Wednesay July 29 2009

We are just back from gorilla treking at volcano national park in the northern province, just at the intersection of Rwanda, Uganda and congo. We got up at 3:30 to leave at 4:30, travelling 2 1/2 hours to reach the national park. It was a long day which only ended when we returned to kigali at around 6PM. Denise and I were alternately exhausted, and elated.

How to describe the gorillas and the gorilla trek? To begin with, they are mountain gorillas. I didn't realize what that meant, namely that the live high on the mountains and you have to trek up the mountain to get to them. There are several bands of trackers, each of whom follows one or antother of the seven or eight bands of gorillas, and get to know them. Our particular band consisted of two silverback males, 2 females, 2 subadults, and 3 young babies. (I may not have it exactly right, but that is the flavor of it.) One of the silverbacks is dominant, the other subordinate. In this case the subordinate male lost his left arm up to the elbow in a trap. He is OK now, and seems very happy, chewing on his celery leaves and leaving family management to the boss.

We took pictures but no picture can really capture it; at best it can serve as a reminder. I thought that people took too many pictures, to the point that it interfered with the actual experience.

Of the many pictures in my memory two are representative: the nondominant male sitting under celery branches stuffing his mouth with grass and celery, totally absorbed in the act of eating; two of the young babies climbing up a small tree and swinging from the branches. The branch broke under their weight and they tumbled to the ground, not hurt but perhaps a bit astonished. They had a small play wresting match after the fall, and then went over to clamber on the belly of the dominant male.

Watching them I saw them as like us, and not like us at all. Humanity is not alone, nor is humanity unique. We are one of many groups of primates, and the primates are one of many forms of life. The gorillas foster a radical decentering from human consciousness to life consciousness. That is the best I can do for now.