At the suggestion of a good friend, I have decided to add a weekly favorite photo to my postings. Most will be of either wildlife or places of stunning beauty with a short article on the photo.
The first is a photo from what I rate as my best ever travel day, viewing the remarkable and endangered mountain gorillas in East Congo. I rate this experience as the best of my top ten African travel wonders. Only 700 of these extraordinary primates remain though the efforts to conserve them has improved in recent times. The countries of Rwanda, DR Congo and Uganda have all been savaged by war in the last twenty or thirty years at the expense of the lives and habitat of these intelligent beings.
The entry Gorillas in the Mist details the journey to see the gorillas.
Wednesday, July 30, 2008
Photo of the Week - Mountain Gorilla
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8 comments:
Yes indeed very remarkable view. I watched on TV about gorillas in East Congo, about how they destroy the crop and how they are hunted by the locals.. Their behaviour is much akin to human behaviour, yet they are eaten by human. It's a pitiful sight.
It is a really tragedy with these gorrilas. And it is not the only one endangered speceie unfortunately.
I can't wait to visit the gorillas. It seems like an amazing experience!
@eunice & @journeyetc: It is a tragedy that these wonderful primates have become within a few hundred of being extinct. Let's hope that the tourist dollar gives enough for the local authorities and the world in general to protect and grow the population of these superbly intelligent animals.
What a great picture and a great moment captured! Going on a Gorilla tracking tour is something I've always wanted to do. I'm hoping if more people share their experiences it will help with their conservation. My university professor was Birute Galdikas (one of the Leakey's angels along with Dian Fossey), and oh the stories she shared about day to day life living, tracking, and growing to love these and all primates.
@pokin: What a privelege that must have been to be taught by one of "Leakey's Angels"
Did you see the article today on CNN about the discovery of thousands of more gorillas in Congo? It's fabulous news!
@theresa: No I didn't see the news. I found a CNN link at http://edition.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/africa/08/05/congo.gorillas/index.html with the news plus a couple of photos and video. The story pertains to the slightly less endangered lowland gorillas (as against the mountain gorillas) but it is still fantastic news and a stunning find.
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