Tuesday, February 23, 2016

World on Tuesday



Mountain Gorillas in Rwanda

There are not a lot of mountain gorillas left in the world, maybe only as few as 800, freely roaming in the thick forests of Rwanda, Uganda and Congo.
We started our trekking in the Volcanoes National park in Rwanda at an altitude of 2500m. The gorillas seem to enjoy the thin air.


The bush is thick with stinging nettles, the slopes are steep and sometimes muddy.
We were accompanied by an armed guide, in case a buffalo would cross our way or a furious elephant.
I was busy clinging to my camera. We felt like Diane Fossey who lived in that area for many years protecting the gorillas and was murdered in 1985... but that is another story.


A beautiful landscape.
And finally we spotted this:


The tiny hand of a two week old gorilla baby.


Safe in his mother's arms.


The leader of the family, a silverback male gorilla. They are called silverback because of the grey fur on their back and hips - a sign of their age and maturity. They decide on resting time, feeding trips etc. This one was about 200 kg and came surprisingly close to us.


This particular family had many toddlers who were busy playing.




A magical moment looking at each other.


Visitors are allowed to stay exactly one hour with the gorillas, the rest of the day they are not to be disturbed. But what an unforgettable hour .
Mountain gorillas are still under threat by poaching(!), and diseases ( if a visitor has cold or is ill he or she will not be allowed into the park) .
They are magnificent animals and with the restricted tourist visits they are well protected in Rwanda.


Many thanks to our wonderful and supportive porters, they pushed and dragged us up and down the mountains and stayed cheerful all the way.

Our World Tuesday
Our World Tuesday Graphic











23 comments:

  1. Heute entdeckt. Ein ganz toller Blog. Nicht der ewige Einheitsbrei. Werde sicher öfter vorbeischauen.
    Liebe Grüße
    Vera

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  2. I couldn't agree more with Jojo above! More please! This is so fantastic and something so many of us will never experience! I can only imagine the high altitude as I recall when I hiked the Inca Trail to Machu Picchu the elevation was a real bitch. Just wonderful Karen!

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  3. How absolutely delightful! What a privilege to have done and seen this. And particularly to have done it with a caring organisation that respects the privacy and downtime of the gorillas. The photo of the tiny hand is adorable, as are the portrait shots. Magical. Thank you so much for sharing them.

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  4. Oh my what an unforgettable, once in a life time experience CC, the shot of the first glimpse of that wee hand is sublime, j'adore! We're you using a long lens, surely you couldn't have been too close?

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  5. Oh my what an unforgettable, once in a life time experience CC, the shot of the first glimpse of that wee hand is sublime, j'adore! We're you using a long lens, surely you couldn't have been too close?

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    1. We actually came quite close or better they came very close to us! I was using a long lens on the first day but changed to a smaller one the day after.

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  6. Was für großartige Aufnahmen, Karen! Wie nah du dran warst, unglaublich. Hier sind die Bilder noch beeindruckender als auf Instagram.

    Die Mutter lässt zurückgrüßen, sie freut sich immer wieder ;-)
    Ja, es geht schon wieder besser, merci!
    Stimmt, das Sortieren der Bilder hat ziemlich gedauert, aber wenn ich jetzt etwas suche, dann finde ich es sogar ;-)

    Hab's noch schön heute!

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  7. What an amazing adventure!

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  8. Ich bin ganz begeistert von diesen schönen Bilder, es muss fantastisch sein diesen wunderbaren Tiere so nahe zu sein.
    Liebe Grüße, Patricia

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  9. What an experience and what beautiful photography of the Gorilla family ~ glad they are protecting them ^_^

    Happy Week to you ~ ^_^

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  10. What an amazing experience and your photos are wonderful! My favorite is the one of the baby in the arms of its mother. That face is so adorable!

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  11. What an amazing Gorilla experience and fantastic that tourist numbers are limited, I just loved the photo of the baby Gorilla's hand. As usual you have taken some stunning photos, it must be really tricky trying to walk through the jungle with camera ready - you did well :)
    Thank you for following us round Myanmar, as you know it is not easy getting wifi, it's so lovely to be back and to catch up with your posts!
    Wren x

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    1. It was fun seeing your pictures on instagram and following you around. Myanmar is such a beautiful country. Would love to visit the north- but it is not considered safe for traveling.

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  12. What a fabulous experience!!! Thanks for visiting and commenting on my Photographic Journey blog post about Budapest! Soon I'll be posting about our trip to South Africa!!! Have a great day!

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  13. You have such wonderful captures.
    I am in love with the little hand you captured in light.

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  14. Ohhhh, my heart. Your travels have me completely engrossed. Just love them all.

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  15. Fantastic photos, especially the tiny hand. And the porters look wonderful.

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  16. Fantastic photos, especially the tiny hand. And the porters look wonderful.

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  17. Wow, am envious you got to see the gorillas in their own environment! And you're an excellent photographer:)

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