A close encounter with gorillas

Aug 16, 2009

ENOCK Asiimwe, a resident of Nkuringo, knows the meaning of the word ‘bwindi’. It means darkness. But when we walked into the heart of Bwindi Impenetrable National Park, we discovered what Asiimwe did not tell us before setting off for our expedition.

By Gerald Tenywa

ENOCK Asiimwe, a resident of Nkuringo, knows the meaning of the word ‘bwindi’. It means darkness. But when we walked into the heart of Bwindi Impenetrable National Park, we discovered what Asiimwe did not tell us before setting off for our expedition.

Bwindi is so steep and thick. The experience of viewing gorillas at close range is memorable, but manoeuvering through the thicket and the steep terrain is not a piece of cake. This is because parts of the forest can only be penetrated by crawling, not walking.

I was part of a team of four reporters who responded to an invitation from the Uganda Wildlife Authority (UWA) to view two groups of gorillas; in Nkuringo and Nshongi, that opened to tourists on June 1, 2009. Nshongi has the largest group of gorillas in Bwindi.

When we made a stop-over at Kisoro, the chilly night reminded me why the former districts of Kigezi (Kisoro, Kabale, Kanungu and Rukungiri) are referred to as the ‘Switzerland of Uganda.’

The early morning mist blew from the beautiful mountain tops of Muhabura, Gahinga and Sabinyo into Kisiro town. This did not stop us from mounting a historical expedition into the homeland of the treasured gorillas living 37km from Kisoro. After climbing the rolling hills and turning so many times, we started our expedition at Nkuringo, before continuing to Rushaga to track the Nshongi group.

At Rushaga, it was a hide-and-seek affair as the 34 Nshongi gorillas played hard to get, but the excitement of an encounter with the rarest mammals, kept us searching for three hours in the thick forest.

Our persistence paid off as we discovered the secrets of the largest gorilla group. Tindatine, a charming female gorilla in Nshongi, behaves like some human beings I have interacted with. She is an attention-seeker. Unlike her colleagues, Tindatine boldly displayed her skills of tree climbing, at times sitting on branches, while picking fruits. She looked at us with inquisitive eyes.

Benjamin Bayenda, who has been habituating (making gorillas get used to human presence without losing their wild character) gorillas for the last two decades, said Tindatine is a fearless gorilla.

“That is why we gave her the name Tindatine,” says Bayenda.

“She is so interesting, sometimes she comes a few metres away from the trackers.”

Another gorilla hidden in thick green vegetation below our feet kept on grunting. Was it scaring us away or communicating to the other gorillas to keep their distance? I wondered.

Bayenda assured us that we were safe and urged us to remain in one small group instead of scattering.

Bayenda said the hidden gorilla was Nshongi, an alpha male who protects the group from intrusion and harm.

“He is the leader of the group and disciplines errant members. It is normally the strongest and intelligent males that command the group,” Bayenda said.

According to Bayenda, Kakono, a silver back male who is disabled in one arm, will probably never lead the group.

Kakono is one of the four silver backs, but the rest are ahead of him in the pecking order with Nshongi at the top of the pack.

“The males keep close to mothers and infants,” says James Busiki, the sector manager of Nkuringo.

“It takes sometime for trackers to see the mothers and infants in the early stages of habituation.”

This, Busiki said, shows that gorillas protect the vulnerable in their group. “It is similar to what humans do when it comes to children and pregnant mothers,” says Busiki.

A few metres from Nshongi, two young gorillas treated the team to acrobatics. They were briefly interrupted by Kakono, who had lagged behind the 34- member group.

Accompanied by Lillian Nsubuga, UWA’s public relations manager, we managed to see nine of the gorillas. It was a moment to be remembered for life.

The clouds were gathering fast and it was time to end the show. Bayenda decamped because gorillas were supposed to spend one hour with the humans. In a few minutes, the rain came down and ‘baptised’ us for entering the ‘club of gorilla trackers’. This was a landmark for the four of us. We managed to track two gorilla groups in two days.

The previous day, we had made a stop-over and ascended to Nkuringo. It did not take long to encounter the Nkuringo gorillas because they occupy private land at the edge of the park. With the help of the gorilla trackers and guides, we found them in a eucalyptus plantation.

First, Safari, the alpha male, also a silver back, showed up, but moved fast to the top of a cliff. The rest followed. But Kwitonda, a mother of twin gorillas, ended up being the centre of attraction when we caught up with the group later.

She sat in the middle of the group carrying her little bundles of joy around her belly, the way humans do. The gorilla provided a show for only about an hour. They later melted into the forest.

Dr. Kholoud Porter, a tourist from the UK, was amazed. He said the world has many wonders and the gorillas are one of them. “It is a memorable experience,” she said.

Nsubuga told us that we had seen some of the only 700 gorillas remaining globally. She said half of the global population lives in Bwindi, while the rest occupy the Virunga that straddles Mgahinga (Uganda), Rwanda and the DR Congo.

As we drove back to Kampala, I looked back and saw the undulating hills that we had conquered to discover the secrets of Nshongi, but I was happy for having been among the first tourists to view this group. The intending tourists will only walk in our foot steps.

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