Hi I'm Danny! I'm travelling around the world! Follow me.
I've wanted to see Mountain Gorillas in the wild for so many years now. In yesterdays post our guides took us deep into the jungle and after a long trek we came face to face with these majestic animals.
The tracker signalled us to an area in the distance and we could see a Silverback Gorilla and his family laying around after a feed. The whole group were really chilled out and not at all bothered about our presence. You could tell that the family knew we were there, but were happy to lounge about.
We had to wear masks when we were in the jungle because the Gorillas don't have the immune system to protect themselves against human disease. If we passed on a cold it could be deadly.
It takes 3 years to fully habituate a gorilla. The Virunga national park rangers have been going to visit this particular family (as well as many others) over this 3 year period in order to get the gorillas used to us humans.
The result is that we can spend one hour each day with the gorillas without altering their behaviour, and without them being a threat to us, or us being a threat to them.
If we were to bump into an un habituated family of gorillas we would be warned immediately by the territorial silverback. We probably wouldn’t be beaten or injured, but he would show his presence and dominance and make us leave.
We got so close to this silverback that we could see his fresh battle wounds from fighting other territorial gorillas. Despite their immense power they are incredibly passive, kind, and well natured. Of course if they need to defend themselves or their families they can show incredible strength.
We saw a young gorilla that had been orphaned by his family when his mother rejected him. The Silverback here brought him up - it's a strange story because the silverback is supposed to be totally dominant. It's another sign of their placid/caring nature.
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Bonito's beautiful waters
The 2000 year old sinkhole | Underground Cave Diving | Untouched Blue Caves | Floating Down the River | Ziplines into crystal clear water | Bonito is absolutely Stunning | 50 SBD Giveaway!
Columbia & Trekking to the hidden city
First thoughts about Columbia | Trekking to the hidden city (Day 2) | Day 3 | Day 4 | Day 5 | Trekking to the hidden city (50 SBD Giveaway!)
The Pantanal Wetlands and Wildlife
My Trip to The Pantanal | Swimming With Caiman | Giant Guinea Pigs | Photographing Blue Macaws | We got attacked my Howler Monkeys! | 50 SBD Giveaway
