Gorillas of Rwanda Part 2

Continued from Part 1…

For an approximate hour we headed up the steep slopes deep into the forest until we……..smelled them!  There was the distinct earthy scent of gorilla in the air.   As we turned the corner on the trail……Oh my god, right in front of us, was the #3 silverback of this group.  No zoo experience can come close to this.  His head was HUGE and the power and strength of this fantastic creature were clearly evident. 

  

We were advised to maintain a 10 meter distance at all times, so we were very cautious and tried to respect his space.

But Mr.  Silverback had a different set of rules.  He walked directly at us!  The jungle is so thick that there isn’t much room to get out of his way.  So, what do you do when a large silverback gorilla decides to take the exact narrow path that you are on?  You hold your breath and stand still.  We could have reached out and slapped him on the ass as he walked by!  He shoved one of the other members of our group aside sending him sprawling into the brush.  Our guide told us it was a definite show of dominance over us.  All this within the first 2 minutes of spotting him.  Wow, this is cool!   And so intimidating!

Our luck continued as the next show starred a momma and her baby.  The little one had no fear and came out into a clearing and posed for us; ate for us; climbed a tree and clumsily fell out of it, and finally sat again right in front of our group.  Cameras were clicking!  We couldn’t believe how close this young primate was to us, and none of the adults in the thick forest seemed to be concerned.   

   

This went on for 15 plus minutes until mom and #2 silverback decided to make an appearance and check on junior.  We watched in awe as this magnificent papa gently cared for his offspring. 

Next, Francoise had us move quickly into the bush (no paths here other than what their machetes cleared away).  He had spotted the #1 silverback with the injury and more members of the troop.  We hurried along until he positioned us in another clearing.

Unbelievable is the only way to describe it. 

But wait, there’s more.  Check out Part 3…..