Gorillas in Guatemala

This is an engaño. There aren’t gorillas in Guatemala. In fact, outside of the Peten, my wildlife sightings can be chalked up to one deer, one squirrel, and one opossum. I was excited about the deer, ambivalent but surprised about the squirrel, and initially scared to death by the opossum since I found it at night on my porch.

The short video below was actually shot in 2005 in Rwanda. During our Cape to Cairo trip, Jenna and I went mountain gorilla trekking in the Parc National des Volcans, nestled among the Virunga volcanos. There are only less than 700 mountain gorillas left in the world, located in the area where Rwanda, Uganda, and the Congo meet. There are none in captivity.

Each day a total of 32 visitors are granted a permit (for a substantial entrance fee) to visit 1 of the 4 gorilla groups allowed to be viewed by tourists in the Parc National des Volcans. Eight people are randomly assigned to each group. We were chosen to see the 11-member (at the time) Sabinyo group, which includes, Guhonda, the largest silverback mountain gorilla in the world, weighing in at over 500 pounds.

Accompanied by our guide, Pastuer, and a group of semi-automatic rifle touting guards (there to protect us from poachers), we set out into the thick Rwandan jungle in search of the gorillas. Pastuer was in radio communication with another group of armed guards whose job it is to remain near-by the gorillas 24 hours a day to protect them, and they directed us as to where the Sabinyo group was currently residing.

After nearly two hours of hiking through the dense jungle, we came upon the gorilla group in a bamboo grove. In a more open area a minimum distance of seven meters away from the gorillas is supposed to be maintained, but since we found them in a bamboo thicket, we were allowed to get closer. Visitors are permitted to spend exactly one hour with the gorillas, watching them eat, play, and interact in their natural environment.

It is an amazing nearly inexplicable experience being so close to these enormous human-like beasts. The hour felt like just minutes. Towards the end of our time, we were all engrossed observing a recently born baby. Its awkward gangly body didn’t seem developed enough to support its large head as it stumbled around. As it playfully inched towards us, there came a point when it was too close for its mother’s comfort. She snatched the baby away and charged us.

Now I don’t think the video clip fully conveys the intensity of the situation. A huge angry gorilla was coming straight for us, and my heart was racing. I was standing right next to Pastuer as the gorilla reached out with her menacing hand and grabbed his leg. But if Pastuer was frightened, he certainly didn’t show it. He calmly motioned to us to move away slowly and quietly from the gorillas, while he “told” the gorilla to back down through grunts and hand signals. Add “gorilla” to the list of languages I would like to learn.