5 Volcanoes in this area
The gorillas are near Musanze, Rwanda (about 3 hours from Kigali) in Volcano National Park - the home of 5 dormant volcanoes. We met with our guide when we arrived and then off we were into the jungle to find our very large, furry friends. Unfortunately, I was very sick that morning. My stomach has not at all enjoyed life in Rwanda. So it was a rough start for me but thankfully, once we got going, my excitement to see the gorillas overode the aching I felt in my tummy!
As we got deeper into the jungle, my entire group became more and more excited. We were comprised of people from all over the world - India, Australia, the US, Canada, Europe...like I said, these gorillas attract people from all over. At one point, we climbed a cliff - I was walking ahead of the group with the guide (thank you running for keeping my lungs and legs strong enough for these jungle hikes) so when I got to the top, I was the first to see mama gorilla with her baby twins. I was literally 1 metre from her. I was sort of in shock as I wasn't expecting to see a gorilla that soon and in such close proximity to me! It was wild! literally....
I then looked ahead into the bush and saw this giant hairball:
Mr. Silverback Gorilla
Silverback gorillas are polygynous creatures - so this silverback gorilla is the alpha male with several females and young males in his family. I found out he is 27 years old and you can tell from the photos, he is one big dude.
The way the guides communicate with the gorillas is through making these grunting sounds. They indicate 'we come in peace' - so humans can actually communicate with these primates so that our encounters are generally smooth and peaceful. These gorillas are used to humans too so it makes it that much safer for the tourists. There are several gorillas out here but we managed to only see one family - it was more than enough though since this family had gorillas of all ages and sizes and we got to see them play. So cute.
So I was obviously on a photo rampage. I love animals and I need to take a million of the same photo to make sure I have proof that I was actually in the same 20 metre radius of these majestic creatures. But on this day, my photo obsession served to get me almost mangled by Mr. 200kg silverback gorilla. So here's the story:
I was casually minding my own business photographing one of the females indulging in a bamboo shoot. It was funny, she seemed so into the bamboo and I had to take at least 3 photos of this. As I'm being paparazzi extraordinaire (national geographic styles), I suddenly hear the bush behind me crunching and 2 seconds later I find myself totally airborne. I crash into the bush, totally hazed, not sure of what just happened. Turns out, the alpha male got pissed at his female for eating the bamboo shoot and ran to stop her. I was in his way so the bad boy decided to push me so he could get to his precious bamboo that much faster. Collateral damage I guess? He didn't hurt me and I was lucky I landed a metre from the edge of the cliff. But he was STRONG. It's amazing how much power these creatures have.
He got his Bamboo back - he was pretty pumped
This gorilla family has gorillas of all ages. From babies, to teenagers, to adults. The youthful ones are so playful. It's incredibly entertaining. They play fight and mischievously go slap papa gorilla when he isn't looking. They are bold - after he pushed me, I was scared to even look at him the wrong way. And their eyes are so expressive. More or less human. You can see how close our biological relationship is to them. The kids play like humans, the adults watch unamused like human parents, and they look at us humans beings with the same inquisitive eyes we use to look at them. Pretty amazing....
The silverback watching the younger ones frolicking about
Baby gorilla, just hanging out
Check out how close I am to him. I think at this point, he was no longer interested in me, so I was bit more comfortable
The reason they call him the silverback - his back is actually a grey silver colour. He's the only the gorilla in the family with this coloration pattern
Doesn't he kind of look like the Buddha?
Overall, one of the coolest experiences I've had out here. And now I can say that I've touched a real life gorilla - and not any gorilla, a wild, silverback mountain gorilla! For anyone ever thinking of venturing to East Africa, I highly recommend you also spend a morning with the mountain gorillas. It's definitely unforgettable.
Nancy and I after we finished our visit with the gorillas - we were still giddy with excitement
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