People have asked me why it was so important to me to see the wild mountain gorillas. There is no better answer than this quote from Dian Fossey, who lived with and studied the gorillas from 1966 until her death in 1985. Although her work was centred in the Rwanda, the gorillas range throughout the mountain forests of Rwanda, DRC and the Southwestern tip of Uganda, where I was travelling.
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| Fortuitous Indeed! |
Not only did I grow up fascinated with her story and also with the work of another famous primatologist, Jane Goodall, I also was heavily influenced by many other images and scenes from Africa at an early age. For example, our family regularly read the Book of Knowledge, National Geographic and watched the series Mutual of Omaha's Wild Kingdom. All of this early exposure imprinted on my brain a map of what was to come.
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| Jane and her friends. |
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| Marlin Perkins: an American zoologist and host of the show, "Mutual of Omaha's Wild Kingdom |
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| Jane and her chimps! |
But why did I feel a need to some. It is not an inexpensive endeavour. Gorilla permits cost $600 US per day. Part of this fee is turned over to the park for conservation measures and most hotels also give a percentage towards conservation measures and/or community support. The Wild Mountain Gorillas are an endangered species. They live in only three places in the world. There was no time like the present to come! We are all responsible for our own destiny and we are in control of making our dreams come true. So here I am!
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