A Close Encounter with Ugandan Mountain Gorillas!

I have dreamt of seeing the mountain gorillas of Uganda up close for a very long time and finally the day this dream comes true has dawned.  Only a limited number of permits are  issued for this experience which lasts one hour with one of the habituated families.   Eight people are allowed to visit each family at one time and the permit you are issued will specify the family allocated. 

I applied for this permit almost a year ago to make sure I did not miss out on this experience of a lifetime.  I can hardly believe that I am finally here.  

My experience will be in Bwindi Impenetrable National Park, one of Africa’s more famous parks.  I leave very early in the morning (at 5 am) for the two and a half hour drive to park headquarters.  As dawn breaks, we approach the park and I am stunned at how dense and mountainous this jungle is.  I realise the park is aptly named and feel a little apprehensive about the trek ahead.  

This park is home to almost half of the world’s population of mountain gorillas and it is estimated  that about 340 live here.  The gorillas are found in just 2 other neighbouring countries, Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo. 

This park is reputed to have survived and thrived through the last Ice Age and has an incredibly diverse biodiversity. 

My visit is with the Bukuru family who currently have 4 silverbacks, 2 blackbacks, 3 females, and 2 juveniles in their group. A male juvenile is known as a blackback around 7 years of age and a silverback around 12 years of age.  I meet my fellow trekkers at the park headquarters, a couple from Denmark and 2 Swiss. 

We are given a briefing before we set off and our guide makes sure we have the right gear which includes a good pair of hiking boots, raincoat, hat and a packed lunch.  We are after all trekking in a rain forest that gets 2.5 metres of rain annually!He is not sure how far we may have to hike but it could be anywhere from an hour to 3 or 4 hours.   

We set off with our contingent of guides, trackers and  porters.  There are two guides with guns at the front and rear of our party.  This is in the rare event we have a close encounter with the wild elephants and wild gorillas in the park.  The guns will be fired into the air which will frighten away any wild animals who may decide to attack us.  This is no picnic after all..or a walk in the park for that matter.

Our walk is mostly downhill and I try not to think that we might possibly be coming back this way.  However, this must be our lucky day.  It isn’t more than 40 minutes into our hike that I hear the sound of branches breaking and our guides inform us the gorillas are not far ahead.  The gorillas are actually walking toward us and the trackers who have been out searching for the family early morning have located them in record time!

I cannot believe this. I had come mentally prepared for a hard trek, possibly in the rain in mountainous terrain for a couple of hours at least but we are almost here.  A shiver of anticipation runs thorough me.  

Soon it is time to discard our packs and our walking sticks which we leave behind.  Most of the guides will stay behind with our gear while we hike with just our cameras toward the gorilla family we have come to see. 

The family I have come to visit is called Butukura.  Before we set off we were given a briefing on each member and instructions on what to do and not to do as the case may be.  For example one must never look a gorilla in the eye if he is coming toward you!  You look down and crouch if necessary, letting him know he is the boss.

The first gorilla I spot is Rukumu, so called because of his disfigured finger.  She looks like she is giving me the bird, but that is how nature has left her.

I stare in absolute amazement. My first sighting of a mountain gorilla and it is a silver back.  I am not more than  a few metres away and the rest of the mountain gorilla family are scattered all around me.

The terrain we are in is hilly, thick with vegetation and quite muddy.  We are careful as we step through the bush our guide hacks through with his machete.  There are stinging nettles and other vegetation we have to be careful not to touch.  The guides are really helpful as they try and get the best sighting for us and clear the vegetation in the way.

My second sighting is of Obia, so called because of his penchant for punching people!  The guide has warned us about this but somehow I find myself just metres away from this blackback.  As I start taking photos, he gets up threateningly. The guide yells for me to move and in my excitement I lose my footing and fall down the slope pulling my guide down with me!  It is all rather amusing in retrospect but I almost got punched by Obia!   Ouch…that could have hurt.  In reality, all he wanted to do was play…

We continue to watch Obia from a safer distance and he continues to pose for us.  He is an absolute delight to watch and I can’t get my fill of this amazing animal.  He seems to love having us watch him and as I continue to watch he turns his gaze towards me and smiles.  Almost as if to say…I almost gotcha!

 

Then I hear the sounds of Twakire ( a juvenile) and Rukara one of the less dominant silverbacks in the family.  They are sneaking a quickie behind the bushes so to speak.  I just can’t believe the antics of this day.  Who would have thought we would actually witness gorillas mating! 

We are not able to approach them or take a photo that is worth sharing but the sounds I heard that day still resonate in my memory.

Over our hour with this family we see almost all of its members.  We watch the little juveniles at play, hidden behind the thick undergrowth and watch more silverbacks and marvel at this majestic beast. They are soo huge!

The hour has come to a close and it is time to leave.  None of us really want to go but the rules dictate that our visit with them does not exceed one hour.

The trek back is harder but we are high on adrenalin.  It is only a few days later I learn how lucky I have been with respect to my trek.  Some of my fellow travellers have had to trek from two to four hours just to find the gorillas and then have had to make it back in torrential rain. I thank the universe for being kind and for a magical day!

     I think that wherever your journey takes you, there are new gods waiting there, with divine patience - and laughter.  ~Susan M. Watkins