Spot the gorilla

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If someone told you that I paid USD500 to see some apes in the jungle then you might laugh at him and call him a liar (especially if your name is Marc 😉. Fortunately this time you would be wrong. Not that it was my idea to go and visit them. Kellie insisted on it in the beginning and I'm glad she did.
There are three countries which still have Mountain Gorillas left which are Uganda, Democratic Republic of Congo (which is neither democratic nor a republic) and Rwanda. There is a limited number of gorilla trek permits each day in each country and our luck (or misfortune depends on how you look at it) had it that we went to Rwanda to see the gorillas. Rwanda issues about 40 permits per day (I leave it up to you to do the sum of 40 * USD500). The gorilla trek is done in groups of 8 with a guide, some porters (if you’re too lazy to carry your own stuff) and two army dudes with big guns. Apparently the army dudes are there to protect us from animals but when we went to visit the gorillas they stayed back.
The day before we went on the trek one of our travel companions said that there is a specific group which is very well worth having a look at but that they are normally quite far and the trek is hard. Sounded interesting but the spaces for this trek were full before I could say me me me. So the next day we were standing with the rest of our group and waited for our tour guide to show up when luck struck. A guide came over and said that he is looking for two fit people and before I could think (and ignoring my knee and the chest pain I had) I raised my hand which automatically dragged Kellie in too. That’s how we got into the group which would be going to see the famous Susa group which was mentioned the night before. It really seems to be a famous group as it is the largest with over 40 gorillas including one 4 day old baby. It is also well known to be the hardest to find and to get to so we prepared for the worst and for a long trek. A LandCruiser brought us to the section of the park from which we started or trek. In the beginning we walked for well over an hour uphill through mostly potato fields and some eucalyptus forests until we finally reached the boundaries of the national park. From then on the trekking was harder as there was bamboo everywhere and the ground was slippery and muddy. Our guide always evaded the question on how long it would take to find the gorillas once we are in the park and our estimates ranged from 1 1/2 hours to 2 hours. We heard later that it is not uncommon that groups return well after dark. This time it was quite different. We were just 10 minutes into the national park making or way through the bamboo forest before we stumbled over the trackers which are sent out early in the morning to find the gorillas. We put down our backpacks and got the cameras ready. I also thought that it would be a good time to go for a pee as this would be the last chance for the next hour. Once finished I returned to the group which was quite excited as there were already gorillas around us. Well they were actually more or less right behind me on my way back from the pee. I got my camera ready and wondered where the gorillas are when I looked down to discover that a silverback (a male gorilla) was strolling half a meter away past me. That was just the start. We followed the gorillas, guide and trackers through the thick bamboo into a clearing and there they were. Gorillas everywhere. It is amazing to see them sitting, walking eating and doing whatever gorillas do. They are not really that tall (max. 1.8m tall) but are very solid of stature and I wouldn’t want to be on the wrong side with them. Our guide told us that the best thing to do when a male starts hammering its chest and coming towards you is to stand still and not to run. I didn’t have to find out but I'm not sure if I wouldn’t have bolted. To my luck they all were rather uninterested in us and we moved freely around with them not really obeying the 7m rule all the time. 7m is the distance you should keep from them but as our guide put it the gorillas don’t know that and come close or cross your path. This 7m rule is in place as the gorillas are quite closely related to us and can catch many of our diseases including the common cold which can kill them.
We followed them through thin and thick vegetation until our one hour viewing time was up. We saw everything from the old dominant silverbacks to the newest addition to the family the four day old baby. We saw them fighting, playing, hanging out in the trees, falling out of trees and eating lots. Eating seems to and must be their main activity as males eat over 30kg of plants and you find huge droppings everywhere. Hard to describe why it’s so good but being amongst such huge animals which are basically our next relatives is very impressive and I can just hope that they survive a lot longer. With the money they earn it should be possible to give every gorilla it’s own body guards to deter poachers which kill(ed) them for meat, hands (for ashtrays!) and feet.

We found out later that our gorilla group called “Susa” was originally habituated by Dian Fossey of ‘gorillas in the mist” fame.

PS: If you’re thinking of doing this too then be quick. We heard rumors that the price for a [permit will be USD1000 by next year

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Photos

Why are they called silverbacks?
The Susa group of which he is the boss consists of about 40 gorillas and is the largest in Rwanda

Lunch
Which consists of up to 30kg of green stuff

Silverback
The silver develops with age and status

7m seem to be a lot shorter here in Rwanda
The 7m rule wasn’t strictly enforces as the gorillas moved around us all the time.

baby
the youngest baby in the group was 4 days old

The main silverback...
makes all the decisions in the group e.g. when to eat and where to sleep