Gorilla Trekking, a Biologist’s Wet Dream

Trekking mountain gorillas in the Bwindi Impenetrable Forest. I can’t image a more glorious….. mysterious….. magical sentence.

Recalling the memories gives me chills:  The hot, sticky hike up the mountain, behind guides clearing a trail with machetes. The moment we heard their haunting calls through the dark forest. The first glimpse of the ginormous silverback male, as he led the family group into view. The newborn clinging to her mother. The “children” somersaulting down the hills, and climbing over their patient father. The realization that these intelligent animals, with their incredibly human-like characteristics, understood that we meant them no harm, and that connection with us was on their terms. Oh, and the smell of the silverback’s fart. Yep, it was a doozy.

But I’m getting ahead of myself.

Mountain gorillas are critically endangered

Most Americans became aware of the plight of mountain gorillas through Dian Fossey. Her book (and eventual movie), “Gorillas in the Mist”, described her experiences living with and studying the gorillas, and the lengths to which she would go to try and protect her beloved family group from poachers.  She was found murdered in her rural Rwandan hut in 1985, likely by poachers. Today, the Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund International continues to work to protect her beloved mountain gorillas.

Mountain gorillas, a subspecies of eastern gorilla, are only found in the Bwindi Impenetrable Forest in Uganda, and the Virunga Mountains between the Democratic Republic of Congo, Rwanda, and Uganda. They nearly went extinct in the century after their discovery in 1902, and while their population is currently around 880 and growing, they are considered to be critically endangered.  These shy animals are hunted for fur, meat, trophies, and traditional medicine, and the infants are captured for the pet trade.  But the biggest threat to mountain gorillas is habitat destruction, as forests are felled to make room for farms to feed a growing human population. The encroaching human population also spreads diseases to our gorilla cousins, and political instability in the area continues to make conservation difficult.

Using Tourism to Fuel Gorilla Conservation and Community Development

The fact that the mountain gorilla population is increasing is truly a conservation success story. Mountain gorillas don’t survive in captivity, so our only hope of saving these animals is in the wild. Governments in the area have banded together to establish parks to protect gorilla habitat, and set and enforce rules to end poaching and trade. But, of course, that’s not enough.

Mountain gorillas live amongst some of the world’s poorest people, who unfortunately still live without basic “luxuries” like clean water, a flushing toilet, and electricity. I wouldn’t care about mountain gorillas either if I couldn’t feed my family. So for conservation to be successful, people’s lives need to be improved.

The solution?  An economy based on gorilla tourism. Provide a source of income dependent on a healthy forest and a thriving gorilla population. Change the equation so that a live gorilla is worth more than a dead gorilla.

It turns out that mzungus, like myself, will pay to see living gorillas in the wild, fueling an economy based on sustainable ecotourism. Governments charge tourists a fee for trekking permits (ours were $600 each), which is partially shared with the local communities to help build roads, schools, and health care facilities, and to provide clean water and sanitation. Education programs help locals find strategies to provide for their needs while living alongside the gorillas. Parks even hire former poachers to be guides and porters, providing these men with a source of income that is dependent on a healthy gorilla population. Plus, they really know the gorillas and how to find them!

Preparing for the Trek

The night before our trek, we stayed at the Buhoma Community Rest Camp in the Bwindi Impenetrable National Park. It was a long drive from Kampala, and we didn’t arrive until after dark. We slept under a mosquito net, listening to the sounds of the jungle. In the morning we discovered that the gravel trails between the private cabins and shared bathroom were adorably named after local wildlife. After a (hot!) shower in the shared bathroom, we enjoyed a fresh local breakfast on the lodge’s open terrace, overlooking the forested mountains.

Upon arriving at meeting point, the guides made sure everyone was wearing appropriate clothing and that we were physically fit enough for the hot, strenuous hike. They also checked our immunization records, including for yellow fever, and made sure that no one was currently showing signs of an illness.

Next, we were given instructions for the trek. We were supposed to stay in our group, close to our guides, who carried weapons to protect us from aggressive wildlife (and presumably humans who were up to no good). When the gorillas were nearby, we should avoid making loud noises or quick movements, and no flash photography. We were also told to keep at least 20 feet away from the gorillas. (The gorillas, however, could choose to avoid that rule.) We shouldn’t eat or drink around the gorillas, to avoid spreading diseases. We were even told to put down our walking sticks when the gorillas could see us, as they may mistake it for a weapon.

Finally, we were organized by which family group we would be trekking.  There are approximately 400 mountain gorillas in Bwindi, including 12 family groups that have been habituated to humans, a process that involves exposing gorillas to small groups of people for a few hours a day for up to three years. The remaining groups are left alone in a conservation strategy best described as “covering all of the bases.” Only eight people a day are allowed to visit a habituated family group, severely restricting the number of permits available for trekking. Luckily, Hubby and I were the only trekkers in our group.

