“The bliss of animals lies in this… they shadow the bliss of those (few at any moment on the earth) who do not ‘look before and after, pining for what is not’; but live in the holy carelessness of the eternal now.”

(George MacDonald  Scottish novelist and poet – 1824 – 1905).

Gazing into the expressive brown eyes of the mountain gorillas, we looked through to the very souls of our existence.  Reflected back was a gentle wisdom and strength, shining through their powerful exterior of survival.  Primal.  Wild.  Mysterious.  

These peaceful giants casually and curiously glanced at us without missing a bite of their favorite greens.  We felt welcome and immediately at ease.  Buzinza (Lukiga for ‘small ears’) and her baby plopped down in front of us and proceeded to turn somersaults and play in the tall grass.  With mother’s approval the baby, Kafuruku (‘born on the move’), approached Joseph twice and went scurrying under the thick brush in front of him.  Up came a soft black hand pulling Joseph’s hand closer.  Checking out Joseph’s digits he ran back and jumped on Mom’s chest.  Another rumble began with Kafuruku scampering into the thicket to join several other Moms and young ones.  Mom, with finally a moment to herself, laid back yawning, arms under her head, legs spread, scratching her belly and beating her chest. 

Soon there was a roar in the distance as Mwirima (‘darkness face’), the largest silverback in Bwindi (6 ft tall, 400 pounds, 8 ft arm span) approached.  Our hearts stood still.  This megalith of strength passed within 10 feet of us, surveying his group and making sure all his females and young ones were ok.  The ranger quickly told us to move back to avoid problems.  His massive silver back rippled with muscles as he crashed through the bamboo.  Mesmerized by the moment we were jolted back to reality.  Wild and potentially dangerous the fear simply dissipated as we locked gazes with this gentle giant.  This Rushegura group split several years ago as a couple of the young silverbacks challenged Mwirima then stole females off for themselves, as is the norm.  Still looking for a fight, these less than friendly young males had charged 2 rangers a couple of months ago, putting them in the hospital.  Needless to say this group is no longer tracked.  Rules of tracking raced through our heads:  “Remember they are wild animals.”  “If a gorilla charges DO NOT run.  Running increases the chance of attack.  Crouch down low and DO NOT threaten the gorilla by looking him in the eyes.”  “Stay in a tight group.”  “Our germs can make them sick.”  “Maximum visit 1 hour.”  “Do not touch the gorillas or talk loudly.”

Bwindi Impenetrable Rain Forest.  In the local Lukiga language,  Bwindi means impenetrable and we soon discovered the wisdom of the locals as our tracking began. We climbed the Waterfall Trail which followed a vertical ‘path’ along a river gorge covered with towering tree ferns (hapus), massive old growth giants and thick vegetation; with orchids billowing from moss covered tree limbs.  Dramatic. Pristine.  We were left speechless as we gazed around.  Tears welled in our eyes knowing how old growth forests on our planet are as endangered as the gorillas hiding there.

Tangled vegetation and lush jungle draped over vertical slippery slopes and deep ravines.  Waterfalls give way to creeks and rivers swollen with the annual rainfall exceeding 2390mm rain/year.  When most of Africa’s forests disappeared during the last arid ice age 12,000 -18,000 years ago Bwindi was one of the rare places that persisted.  For the past 25,000 years the plants of the forest have been weaving themselves into a thick cover that protects and effectively hides 120 types of mammals including 10 primates such as  L’Hoest monkeys, red tailed and blue monkeys, black and white colobus with their long white tails, elusive chimpanzees with a slate of antics, baboons, and of course half of the world’s famous mountain gorillas.  Habitats range from lowland forest at 1160m to the rare Afromontane vegetation above 2600m.  This biodiversity hides 200 species of trees, 310 butterflies, 80 moths, and 350 species of  birds.  One just never knew what would come into view.

Three sparkling waterfalls provided a scenic place to catch our breath and soak in the rich oxygen air.  Up, up we went, step by step, scaling the side of the verdant mountain.  With no real trail we picked our way around stumps, over vines and slid through soggy mud.  Piles of droppings from wild elephants reminded us we weren’t alone.  Bright butterflies or birds would land near us, gently reminding us to absorb our surroundings as we climbed upwards.  Finally reaching the ridge top 4 hours later we surveyed the magnificent panorama in all directions.  Thick green old growth rainforest stretched for miles.  We excitedly followed the Gorilla’s droppings, broken twigs, partially chewed berries and their large previous night’s nests made of branches.  We were elated. Closer and closer we crept.  We all stared in disbelief as we heard the trackers report that the Rushegura group of gorillas had just headed down the other side of the mountain to get a drink in the creek below.  They were on the move.  We didn’t even have time to rest or eat our lunch – we had to keep going or we could lose them.  Sadly the two older members of our group decided to stop.  Enough was enough.  The rest of us piled straight down through the thick brush, not a semblance of a trail in sight. Upon crossing the mid calf creek below we stood in disbelief on hearing the news, “The cheeky buggers had headed up the side of the next mountain!”  “No!”  Absolutely exhausted we pushed on, drawing on every ounce of our energy towards our holy grail.  Two thirds up the adjacent incline, scratched and dirty, leaning on trees for support we heard the whispers of our ranger, “There they are!”

Like forgetting the excruciating pain of labor when gazing into your newborn’s eyes, all suffering was laid aside as we quietly sank in the grassy bamboo to observe our prize, the magnificent, imposing mountain gorillas.

The spell of our once in a lifetime encounter was broken by an ominous flash of lightning, as jet black clouds replaced sunshine.  A deep foreboding thunder rumbled in the distance.  As the gorillas continued up the second mountain in search of shelter from the rain, drops the size of quarters pelted us back into the moment.  Back down and across the creek, we literally tore through the thick underbrush, hands bloody, mud up to our ankles. 

