Climb
mountains
in search of the
world’s biggest
primate
The Bwindi Impenetrable
Forest lies on the border of Uganda
and the Democratic Republic of
Congo, and gorilla families can
move between the two countriesFacing page:
Tea-picker Jenina at work at
the plantation at Bwindi Lodge.
One of the reason tea plants are
grown here is to form a boundary
between the forest and the village;
while gorillas can sometimes be
seen here, they don’t like the taste
of the leaves and don’t tend
to move beyond the fieldsIF ANYONE IN SEARCH OF THE GORILLAS OF
Uganda wants reassurance for their mission
before they enter the jungle where these
creatures live, they won’t get it from its name:
Bwindi Impenetrable Forest. The previous
day’s storm has cleared and the cloud over the
mountains has lifted, revealing their impossibly
steep slopes, thickly swathed in vegetation.
Leading the small band of hikers is Stephen
Bwigyirire, who has made the trip more than
a hundred times. Ahead of him is a guide with
a gun. “If an animal is not used to people,
it is often aggressive,” he says, with a nod
towards his colleague. “That is why we have an
aggressive animal in front ourselves.” He laughs
and strides up the mountain with the ease of
someone strolling to the shops for a sandwich.
Tree roots have, in places, formed convenient
natural stairs in the path, but it is still hard
going, the trail crumbling away at points,
and mud sticking to hiking boots in unwieldy
clumps. It is hard to pay much attention
to anything but the next step, but all around is
a proper Lost World: trees towering above us, thecanopy breaking to reveal the valley far below.
After three hours’ climb, the news coming in
on Stephen’s walkie-talkie is good. Our advance
party of trackers has found the family we’ve
been seeking: the Mubare gorillas are ahead.
To get to them, we learn the true nature of the
Impenetrable Forest. Leaving the path, we hack
through the jungle with machetes, slithering
down one valley and hauling ourselves up the
next. Too often we realise too late that the branch
or vine we’ve grabbed to keep from falling is
attached to neither tree nor ground.
After a final burst of scrambling, we are with
them: three gorillas loll in a clearing, nibbling
branches. Stephen points to the male. “That is
Maraya,” he whispers. “The biggest gorilla in
the forest, 250kg. If he approaches you, sit down
to show you are not fighting.” Maraya gives us
the side-eye for a while, and briefly gets up on his
haunches to reveal an enormous, muscled chest,
but is otherwise uninterested in his audience.
It takes two years to get gorillas this used to
humans. The two females are so relaxed they
lie down and snooze. Maraya squats by them,THE WINTER LIST UGANDA
90 October 2019