One of the last sanctuaries of the mountain gorillas
The last remaining Gorilla beringei beringei, also known as mountain gorillas, live in the extreme northwest of the country, in the Volcanoes National Park. Blacker and more powerful than their cousins of the plains, these giant apes can measure up to 2 m high and weigh nearly 250 kg. Despite their impressive stature, they are peaceful and extremely sociable animals that live in small groups of about ten individuals. The young and the females are subjected to the authority of a dominant male easily recognizable thanks to the silver tint of his coat. It is at the age of about 15 years, at the time of their sexual maturity, that the fur of the male gorillas is tinged with gray hairs on the back. As benevolent leaders of their families, the "silverbacks" are responsible for ensuring the safety of their group and supervising the search for food. Gorillas spend more than half their day eating. They eat mainly leaves, but also berries, bamboo shoots and eucalyptus bark. According to the King Kong myth, gorillas are aggressive animals, capable of fighting to the death. In reality, the dominant males are more like phlegmatic patriarchs who are content to keep a sleepy eye on their dissipated offspring. When two tribes cross paths, the chiefs look at each other, shout authoritatively, beat their chests... and then go their separate ways. The most serious conflicts occur when a lone silverback comes to provoke the dominant leader of a group in order to take his place. Although these confrontations are rare, they can lead to violent fights. In the Volcanoes National Park, twenty gorilla families share a territory of 160 km2. Only twelve groups are accessible to the public, the others being reserved for researchers or remaining in the wild.
An unforgettable encounter
The entrance to the Volcanoes National Park is in a small mountain village called Kinigi. It is thus at more than 2 200 m of altitude and in the frozen air of the early morning that begins this unusual adventure. Most of the gorilla families are located several kilometers away, so it is sometimes necessary to walk through the jungle for hours. In groups of up to eight and accompanied by an experienced ranger, you'll hike up steep and sometimes muddy trails. You have to climb again and again, until your head is in the clouds because the mountain gorillas live at an altitude of more than 3,000 meters. The physical effort is intense but thanks to the exceptional view on the Virunga volcanoes, the fatigue is quickly forgotten. Faced with the grandeur of the forest, the man feels so small that he becomes silent. Then suddenly, a crackling sound is heard, that of a walkie-talkie. It is the trackers. They left before sunrise, they have spotted the group of gorillas and indicate to your guide the direction to follow. The walk continues, the heart beating, then with a gesture, the ranger imposes silence and immobility. Finally they are there and observe you with their big black eyes. The dominant male (the famous silverback) looks at you, distrustful, but the ranger gives him a reassuring grunt, "we are friends". For security reasons, it is forbidden to approach less than 7 m from the animals, but even at this distance the show is fascinating, especially when the baby gorillas get involved! Mischievous kids, they chase each other by jumping from one branch to another before falling to the ground to roll in the high grass. The adults, on the other hand, are dozing or delousing themselves, unperturbed by the presence of their human visitors. It is incredible to see how close their expressions and gestures are to ours. After an hour of enchantment, the visit comes to an end. Some are moved to tears. They have just accomplished the dream of a lifetime. Meeting mountain gorillas in their natural environment is a rare and poignant experience. A unique moment for which you will have to pay $1,500.