On the ridge top we paused to shove a bite in our mouths and drink some water.  Beating the clock we realized that we had to keep going or we wouldn’t make it out of the forest by dark.  The torrential deluge welcomed by the forest soon turned our descent into a sea of slippery mud.  We had been the first of the group up to the top of the mountain and would be the last ones down, as caution prevailed.  Like an endless nightmare it only got worse as we picked our way down for hour after hour, trying to avoid breaking an ankle in one of the many hidden holes or falling down in the slick mud mixed with rocks and jagged sticks.  The rangers were extremely helpful, wanting to take 6 trackers up and get 6 trackers down in one piece.  In essence we melted into the rainforest, knowing that if we didn’t press on as it became darker the laws of Nature would prevail.  Walking the last hour along the now submerged rocky road in the pitch dark, every inch of us cold, dripping and shaking, we limped into our guesthouse.  Eleven hours of non stop tracking.  Damn.  We did it!   An adventure of a lifetime.  We were flying high.  Next time we go to visit gorillas they had better meet us half way!

Talking with the rangers the following day we learned that this is about as tough as it gets.  Only one other group was out longer.  Being further up the mountain when darkness descended, because the group refused to turn back without sighting the gorillas, they ended up in a precarious situation.  The concerned park officials sent rangers up with torches and water to help the bedraggled hikers down.  These are wild animals with large territories.  One never knows.  They bring the next days group up to the GPS location where the gorillas were spotted the previous day and track them from there.  Two trackers for each of the 3 gorilla groups in Buhoma leave at daybreak to try to narrow down the search.  When the wily primates come down the mountain following their favorite fruit or berries, people have had a mere 10 minute hike to see them up close.  The other group of hikers going out the same day as us were home by 2pm (we arrived at 8pm), with only 4 hours of tracking under their belt.  A recent email informed us that our R group has moved to within 2 hours of the gate.   Oh well, what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger!  At 61 and 54 we feel strong indeed.

Gorillas are the largest and strongest of all the primates but these passive vegetarians are also the most peaceful.  Once feared, portrayed in frightening roles such as “King Kong” these wise, powerful yet composed creatures have much to teach mankind about non-violence and coexisting on this planet.  Chimpanzees are claimed to be most closely related to humans but gorillas share 98.4 % of their genes with us.  The similarities of actions to humans is remarkable.  In fact watching them up close certainly reminds us of people we have known.  Just wondering what observations they have about us after we visit?  We were told it takes 3-4 years of daily visits by rangers to habituate a group to humans.  Day by day the men get closer, finally just hanging out with them imitating their actions, eating leaves, playing and even charging back to establish territory and trust.  Being able to get this close to a group of gorillas doesn’t just happen by chance.  Bottom line is that the gorillas are social and must trust us and enjoy the interaction, or the silver backs wouldn’t let us near. 

Most of the stable family group’s time is spent eating, sleeping, grooming, playing and traveling up mountains and down, in the up to 12 miles of their territory.  The silverback, requiring over 100 pounds of leaves a day, gets first crack at any food, allowing his ladies and young ones whatever is remaining.  After a 9 month gestation period mothers give birth to  single young or rarely twins.  Baby gorillas are nursed by their mothers for about three years after birth while sharing her nest for warmth; after which they start eating only plants like the adults, occasionally blowing their diet on a treat like slugs or their favorite delicacy, ants.  Females leave their birth group to join a male who can live up to 50 years, providing companionship and protection for them.  All the members of a group are close, with the infants getting used to the imposing silver backs from an early age.  These enormous males are often seen playing with the young, even tickling them with light branches.

Apart from humans, gorillas have no real predators aside from rare reports of attacks by leopards.  If threatened, adult gorillas, especially silverbacks, defend others in the group by screaming, roaring, beating their chest with cupped hands, and eventually charging if the threat is serious.  Research around tourist education programs in the wild indicates that gorillas demonstrate extreme tolerance of people as long as they are approached respectfully.  We were glad of this fact.

Bwindi Impenetrable Forest currently has 4 habituated mountain gorilla groups.  We tracked the Rushegura (“R group” 19 gorillas with one silverback).  The 2006 total population was about 340 gorillas living in 30 groups, up 20 individuals and three groups from the 2002 census.  Fewer than 700 individuals survive on the face of the planet, divided between Bwindi and Msghinga in Uganda, Parc National Volcans in NW Rwanda and the Congolese Viruna Mountains.  The mountain gorillas are supposedly protected in all countries from poaching and destruction of the rainforests they call home.  This is a losing battle, with the emergence of the Ebola virus (from fruit bat infection) killing over 5000 lowland gorillas in 2006.  Conservation efforts such as education (Uganda’s UWA friend-a gorilla program) and ecotourism tracking have proven successful, along with providing incentives and gorilla friendly alternatives for neighboring villagers. 

And so it goes…………………………………..Next month Queen Elizabeth National Park & south to the Rwanda border.  Until our next page let’s take time to learn about all the unique endangered species in Nature worldwide, slipping through our fingers as we speak.  Gone forever.  Share this website with as many people as you know.  We all may not be able to track gorillas in the mountains of Uganda’s Impenetrable Forest but we can all become aware of this rare primate’s plight.  We have much to learn from these powerful yet non violent cousins.  Knowledge is power and can help reverse this trend of environmental devastation, ensuring that our children and grandchildren may one day gaze into the eyes of creation itself.  Thanks for your help, one email at a time.  Keep Smiling!   Glad you stopped by.  Keep in touch!

(Check out our pages on Orangutans in Sumatra and Borneo.)  See photos below.