Gorilla Trekking

I met some of my cousins today. Well, with 98.4% of shared DNA, perhaps these gorillas are closer than the cousins I meet on 23 and Me that I share 2% of my DNA with.

When Jessica and I decided on coming to Africa, seeing the gorillas were high on the list. They can be seen in Congo, Rwanda and Uganda. The company we found (more on another blog) had the most reasonable and accessible options taking us into the Bwindi Impenetrable National Park.

Mountain Gorillas are still critically endangered, despite lots of conservation efforts. There are just over 1,000 of them left in the wild, and Uganda boasts about 60% of those. In the forests we visited today, the gorillas have no natural predator. So, why are they still so endangered? It is true that they were almost hunted to extinction just a few decades ago, but now the people here take incredible pride and care of these creatures knowing the tourism that they bring in. While their numbers are increasing, there are many reasons that their numbers are slow to increase. For some reason, there are more males born than females. Since females can only have an infant every four or five years in their thirty-five year life span, starting around the age of nine, well that means numbers are slow to grow. Also, while there are no natural predators, infants are vulnerable to many things such as not staying warm enough at night, mothers not having enough milk to last for several years, and they are prone to accidents such as falling out of trees. Of course, humans encroaching on their habitat also plays a part.

Gorillas live in families of around ten. These families are led by one male of at least fifteen years old who now has a silverback. He is in charge. Occasionally more males can live in the same family, but only if they can be submissive to the silverback. If not, the other males are chased out to live in the bachelor group or in a life of solitude.

So is visiting the gorillas ethical if they are so endangered? Trust me, I had this question too. Especially after all that I heard and saw today, I believe so. First and foremost, because the gorillas bring in so much money to the local economy, the locals feel an even greater sense of duty to love and protect them. Many people (trackers, porters, rangers, guards and the local community) all benefitted from our visit today. Trackers seek out the gorillas each day. In this way, they keep them away from the villages, ensuring they stay safely in the forest. We traveled in small groups to see the gorillas so as not to overwhelm them. The family we saw today is one that has slowly been introduced to humans so that they do not fear them, but even so, we were strictly limited to our time with them to one hour so that they do not get too accustomed to us. While we got fairly close to them, we did not touch them. Because they are so similar to us, they are susceptible to the same diseases we carry, so we wore masks when we were close to them. All of this to say, it was an incredible honor to get to see them today, and my hope is that my visit only helps to increase their numbers.

At 6am, Moses picked us up from our hotel and drove us about two hours to the Bwindi Impenetrable National Park. Much of our drive was in the dark, and even more was down a dirt road (Moses called this the African massage). School children walked along the road, often for a mile or more to get to school on time. Individuals worked in their lands, tending crops and guiding cows or goats. Brick-makers gathered clay, formed it into bricks and stacked it high in the sun to dry. The river valley stretched on for most of the drive with lush green mountains divided into plots and small simple structures dotted the landscape. A volcano could even be seen in the distance, although it had long been dormant. 

Upon arrival, after a performance from a local group that welcomed us, a ranger led us through instructions and expectations for the day. He said if at any point we couldn’t carry on, an African helicopter would come pick us up. He said it may look more like a stretcher and would cost us $300. Then the large group of around 50 were split into smaller groups.

Six from my travel group were put into the same group along with two other women. We were eight women and were thrilled to find that we were led by Goreth, an Ugandan woman with a gentle voice, a sharp machete and no fear. Two guards took up the lead and the tail. Yes, they had guns, but it was to scare away the forest elephants if we encountered them. Forest elephants are a little smaller than their Saharan cousins, hairy to help keep them warm, and their tusks curve inwards at the end. Sadly, we did not see any, but that may be for the best as apparently they can be quite aggressive. But, we did see lots of signs of elephants (both poop and foot prints!).

A quick note to any who may choose to go on this adventure. We were told we did not need gloves. You do. The Impenetrable Forest is, well, dense. There are a variety of leaves and vines that we had to grab onto that may have hurt us if we had not rented the gloves at the park for $5. We brought hiking sticks, that I was incredibly thankful for, but they did have sturdy walking sticks available for use. Long pants and long sleeves are a necessity. Our guide also made sure that none of us were wearing red, orange or white as apparently elephants can see it from a great distance, and it has a tendency to anger them.

Before we arrived at the park, trackers had been sent out to find the gorilla families. I’m confident this is done to help ensure a near 100% chance of sighting, and well, I appreciated that. The trackers communicate with our guide (ranger) to help  us find the gorilla families more swiftly with less aimless wandering. We were warned, however, that there was no exact science to how long it may take us. Some groups hike for half an hour, while some may hike for half a day. No matter what, once you find the gorillas, your countdown on one hour with them begins.

I had heard some horror stories about how difficult the trekking was. Let’s be reminded that it isn’t called the Bwindi Impenetrable National Park for nothing. However, the hiking was not as difficult as I had thought. It was not easy, but most of it was along a footpath, sure overgrown on the sides, but still a footpath.

We walked for a little more than an hour, then Goreth had us pause our walk. She had communicated with the trackers and learned that while they had successfully located the gorillas, there were some elephants near by, so we needed to stay out of their way for a bit. It meant that there was plenty of time for her to tell us more about the gorillas and about her job as a ranger. Then we got the call and got to move toward them!

I had had a very different view of how the hour together was going to be spent. I had pictured us sitting in a clearing as gorillas sat in their “nests”, and we would all just sit in awe of one another. Sure, throw in some “Kumbaya” in there as well. Hello, Rebecca, the Impenetrable Forest does not have vast openings.

I saw the silverback first. We were at the bottom, in a lush ravine between to hillsides (can I say mountains if we were above 6,000 feet?). We were still on our path, but we had been told to get ready (drink water, put on masks, get cameras prepared, and leave backpacks). While everyone was quickly shifting about, I glanced up, and there, truly all I could see amongst the dense undergrowth was a silverback strolling, his back sticking up just over the greenery around him. Then, he disappeared. But as we watched, more and more leaves began moving, showing us that more of the Shongi family was close by.

I was so disappointed at first because while we got very close to the gorillas, within two or three yards, they had their backs turned to us. But don’t worry. While our hour was not the romantic image I had set in my mind, it was a magical. These huge, gorgeous cousins of ours roamed through the forest, munching their way on anything that looked tasty while we followed closely behind them. Our trackers were fantastic knowing that we really wanted to see them and that our photos were really important to us, so they did their best to clear paths so we could see the majestic creatures. In response, the gorillas teetered between totally unbothered by our presence and annoyance that we would not just let them eat in peace. Even in their annoyance, they were never, in anyway, aggressive. Even the silverback, Bweza, the largest silverback in the park showed absolutely zero aggression.

We heard the gorillas grunt at one another. We watched a few climb up and down trees. We watched a young one roll around on the forest floor. We watched one roll around on a log, somewhere between playful and searching for something to eat. We even heard one fart incredibly loudly, reminding us that we truly are close relatives.

Their hands, their facial expressions are almost identical to the ones we see in the mirror. It was beautiful. Looking into their eyes, making eye contact with gorilla was somehow a way that I felt seen. I’m not sure I can explain it, as, in my life, I’m thankful to have many people who I feel truly see me. Yet, somehow, making eye contact with this other creature gave me a new presence in this world, an acknowledgement that we are both a part of this big picture.