The morning mist clings to the ancient trees of Bwindi Impenetrable National Park like a soft blanket, and you adjust your mask one more time. It feels strange to wear it in the wild, but this simple piece of cloth protects some of our closest relatives on Earth.
Mountain gorillas share 98% of our DNA they can catch our colds, our flu, even our heartbreak if we’re not careful.
Even after the world began healing from COVID-19, this rule remained intact, no human visits a gorilla family without protection (a mask).
A ranger, weathered and wise like the mountains themselves, checks his list and smiles.
“Today, you visit the Happy family,” he says, and there’s warmth in his voice like he’s introducing you to old friends.
Because that’s exactly what they are to him. These rangers have watched baby gorillas grow into mighty silverbacks, witnessed tender moments between mothers and their young ones, and learned to read each animal’s unique personality like pages in a favorite romantic book.
Every gorilla has a story. There’s the playful young male who loves to show off by beating his chest, the gentle mother who cradles her baby with surprising tenderness, and the wise matriarch who watches everything like a bodyguard with eyes full of wisdom.
They have names, preferences, moods, and habits just like your friends, family, and neighbors back home.
The trek ahead could be a gentle walk or a mountain climbing adventure nobody knows for sure. Gorilla families don’t follow human schedules.
They wake up where they feel like it, wander where the best food grows, and rest when they’re tired. Sometimes you’ll find them after an easy hour long stroll. Other times, you’ll climb steep hills and push through thick jungle for three hours or more, your legs burning and your lungs working hard in the thin mountain air.
Every ranger carries a sharp machete called a panga, and yes, there’s a gun too, an AK-47 most times. Don’t worry, the panga is for cutting through the incredibly thick forest (they don’t call it “impenetrable” for nothing), and the gun is for protection against poachers who would harm these gentle giants, or the occasional forest elephant who might wander too close.
As you hike, your ranger will casually share amazing secrets about Gorilla life. Gorillas are nature’s vegetarians, spending half their day munching on leaves, stems, bark, and fruits. An adult male can eat up to 40 pounds of plants every single day! They have special teeth for grinding tough plant material, and their big bellies help them digest all that fiber. They’re like living lawn mowers, but much more polite.
Every evening, Gorillas build fresh beds from branches and leaves, high up in trees or on the ground, just like Chimpanzees. Baby Gorillas sleep curled up with their mothers until they’re about three years old. Imagine tucking yourself into a nest of soft leaves every night under the stars!
Mother Gorillas carry their babies for about eight and a half months, almost as long as human mothers. Baby Gorillas are tiny, only about four pounds when born, and stay close to their mothers for three to four years. Mothers only have babies every three to four years, making each little one so precious.
Through the green curtain of leaves, you see them. The family is having breakfast, and it looks remarkably like a family picnic.
The babies tumble and play while mom keeps a watchful eye. Teenagers show off and tease each other. And there, magnificent and calm, sits the silverback, the father and protector whose silver grey back stripe marks him as the family leader.
Your heart pounds, but remember the rules, if the silverback looks your way and beats his chest or charges, don’t run. Instead, crouch down, look at the ground, and stay very still. You’re showing respect, like bowing to a king. Never stare directly into their eyes , to a gorilla, that’s like shouting, “I want to fight!” Instead, you become small and quiet, a humble visitor in their living room, which is rightfully their space.
Watch as they groom each other with gentle fingers, removing insects and debris from each other’s fur. See how the babies play just like human children, wrestling and chasing each other around trees. Notice how the mother gorilla cradles her infant, her massive hands surprisingly gentle and careful.
But here’s the most important rule of all as a visitor, you only get one magical hour. Sixty precious minutes to witness this incredible family going about their daily life. When your ranger makes a soft gasping sound, your time is up.
This isn’t meant to tease you noooooo…it’s to protect these amazing creatures from getting stressed or sick from too much human attention.
As you reluctantly leave the gorilla family behind and begin your journey back through the misty forest, you carry with you something that will last forever the memory of looking into the eyes of our closest animal relatives and seeing intelligence, gentleness, and a spark that feels remarkably familiar.
You have just experienced one of the most incredible wildlife encounters on Earth, and you’ve helped protect these magnificent creatures by visiting them respectfully. The money from your trek helps fund conservation efforts, pays local communities, and keeps rangers employed to protect gorilla families from poachers.
In that single magical hour, you’ve not just watched gorillas, you’ve become part of their story, and they’ve become part of yours.
Thanks to Change a Life Bwindi and Uganda Wildlife Authority for this wonderful experience.
Look out for the complete personal experience in the next piece…….