An endangered species
The Gorilla beringei beringei is an endangered species. According to the latest census in 2019, only 1,063 mountain gorillas remain in the wild in the forests of the Virunga massif. Although this figure is considered worrying by scientists, it has almost doubled in ten years, proof that the protection measures taken by the various governments are bearing fruit. It must be said that since the beginning of the 20th century, these giant primates have had to face many misfortunes. First, they have seen humans progressively nibble away at their habitat, destroying bamboo forests to transform them into farmland or mining. Then, they have been victims of human madness, collateral damage of the wars in the Great Lakes region of Africa. During the course of history, several confrontations have forced the civilian population to take refuge in the forests of the Virunga massif. Terrorized, the men went deep into the jungle, trampling on bamboo shoots and spreading infectious diseases to which many great apes succumbed. During the Rwandan genocide of 1994, Tutsis tried to escape the massacres by hiding in the gorillas' territory. Starving, they began to hunt the giant primates, causing their population to fall even further. But all this is nothing compared to the poaching that almost killed the entire species. In the 1970s, thousands of mountain gorillas were exterminated. Mainly slaughtered for their meat, their corpses were also sold as trophies or decorative objects in markets for tourists. Some believed that their skulls and hands had magical powers and medicinal properties. Babies were captured alive to be sold to European zoos or used as pets. Officially, the hunting of mountain gorillas has been prohibited in the Virunga region since 1920, but until the late 1990s, the practice remained common. Underpaid, some park rangers were willing to be bribed by poachers, agreeing to look the other way for a handsome sum of money.
Dian Fossey, emblematic figure of gorilla protection
Without her, the mountain gorillas of Rwanda would probably have disappeared, exterminated by poachers. The American primatologist Dian Fossey has devoted twenty years of her life to studying and protecting them. In 1963, this occupational therapist decided to leave the United States for a six-month trip to Africa. During a stopover in Rwanda, she discovered the great primates for the first time. In the heart of the jungle, she spends entire days observing them, fascinated but also revolted by the fate that is reserved for them. Upset, she returned to America with the firm intention of coming back. This is the first time that the author has ever written a book on the subject of "The Art of the Creative City". She then devoted herself fully to the study of mountain gorilla behavior, while preparing a doctorate in zoology. Over the years, she managed to become totally accepted by several gorilla families. She befriended a young male named Digit, who saw her as a surrogate mother. Thanks to her major discoveries on the physiology and communication modes of great apes, Dian Fossey is recognized by the international scientific community. Her work is relayed worldwide and she regularly makes the front page of major magazines. This popularity allows her to raise funds for the protection of gorillas. She then surrounds herself with rangers that she pays to track down poachers and destroy their traps. In revenge, they execute and dismember Digit, the primatologist's protégé. Mad with grief, Dian Fossey decides to resort to extreme methods, not hesitating to have the poachers tortured or even to kidnap their children. Nicknamed Nyiramachabelli, "the woman who lives alone in the mountain", the ethnologist maintains difficult relations with the local population. She does not hesitate to dress up as a witch to frighten the inhabitants and dissuade them from entering the gorillas' territory. She paid for her commitment with her life. On December 27, 1985, the primatologist was murdered in her hut with a machete. The culprit will never be arrested. The book of her memoirs Gorillas in the Mist was adapted into a film starring Sigourney Weaver in 1989. The resounding success of this film contributed to making Dian Fossey's cause even more popular and to maintaining international pressure on the governments of Africa's Great Lakes to ensure the protection of primates.
Gorillas at the centre of Rwandan politics
Today, the Rwandan government has a zero tolerance policy towards poachers. For more than a decade, every effort has been made to protect the mountain gorillas and thus attract tourists and their currency. Numerous awareness campaigns have been conducted among the communities living near the Volcanoes Park. Since 2005, the State has even paid them 10% of the revenues generated by the park. These populations are also the first to benefit from the economic spin-offs linked to the increase in tourism in the region. It is therefore in their interest to work for the conservation of the great primates. To reduce the number of poachers, the government has found a solution: offer them positions as rangers, which are better paid and more secure. In any case, trophies are out of fashion and gorilla hunting is no longer profitable. The great primates are no longer targeted by poachers' traps but are sometimes captured instead of other animals such as antelopes. To raise funds for the protection of the gorillas, the state organizes an official ceremony each year called Kwita Izina. The newborn primates are given names and can be symbolically adopted by generous donors. Gorillas are Rwanda's main tourist attraction and are particularly attractive to wealthy Europeans able to pay the $1,500 permit fee. This exorbitant fee clearly demonstrates the government's desire to make Rwanda a luxury destination.
