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http://www.nydailynews.com/lifestyle/travel/2008/07/06/2008-07-06_humans_meet_primates_in_a_wild_corner_of.html

Humans meet primates in a wild corner of Uganda

BY LAUREN LASCHER

Saturday, July 5th 2008, 4:00 AM

Mwirima clearly wants nothing to do with me, though I have traveled
6,000 miles to see him.

I stand 10 feet away and watch him eat intensely, and eat, and eat.
It's 9:30 a.m., breakfast time for this 500-pound silverback mountain
gorilla and his troop of 12 who live in southwest Uganda's Bwindi
Impenetrable Forest.

A not-very-picky herbivore, Mwirima munches loudly on leaves,
branches, vines; any vegetation within arm's length seems fair game.
Nearby, a juvenile gorilla rolls around and lies on his back, legs
spread, looking me straight in the eye. He is adorable, playful - and
a flirt.

I laugh at him and take the opportunity to move a bit closer, until he
stirs and instinctively begins to beat his chest - an unsubtle signal
that I am now on his turf.

Startled, I chuckle nervously, and our guide motions me to retreat
slowly. Mwirima grunts, and I notice he now has only one eye on the
task at hand, which is stripping tree branches and shoving them into
his mouth. The rest of his attention is on me.

I am in awe of the sheer size of Mwirima, the 33-year-old leader of
the troop, who, despite the thicket of silver hair on his back, truly
looks like a Ugandan version of King Kong.

The rest of the gorillas are not as massive, but they're equally
mesmerizing. They stare back intensely with dark brown eyes while
nonchalantly performing their everyday routines - eating, grunting,
rolling around, playing in the trees and stopping to relieve
themselves, then moving on to find more food.

A SURVIVORS' STORY

To take this unconventional vacation to see the critically endangered
mountain gorillas up close, I boarded a plane from JFK to Entebbe,
Uganda, and then a four-person chartered propeller plane into the
Bwindi jungle near the border of Congo and Rwanda, where all of the
world's 720 mountain gorillas live.

Uganda is emerging as a major destination for ecotourism as one of the
few places in the world to track the gorilla, a rare and elusive
animal and the largest of all ape species.

Despite the conflicts in Rwanda and Congo, in which people - and
gorillas - have been killed, I was assured by a trusted friend living
in the region that our destination and activities are considered safe
for tourists.

The gorilla troop we were assigned to track is named the Rusbegura
Mountain Gorilla Family, and is one of three troops in the Bwindi
forest that have been "habituated" - conditioned to the presence of
humans. Every day, groups of up to eight visitors track one of the
families and are able to observe and interact with them in the wild
for one hour.

David, our Uganda Wildlife Authority guide, is 25 and has been working
with the gorillas since 2003. Before beginning the trek, he gave our
group of three a briefing.

Two gorilla trackers had gone ahead of us earlier that morning, and we
would soon start moving in their direction. The time needed to reach
the gorillas, anywhere from 15 minutes to several hours, depends on
the distance the troop traveled the night before and the vegetation
along the way.

We would also be traveling with two guards armed with rifles, just in
case trouble occurred during the trek - something we are told is "very
rare." At first, it was a bit unnerving to be walking with men in
uniforms carrying guns, but we came to realize it was how tourists are
protected in this part of Africa.

A porter was assigned to carry our backpacks when we found the
gorillas, because once we started to approach the family we were
prohibited from carrying anything except a camera.

As we hiked along the flat terrain, the scenery seemed almost
mystical, with burnt red earth underfoot and the most vibrant green
all around. During this time, David filled us in on the habituation
process. He explained it as a time-consuming and collaborative effort
over the course of two years.

About 18 trackers are assigned a gorilla family and rotate shifts,
visiting the group every day, rain or shine. Trackers sit in the
bushes, break branches and pretend to eat the vegetation, scratch
themselves, make soft grunting sounds and otherwise mimic the
gorillas' behavior.

In the beginning of the process, the animals are territorial; they
sometimes charge the trackers, get angry, beat their chests and
occasionally even scratch or hit them. It is imperative that the
trackers don't run, so the gorillas learn they are not a threat.

As David spoke, I began to feel unsure about what we were doing.
Should we be interfering with nature in this way? But as I was told
throughout the trip, the gorillas cannot be conserved without
ecotourism; it guarantees their survival. The gorillas will grow and
prosper, be cared for when they are sick - and shielded from poachers.

"Because of the money ecotourism generates," said David, "it is in
everyone's interest to have the gorillas live long and healthy lives,
reproduce, and be around for years to come."

SEEING EYE TO EYE

With trackers following a jungle trail of dung, broken vegetation and
other telltale signs, it had only taken us about an hour to find
Mwirima and his troop. Now, David motions that we only have a few
minutes left with the animals.

As we begin our departure, I catch the eye of a regal female sitting
under a small tree, picking and eating the leaves. She looks at me and
allows me to get close and take her picture. When she's had enough,
she gets up and cavalierly walks right by me, and I move to get out of
her way.

I see a mother in a nearby tree with an infant draped around her
shoulders. The infant then climbs the branches and vines around it,
swinging as if on a junglegym.

Finally, I glance at Mwirima to say goodbye. He seems to be
indifferent to the fact that our "breakfast date" is over. He gets
back down on all fours and leisurely glides out of sight.

I try to comprehend the wonder of this experience: I am in the midst
of 12 apes that live in the wilds of Africa, and they do not run from
me, or charge me, but instead look at me, tolerate me and perhaps even
see me as close to being one of them.

The gorillas, who share 97% of our DNA, seem to have come to the
intelligent conclusion that they can share the jungle with us, and
that it's okay, because we don't mean any harm. We are merely stopping
by to watch, and learn.

IF YOU GO ...

The Association of Uganda Tours Operators' Web site (www.auto.or.ug)
lists its members; recommended are Bunyoni Safaris and Wild Frontiers.
The Uganda Wildlife Authority's site (www.uwa.or.ug) is a good source
of information and the place to buy permits if you organize your own
trip.

A three-day gorilla-tracking safari is about $1,000 per person,
including transportation into the jungle, accommodations and permits.
Operators can also arrange other types of safari tours. For more info:
Uganda Tourist Board, 011-256-41-342196; www.visituganda.com.

Airlines that fly to Entebbe International Airport near Kampala, the
capital, are American Airlines, operated through Brussels with
Brussels Airlines; British Airways through London, and KLM through
Amsterdam.