Dem Rep of Congo: Kahuzi-Biega NP – Lowland Gorilla Tracking

There are 3 species of gorilla in the world – Mountain Gorilla in Virunga Mountains, Western Lowland Gorilla in the West Africa (Cameroon, etc), and Eastern Lowland Gorilla. The latter lives only in southeastern Democratic Republic of Congo in the Kahuze-Biega National Park and nowhere else (only a small portion of the park is available for visit, the rest is still under rebel control and in a state of military conflict). The park is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Eastern lowland is the rarest gorilla of all and only about 200 individuals remain in 12 families in this park and some more outside. Eastern lowland gorilla is the biggest in size, the silverbacks are just humongous. It’s also less hairy then the mountain gorilla, and the silverback’s head is shaped noticeably differently. Once again, I got lucky to track a very large family of 25 animals. Gorillas were on the slopes of steep mountains in very dense tropical vegetation among tall trees. The silverback led the entire group up the slopes, there were a lot of young babies, including one 1-month old! Many gorillas showed prolific climbing skills, going very high up the trees, and swinging on branches.