Gorillas, Here We Come!!!!

The Bwindi Impenetrable Forest is aptly named. The mid-morning tropical sun disappeared as we stepped under the tree canopy, and I immediately understood why the locals call it the “Place of Darkness”. The old growth forest is a tiny remnant of what was once a much larger forest, rich enough in biodiversity, including threatened species, to be classified as a hotspot.  As we started up the mountain I was glad I had opted to hire porters to carry our gear. (I also liked providing the men with a day’s wages.)

Our guide led the way, carving a path through the forest with his machete. Occasionally, he would converse with a tracker that was sent out that morning to find the gorillas. They knew where they had left the gorillas the day before, but that was about it. The Bwindi is large and dark, and finding gorillas isn’t guaranteed.

Along our journey, our guide told us about the gorilla family we were hoping to see, the Habinyanja family, including their names and ages, the group’s social structure, and how the silverback came into power. Mountain gorillas live in families of up to 20 individuals, headed by a silverback male who mates with the females. Other males in the group, including an elderly silverback and a juvenile, submit to the more powerful male. Female offspring often join another family when they reach reproductive age, reducing the effects of inbreeding. Male offspring, however, are often seen as a threat, and are usually forced out of the family to wander the forest alone, or in a group of other “left over” males. And if a male successfully challenges the silverback, he may kill the infants so that he can mate with the females.  It was like listening to the gorilla version of “Days of Our Lives.”

Then we were abruptly told to stop. The gorillas were nearby….We could hear their grunts and groans echoing through the mountains. Holy bejeezus it was happening!

Our guides reminded us of the rules. Yep, got it. Let’s do this!

But we didn’t need to go any further. It turns out we were literally surrounded by gorillas. I’m getting chills thinking about it!!!

One by one they came into view, moving through the forest and grazing, as gorillas apparently do. Several females walked right in front of us, and one plopped down into the bush for a snack. The guide pointed to another female with a two-day-old newborn clinging to her fur, and we watched, fascinated, as she cuddled the infant the way a human mother would. Two of the “children” decided their father, the silverback, made an excellent jungle gym (pun intended), and then launched into what I assume was a game of tag that involved chasing, acrobatics, and ultimately a wrestling match. I even think I heard them laugh. (Gorillas are easy to anthropomorphize.)

The silverback was ginormous. I mean, he’s really big. He gave us a good stare, I assume to establish his dominance and ensure we meant no harm, and after we (thankfully) passed the test, he continued on as if we weren’t there. We watched in awe as he climbed a medium sized tree, hung himself from a branch by one arm, and shook the tree until it came down in a loud, thunderous boom, creating a tiny hole in the canopy that immediately allowed sunlight to penetrate the forest floor.

And then he farted. Actually, I’m not sure that word sufficiently describes the gas that guy passed. The sound lasted a good twenty seconds, but the odor hung in the air for several minutes. It was a gold-medal winning performance, to be sure. I still couldn’t believe I was close enough to a wild silverback mountain gorilla to smell his fart!

The gorillas exhibited decidedly human-like behaviors, like playing, cuddling, communicating, and grooming. They even held hands. Gorillas, however, spend around half of their waking hours eating. Anthropologists have been trying to define what makes us human for decades, discarding their hypotheses as the behaviors, such as tool making, cooperating, and even killing, were observed in other animals. A current hypothesis involves cooking with fire, which results in more readily available calories, allowing for the development of a big brain, and freeing up valuable time for other tasks.

As our hour  neared its end, the gorillas decided it was time to rest. One by one, they laid down in a forest clearing only a few feet from us, almost appearing to pose for our cameras. Even the guides and porters took the opportunity to snap pictures of the photogenic family.

And then, too quickly, our time was up.

Waking from the BEST DREAM EVER

As we hiked out of the forest back to the road, we were giddy with excitement. The experience was surreal, and felt like a dream almost as soon as it was over.

We purchased our souvenir Christmas ornament, a hand-carved gorilla, so that every year as we decorate our tree we can reminisce about the magical forest and its human-like inhabitants. The few dollars put a huge smile on the face of the adorable, enterprising young man who made the carving.  In that moment, everything was right with the world.

Our time with the gorillas in the forested mountains was one of the best experiences we’ve ever had. The icing on the cake was knowing that the money we spent was being used to further gorilla conservation efforts and to improve the lives of the people in the surrounding communities.

Have you experienced wildlife up close and personal? Share your experiences in the comments below!