Walk on the wild side and visit Africa for a once-in-a-lifetime encounter with one of the rarest animals on Earth- the mountain gorillas. Over 1000 mountain gorillas live and play among the mossy undergrowth of the forest floor in three countries in Africa; Uganda, Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo. Adult males can behave aggressively towards any perceived threat, and mock charges and chest beating are common among un habituated gorillas.
For some silverback gorillas, getting up-close and personal with is not easy. You can witness this moving lifetime experience on a gorilla safari in Uganda, Rwanda or DR Congo. Though it seems to gets scary when you look into the pensive eyes of the mountain gorillas, your first instinct on meeting one up close would be to run. Never do that. Mountain gorillas take that as a threat and will possibly attack you, what you need to do is just sit still in a submissive pose and let them do whatever they want.
Sure, gorillas might be the next closest living relatives to humans after the chimpanzees, but you really wouldn’t want to meet one in a dark alley, let alone in their natural habitat, the tropical forests of Africa.
In reality, these primates are generally calm and non-aggressive, unless they are disturbed, and you really wouldn’t want to do that on your next primate watching safari.
So sit back in the comfort of your chair and watch these amazing encounters that people have had with some of the most beautiful creatures on the planet and marvel at the effect it has on them.
Like most wild animals, gorillas are notoriously shy creatures, able to hide themselves in the dense jungles of the forest and ready to flee to higher ground if they feel in any way threatened. So how come tourists can get within a few metres of them? And how come researchers, not to mention television documentary crews, are also able to get within touching distances of the great apes?
The answer lies in a process known as habituation. According to experts, “gorilla habituation is the term used to describe the methods used by scientists to bring gorillas and human close. Time is needed to change the way gorilla perceive humans.
Gorillas have different personalities, just like humans. Some may not be so welcoming as others, others may be playful and not shy –so it’s relative. When the animals linger at a safe distance, beating their chests in excitement and peering through the foliage to catch a glimpse of the intruders in their forest. Eventually, the animals lose interest and simply get used to the presence of observers, paying them little attention. The success of the process depends partly on the nature of the silverback, if he is a calm animal who habituates quickly, then so will his group. Some silverbacks never do accept observers.
People have a misconception of the gorilla’s behaviour; often believing them to be completely unapproachable, people now can discover that gorillas are friendly and happy to share the forest in the presence of people so getting personal with them is no longer a hassle.