Gorillas

The Virunga Mountains, a range of six extinct and three active volcanoes that borders Rwanda, Uganda and the Democratic Republic of Congo, are home to the Virunga mountain gorillas. With less than 400 members, the Virunga mountain gorilla is the most endangered subspecies of the eastern gorilla, which, in turn, is the most endangered of the two species of gorilla. This subspecies of gorilla is currently classified as "critically endangered", which is a serious classificaiton as the only two more serious classes are "extinct in the wild" and "extinct".

Of the thirty family groups into which these gorillas are divided, there are currently seven that can be visited. Eight permits are available each day for each group to tourists who wish to trek the gorillas.

This weekend, we decided to visit the Susa group, which is the second largest group of mountain gorillas in the world, and the largest which can be visited. The group, which consists of 38 members, including four silverbacks and eleven babies, inhabits the slopes of Mount Karasimbi, which makes it the most difficult of the groups to visit.

The morning started early with the alarm clock at 5:00 a.m. and meeting the guides at the tourism office around 6:30 a.m. At the office, we had a briefing about the Susa group, during which we learned that we were to stay seven meters away from the gorillas (and eight meters away from Hudson before he finishes his morning coffee), as illustrated below.
After the briefing, we drove toward the base of Mount Karasimbi to begin the trek. The volcanos and the hills and the fields and the sky were beautiful as the sun began to light up the area.
Our hike first led us through fields and villages and past huts and homes. After approximately forty-five minutes, we reached the border of the Parc National des Volcans. Here we took a moment to catch our breath and take in the incredible view behind us.
We then continued into the jungle. We continued to gain altitude as the path became smaller and less recognizable. For much of the way, our guide was using a machete to cut back over grown vines, bushes, grasses and trees.
After four hours, our guide turned quietly and pointed to a tree in the distance. Barely distinguishable, we could see a black shape in the tree - a gorilla. We continued toward the shape, chopping trees and vines and bushes, and climbing over and through the jungle, most of the time walking on fallen trees and brush rather than solid ground. Before I knew it, I was almost face-to-face with a tremendous gorilla. The Bradt guide to Rwanda describes the experience well:

"It is difficult to describe the simple exhilaration attached to first setting eyes on a wild mountain gorilla. These are enormous animals: the silverbacks weigh about three times as much as the average man, and their bulk is exaggerated by a shaggily luxuriant coat. And yet despite their fearsome size and appearance, gorillas are remarkably peaceable creatures."

As amazed as I was by a single gorilla, I soon realized that we were in the presence of much more than just one of these giant, magnificent creatures. As I stood there, I noticed leaves rustling, branches falling, bushes moving. I sook realized we were right in the middle of dozens of the group members. It was incredible. These tremendous, mythical creatures surrounded us and moved around us freely. We wandered throughout the group, making our way into clearings that held as few as a single gorilla and as many as a dozen. Some stared directly into our souls; some playfully ignored us; some walked directly toward us. It's impossible to describe how incredible it all was.

I also managed to take two brief videos, one of a female gorilla eating and one of a young gorilla trying to climb a branch. Right now I can only upload the first video, but hopefully I'll be able to add the second one soon.

Because gorillas face so many threats - disease, guerilla violence, poachers, etc. - conservation laws allow trekkers to spend only an hour with the animals each day. So, when our time ran out, we trekked back down the mountain, out of the jungle, through the fields and past the village and eventually made it back to Kigali.