I came to Africa for Gorillas.
I imagined what it’d be like to be face to face with a creature so similar to us, yet so much stronger and more powerful. I daydreamed about the encounter consisting of the great Silverback noticing my presence, pounding his chest, waiting to see what I was all about. I’d pound my chest as a response, and he’d grunt as a sign of respect, brushing past me into the jungle, into the Impenetrable Forest it calls home.
That was the plan at least.
When it comes to tracking the endangered Eastern Mountain Gorillas, research typically provides two options: Uganda, in one of two national forest areas, or Rwanda, at twice the cost. Turns out, there’s a 3rd option, the one you don’t tell your family about until you’ve survived: The Congo.
The Democratic Republic of Congo is not in the best of states at the moment. Militia groups are running rampant in the region in and around Virunga National Park, home to a large number of Gorillas, as well as an incredible amount of biodiversity. Random villages are being attacked, Ebola is spreading, and Measles has made a comeback. The area in the Eastern DRC, north of Goma, has been under siege on and off for many years, despite heavy UN presence in the area. It would not be considered a “safe” place to visit. However, there were two reasons the visit was worth the risks involved, one of which was the chance to get up close and personal with the mountain gorillas.
We woke up early to make our way to the ranger station in preparation for our trek into the jungle to find the great beasts. A family of 25 or so was meant to be having their brunch about a 2-hours walk into the forest. We set off in a group of 4, with armed rangers at the front and back, as we hacked our way on and off trails through the deep greens of the steep hills surrounding. The trees changed as we climbed higher and higher, the beating sun only noticed when we would emerge briefly from the dense tree cover. The excitement far outweighed the nerves from the potential danger, as I was ever so close to the dreams/reality crossroads. A little over an hour and half in, sweating from the climb, we came to an abrupt stop. The rangers that sleep in the forests and keep a constant watch on locations of the gorilla families informed us via walkie-talkie that we’d arrived. It was time to creep slowly and quietly towards the gorillas. As nonchalantly as one can imagined, we strolled right in front of a big mama chomping on some leaves. We stood 10 feet in front of her as she sat almost campfire style, discerning the next leaf to chew. She looked at me, assessed I was cool, then moved on to the others in the group, until she saw something she didn’t like. Her head froze, her brow furrowed, before she began to toss about. I stood in shock as she got up and crawled no more than 6 inches past me, then disappeared into the jungle. In 30 seconds, my experience was complete. I could have turned around and caught the next flight to California, and would probably still be in a state of shocked euphoria by the time I landed.
Instead, we spent the next hour watching a couple dozen gorillas meander about the jungle, breaking branches to snack on, swinging about in the trees, wrestling with each other, and lounging on the forest floor. After nearly being rolled over by the mama, we turned around to see the big silverback, looking frumpy as he surveyed his family around. I thought the mama was big, but the silverback, with its massive head and hands, and sun glowing on its famous backside, exuded an aura as though one backhand would send us flying to the bottom of the mountain. Thankfully, he didn’t mind our presence one bit, meandering his way through the thickets to find the next branch to eat. We watched another silverback, not the dominant one, laying on his back, hand over his face, like he hadn’t had his morning coffee yet. He turned onto his belly, leaned on his elbows, and asked us, with his facial expressions, “What the hell do you want?”
The facial expressions and mannerisms of the gorillas is fascinating in the sense that they are so similar to ours. The fingers, the flared nostrils, the scratching of an itch, the chewing, and, most profound, the deep stares into your eyes. There is, without a doubt, a connection between our two species unlike any other in the animal kingdom. You get the sense that we both know what the other is thinking, based on the facial expression, with little interpretation required. It’s an instinctive understanding that wholly captivates. Aside from this clear connection, the gorillas are a joy to watch. Adolescents play fight with each other; babies ride on their mama’s backs before hopping off to grab a stick to split open. They waddle back and forth trying to multitask between eating breakfast and not tripping over the web of vines in front of them. They climb tree branches out to the edge to see if their weight can bring the tree down. If a show of dominance is required, a chest pounding as quick as a hummingbird’s flutter and as intimidating as a lion’s roar reverberates through the trees.
At one point, we stood a few yards in front of a big female minding her own, munching on a stick of bamboo. A pre-teen stopped to say hi, before continuing on his way, while a young male in the background began to make his way forward until changing his mind and wandering off in another direction. Just then, a mom and baby came into the picture from the left, eyes wide, fluffy and curly hair all matted as if it had just woken up from a nap. The baby hopped off the mama’s back, in search of a piece of bamboo half its size. Giant stick in tow, the baby tried unsuccessfully to catch up with mom, as the ground level growth was enough to slow its progress. Watching this all unfold turned my awe and intimidation into pure joy. I giggled to myself and did all I could to hold back from joining the fun, though my tree-climbing would need some work.
Our one hour with the gorillas felt like both a lifetime and the blink of an eye. As the time came to make our way back down the mountain, we began to forge a new path. Led by our machete-wielding ranger, we hacked our way through the jungle back to camp, avoiding the forest elephants hiding in the depths, both very thankful we only encountered one kind of gorilla along the way.