Gorillas!

Taylor and I awoke to the sound of colobus monkeys calling to each other in the light of the nearly full moon as it set over the mountaintops.  We took it as a good omen. We dressed and headed to breakfast, meeting our fellow trekkers in the open air dining room. Everyone was excited as we received instructions from one of the rangers about the rules of tracking and observing the gorillas. It was all pretty routine, no food or drinks, no smoking, oh and if they charge you just stand still and take photos.  That last instruction was greeted with  nervous laughter from the group. We gathered up our courage and our packs, rented gloves from our guide and hopped back in our trusty van to drive to our starting point. Trackers had gone out earlier in the morning to locate the gorilla troops. Our guide Steven, who has been tracking for 23 years was with us in the van.  We were not sure what to think when he and Blackie started laughing after he got a call on his radio.  As it turned out, it was good news.  The trackers had found our community of gorillas just a short distance from the road. We parked the van, grabbed our walking sticks and proceeded off the edge of the road and down a steep hillside passing earthworms the size of your thumb wriggling through the damp leaves rotting on the jungle forest floor.  Within minutes we could hear the grunts of the silver back and smell their pungent musky odor. Excitedly, we left our walking sticks and packs as instructed, grabbed our cameras and prepared to be amazed. 
The group consisted of a silver back, an immature male and two females with babies. One of the females had a large healing wound on her head. We asked Steven what had happened and learned she had been in a fight with the immature male over food. The group was peaceful and relaxed as we observed them going about their daily routine.  They were napping, feeding on plants and wood from the trees.  The silver back moved from the ground to a coveted spot in a tree with a broken branch.  He gnawed on the end of the branch for awhile then tossed a few pieces down to the immature male below.  When he had his fill,  he came down and the immature black back went up to enjoy a snack. We were able to stand quite close to the animals and several times they came even closer as they moved from place to place.  We could hear them grunting and when we first arrived the black back let out a long, loud fart that even made our guide laugh. This group was quite relaxed around humans, it's one of four in the Ruhija area that has been habituated to humans. The habituation process takes three to four years with trackers following the group day and night until they can approach the gorillas without eliciting fear.
We watched the group until they wandered further into the forest then hiked a bit ourselves in search of the other silver backs and their entourage. The hiking was challenging on a steep slope with heavy undergrowth and poor traction.  The only trail was cut by the first guide with a large machete. There were some vines and trees that could be used as hand holds but you had to watch for thorns on some of the trees. At one point I reached for a tree and slipped,  sliding about 10 feet down the hill before coming to a stop in a slightly flatter spot. Luckily, it was actually easier to get back to the group from there and aside from some mud on my pants I was fine.
The second troop had both silver backs in close proximity. These two were both younger than the one we had seen first but just as impressive. The first came down to the trail and did a little charge which our guide assured us was just a small charge,  not really serious.  He just "wanted to see what we would do".  After we all stood our ground,  against normal instinct,  he settled in and sat with his arms crossed surveying the scene. He was impressive standing about 6 feet tall and likely weighing close to 600lbs. The second group was more hidden in the trees with a mother and baby, two immature males and the two silver backs. I ended up at the back of the pack as others wrangled for better positions for photos. As I stood watching both the gorillas and the people there was a rustle in the bushes behind me.  One of the trackers was with me and made a few low grunting sounds as the silver back emerged from the undergrowth so close to us I could have reached out to touch him. In awe at the moment,  I fumbled to take a photos, all of which are a bit blurry. It was incredible to be that close to such an amazing and impressive animal. He did not seem threatened or threatening, in fact he seemed more interested in finding another good vantage point for surveying his group while enjoying a snack.  Shortly thereafter, our viewing hour expired,  we hiked back up the short but steep hillside to our cars. Our guide Steven sporting a broad grin as we all chatted with each other about the incredible experience we had just shared.
We returned to the lodge to relax and review our photos. Taylor and I still wanted to walk a bit since we had been prepared for a longer trek.  We decided to go on a walk through the surrounding community accompanied by Sam, a teacher at the orphanage school at Ruhija.
More to come.....