Fly with me

Gorillas In The Mist, the book and film, showed how the animals were threatened by loss of habitat, poachers and disease. Miss Fossey was murdered by poachers in 1985. Some 25 years later, at the morning briefing, Florence, our chief guide, advised, “If you have a cold or flu, please let us know. It can be a real risk to the gorillas.” No one with a cold or flu or signs of other transmittable illnesses are allowed to trek and while this might seem rather surprising, this is the extent to which the gorillas are now protected. Incredible, especially considering there are 880 mountain gorillas in the world, half of which are in Uganda. And this, of course, makes the experience all the more special. To think that we were embarking on a journey to see such a rare species in their natural habitat ... I shivered even as the sun shone down.

After a two-hour trek, so vivid and varied that without proper concentration I’d have fallen or slipped or knocked myself, we finally reached the gorillas — the Mishaya family. The patch of grey and slightly silvery hair on the gorilla’s chest gave him away, the father of the family. He lounged between two branches atop a tree, chewing, looking only at the meal surrounding him. He inspected the leaves for a quick moment, tugged and then pulled them off with ease. Half would be in his mouth and the rest would soon follow as he lazily but efficiently chewed away. His attention was soon diverted by his child on her mother’s back as she moved to another tree on the right. The baby climbed up the tree to the first branch and glanced our way, with a little more wonder than her parents.

When the silverback did not move for some ten minutes, our guide began to cut through the bushes and branches to pave a way for us behind the tree, from where we could see the elder child, perched on a slightly lower branch of the tree behind where his father sat. The Mishaya family was much bigger, but the rest were out of sight. The elder child stood still, and then behind us, the Mishaya father grumbled as he moved and swung his way down the tree, finally done with his relaxed luncheon. I wondered if he we might be able to watch him run; instead, when we moved to the other side of the bushes, he was sitting silently, observing, glancing at us intermittently. I expected to hear a burp right about then — perhaps I’d already missed it. This was, of course, the perfect moment for photographs.

And as the snaps were shot, he looked directly at the camera on cue, a little lethargic after a filling leafy lunch, yet enjoying the celebrity status. There were times when his gaze rested elsewhere, being stubborn, but it was worth waiting for him to look our way, as he most certainly did each time. “Can I go a bit closer?” I asked the guide. She smiled with a firm “No”.

The next thing we knew, he was lying on the floor in an inebriated state. And then, just as we were about to head back, the Mishaya wife ran to us, stared, eyes wide open, and then ran through the small alleyway on our right — time for her afternoon nap? Well it was certainly time for our lunch. We walked back to a pathway half an hour away where we sat and out came our lunchtime snacks. The trek back was fulfilling, and the prospect of getting to the Clouds lodge and having a hot shower quickened our pace, but a tad less thrilling than the journey there. We were, however, filled with awe at what we’d just seen — metres away from one of the most endangered species in the world, meeting their gaze as they sat there in such a wild and beautiful environment. An extraordinary experience.

— Meera Ashish is a columnist, editor and writer. She is also founder of Next Generation Schools NGO, Uganda www.nextgen-schools.org. Follow her @meeraashish