It was the perfect place to film the daily lives of these gentle giants, but when you get close to gorillas, they can also get close to you. With a civil war still smouldering in Brazzaville, the only safe route into the northern Congo was via Cameroon, involving a charter flight and a three-hour boat journey in a giant, 12-metre canoe. As the voices of the customs officials faded into the distance, the sights and sounds of the forest either side of the river drew me in. I was already in gorilla country, but it would be another day's travel by truck, canoe and on foot before I was likely to get my first glimpse. Tired and sweaty, I reached Mbeli camp - four small huts and a tent in a tennis-court-sized clearing in the forest of Nooabale-Ndoki National Park, where I met gorilla scientists Richard Parnell and Dave Morgan. That evening, as we ate under a ceiling of stars, we heard the pant hoots of chim-panzees just a few hundred metres away. The hairs stood up on the back of my neck, and my excitement grew. The next morning, we headed out along a well-trodden elephant path. It was cool and fairly dark under the canopy~of leaves. I caught brief glimpses of a few birds flitting through the shadows. A flock of guinea fowl hurriedly crossed the path ahead. I kept alert, hoping to catch sight of last night's chimpanzees, or perhaps something bigger. I had already asked several field scientists what to do if I met a gorilla on foot. The chances were that it would hear me first and slink off unnoticed.But if I heard an alarm bark nearby, I was supposed to stop and give the animal time to leave. If a gorilla actually charged me, I was told to stay stock still, even if it came within a few feet. When it backed off, that was my cue to squat down, showingI posed no threat, and pretend to eat some leaves. Repeat charges are common and have been known to continue for several hours. In her book Gorillas in the Mist, Dian Fossey conveys just how frightening this is when she tells of new students having to return to camp to change their underwear after just such an experience. Full-on attacks are extremely rare, but not unheard of. Dave was recently charged and attacked by a silverback (a mature male) when returning to camp. Despite following the recommended procedure, he was bitten and beaten. Dave, who still works in the forest, put it down to the silverback having a bad day.
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