Down the mountain and graduation

      


     While we were admiring the big guy's waking up process, we became aware that there was a little guy goofing around.  He was a mix of curiosity and fear.  He clearly wanted to approach us but he was also afraid of us.  I was surprised when our guide told us he was six years old--he appeared so young to me, and his behavior appeared  obviously juvenile even to an amateur like me.  We were told that gorillas aren't considered mature until they are at least 12 years old.  There was also a mom carrying a tiny baby around, but we only got glimpses of them, because she was very protective.  I didn't get a decent photo of them.
     I was surprised that by far the most approachable of the gorillas were the silverbacks.  They literally couldn't care less.  I figure they are so confident of their ability to handle anything that comes along that they simply are not afraid.  There were four silverbacks in this group, including the sleepy guy you've already seen.  But there was also this guy:

I learned that Dian Fossey developed a way of finding how to tell one individual from another and recording the individuals.  She drew the wrinkles on their noses, and even now, nose drawings are used to distinguish one gorilla from another.
     In my sentimental way, I was secretly hoping that the gorillas would give some indication of cameraderie, or at least recognition, but no, this was the only guy who actually so much as looked at me.  Their behavior to tourists was the closest thing to being invisible I've ever experienced.  The gorillas were just completely indifferent.  I'm sure they behaved differently toward people they knew and liked, and I found myself wishing I was one of those.

 I think of this big silverback as a "zen gorilla," because he gazed off to some undefined beyond and maintained this posture for an impossibly long time.  A penny for HIS thoughts!









And here is big Nyakagezi himself, the alpha male and leader of this group.  He is 36 years old and has a King Lear-ish sadness about him, because it won't be very long before he is supplanted by one of the younger and stronger young silverbacks who are simply biding their time on the fringes of the group until they think they can beat him in a fight and chase him away for good.

Nyakagezi

 

 

 

 

 

 

Well, I was simply mesmerized.  That's not a good enough word but I can't think of a better.  Here are a couple photos of one happy trekker.  Each photo depicts one great ape and one pretty-much-ok ape.

 





















Our hour was up altogether too soon, and down the mountain we trekked, first through the grassy jungle type environment, and getting progressively less jungly and more agricultural the farther down we went.  As we approached the parking lot, I was thrilled when our guide told me he was proud of me and how fit and determined I was.  He had been worried in view of my obvious seniority over the other three trekkers in our group.

      We came back and had a graduation ceremony!  The four of us felt very accomplished indeed, and it was the best graduation ceremony I'd ever experienced.
     Here is my graduating class, from left, Benedict, a Ugandan photographer, Marie, a Belgian living in Dar es Salaam, me, our chief guide, Jackie, and our second guide. 

My diploma