Gorillas in our midst- Volcano National Park- Prime Uganda Safaris & Tours Safari updates
Gorilla expeditions in Volcano National Park offer close encounters with
endangered gorillas thanks to effective community work. What a wonderful
adventure, Pushing aside a big branch, I step into a clearing and stand
face to face with Muninya, a 440-pound mountain gorilla.
He stares at me intently. We are about 15 feet apart, but it looks like
he could easily grab me with one of his long arms. “Huhh huhh huhh!”
grunts Muninya, and our Rwandan guide responds, saying the loud grunting
is a friendly call. I follow our guide and move off to the side of the
clearing. Soon all eight members of our group are perched on the edge of
the jungle glade. In addition to Muninya, we see 15 other gorillas —
five adult females and nine adolescents and youngsters. A pack of muscle
covered in blue-black fur, Muninya has the distinctive silver back of
an adult male. He has succeeded in attracting the females from other
groups in the park and is the chief of his growing family. Most of the
gorillas lie on their backs and doze in the sun. They have been busy
eating a breakfast of bamboo shoots and other vegetation since early in
the day, and now they are have a mid-morning snooze. Except for Kabatwa,
the mother of eight-month-old twins. She is trying to nap, but the two
toddlers climb on her chest and wrestle with each other by her head and
step on her face. Visibly irritated, she pulls them to her side and pats
them down, as if to say, “Settle down and rest a bit.” Quickly the two
little rascals are scrambling about again. They head for another
sleeping gorilla, but their mother, more forcefully this time, grabs the
troublemakers. She separates them, holding one with her hand and
another with her very dextrous foot. The gorilla group continues lazing
in the jungle opening, idly scratching their armpits. Through the
clearing is a view of the valley below and, amazingly, some houses are
visible. It is a Sunday and we can hear faint strains of church music.
Then Muninya crashes through the bush and sits right by the twins. Soon
the gorilla family wakes. Young mother Kabatwa flips her twins on her
back and, giving us a passing glance, clambers past us and goes into the
bamboo. The entire family follows and they nimbly break off the shoots,
strip off the hard outer shell and chomp on the juicy core. Gorillas are vegetarians.
An adult eats about 66 pounds of plants per day. They rarely drink
water because they get so much liquid from the plants, our guide tells
us. After spending an hour with Muninya and his family, we hike away
through the forest. It was a wonderful Gorilla Expedition in Volcano National Park.Uganda Safaris/ Uganda Safari News
Prime Uganda Safaris & Tours updates 2013
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