Gorillas Day One

Sorry no pictures yet, hopefully later today if the internet will cooperate. The experience today was amazing - worth traveling to the other side of the world for. Seeing these animals in the wild is not like the zoo - not even close. See Karen's descriptions below. More later.
-Jon

Gorilla day! So, we got moving before sunrise (again) and were at the National Park office (where you get briefed about the rules) around 7:45. In the Bwindi Impenetrable Forest, there are three groups of gorillas that are habituated to humans as well as a few wild groups for a total number of about 300, or half of the world’s population of mountain gorillas. The three groups have long Swahili names, so am going to refer to them by the first initial for ease. Group M is the smallest group at ten members and the one they have been tracking the longest. Group H is the largest at 22 members and the group we will be seeing tomorrow (hopefully!). Group R has 18 members and is the family that we followed today. The park issues eight passes for each group so only 24 people a day can go see the gorillas and the time is limited to an hour to minimize disruption. The park sends out trackers each morning to find the groups and they radio to the guides. They can be anywhere in the jungle so you can walk up to eight hours to see them and, of course, it is not guaranteed that you will see them at all. They are continually moving as they eat up to 60-80 kg (120-160 pounds) of vegetation, leaves, and fruit daily. The groups are families consisting of a dominant male (the silverback), several immature males, females and babies.
At the park headquarters, you are given an introduction, hire porters to carry your backpack plus lunch and water, and head off into the forest.

Impenetrable is definitely a good adjective for the forest. There are trees, of course, vines, and very dense underbrush with small plants and ferns. The ground has fallen leaves and is wet, so it is slippery. The walk was uphill and within ten minutes, sweat is pouring down my back. You are required to wear long pants and long sleeves so it is extra hot. Thankfully, the porters help with an extra hand to pull you up the hill. I was out of breath and feeling out of shape within about twenty minutes, although I am proud to say, that I was not the most pitiful in the group. There are some paths but very quickly, we were off the path following our guide who was hacking through the dense vegetation with a small hooked machete. Lucky for us, we walked only a little over an hour, when we found the gorillas.

It was amazing. Really, I cannot describe how intense and unforgettable the experience was. They are all grazing on leaves with younger ones wrestling and playing. The mothers are clearly watching over the small ones. The faces, expressions and hands are amazingly human. It is impossible to see these creatures and not believe that Darwin was absolutely right. They are definitely interested in us. They are very agile (unlike us) through the dense forest and can even climb up trees. They definitely know that you are there. While I was watching two very small young gorillas play and tumble on the hill near me, a larger juvenile ran past me and gave me a little shove on the shoulder. The silverback is huge and his strength is apparent. They all break tree branches and vegetation easily as they move through the forest. They move through the forest, pausing to much on leaves, as we struggle to keep up. Fortunately, they were moving downhill and back towards the starting point. The hour was up way to quickly and we headed back down towards the main camp.

We definitely needed to shower and then this afternoon, we are going on a cultural walk. Tomorrow, we will be back again and hope for another astounding experience.
-Karen