Touched by a Wild Mountain Gorilla

[cthulu2016]

A hauntingly beautiful video.

A gorilla family goes for a stroll through a human developed area near Bwindi National Park, Uganda, and ends up treating it like petting zoo. The gorilla father is wonderfully human, particularly at 2:45 when he tells the baby gorilla to stop messing with that thing. (a man)

[bunnies]

1. I think I'd have peed myself.

wow.

[cthulu2016]

2. You can see how the adrenaline is like cocaine

The guy has to be terrified, but can't stop grinning

[bunnies]

5. totally!

Im kinda surprised the Gorillas didnt sense his fear?! Maybe it wasnt as strong as say, MINE would have been, having no experience with Gorillas whatsoever.

[zeemike]

26. He was acting submissive

with his head down and did not make eye contact...exactly what he should have done...I am sure that they did sense his fear but had nothing to fear from him because he was submissive.
They are vegetarians so he was not food and and was no threat so there was no need for any violent actions...

[bunnies]

34. Thanks for the info!

I must admit that my knowledge of great apes is sub-minimal at best. I have an unreasonable fear of all things ape or monkey-like & normally just ignore their existence. The fact that I got through this video is an accomplishment for me!

[zeemike]

35. Well the great apes are powerful creatures.

even the smallest of them is way stronger than a man and could tear him apart...but ironically they are peaceful creatures...If you want to know more about them you could look up Dian Fossey who studied the mountain gorilla for 18 years and was actually adopted sort of by a troop that she hung out with and studied...and by the way had the same experience that the man in the video had....the youngsters of the troop would come up to her and touch her...while the silver back kept a close eye on them....she was never harmed...but was killed by poachers...humans are far more dangerous.
Also Jane Goodall studied chimps for 45 years and it is because of her work that we know so much about them.

[bunnies]

36. I will definitely educate myself as you suggest.

Though I did also watch that Anthony Hopkins movie back in the day. lol. Chimps and Baboons horrify me. (Small) monkeys and Apes less so. That whole episode with the woman getting her face ripped off just fed my hysteria.

Though, now that I think of it, I remember a video of a monkey named "britches" that nearly broke my heart.
Have you seen it?

[zeemike]

37. Oh no no...I could only watch a little of that.

I really don't want to think that people could be that cruel...but I know some of them can.
But any animal can be abused to the point that they lash out with violence but it is because they are out of their natural environment and are suffering for it.
I have seen lots of video of Fossey and Goodall's work and it is an amazing thing to watch her interact with them...There is probably something on you tube...
Here is the first one I came across....it is a Spanish one with a Spanish song I like and a lot of stills with it...so I will post it.
<iframe width="420" height="315" src="

" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

[Ms. Toad]

28. Why do you assume he is terrified?

Had I been in his shoes grinning would have been my natural reaction (not a mask for terror, or a reaction to adrenaline).

(I haven't been around gorillas, but I have been within arm's length of more than one shark in the wild. Much of nature is not so ferocious as we imagine, and people who seek it out generally approach such encounters with much more awe than fear, if fear is present at all.)

[PearliePoo2]

3. Wow! Did the gorillas think his glasses were a "stick" in his fur?

Were they grooming him? It appears they were smelling him too.
Wow again! I would have needed to change my underwear!

[Uncle Joe]

4. That was a good video.

Thanks for the thread, cthulu.

[Whovian]

6. Saw this earlier and what a pleasure to see it again.

[-..__...]

7. "Dude, I dare you to give of the yung'uns a big'ol hug".

[Tikki]

8. Amazing...How lucky can one guy be...

Tikki

[AtomicKitten]

9. "I feel like one of them."

That is so beautiful it brings tears to my eyes.

Reminds me of the movie Instinct starring Anthony Hopkins. He was taken in and accepted by a group of mountain guerrillas and ultimately defended by a stunning silverback as part of the family ... a genuine tearjerker.

k&r

[CrispyQ]

10. What an incredible experience.

Too bad they have to 'share' the planet with us.

[madamvlb]

11. Such a tear jerker..

It's so sad that the number of wild gorillas is dwindling due to poaching, this brings tears to my eyes.

[TahitiNut]

12. I think I'd give up a minor appendage to have that experience!

Awesome. What an incredibly lucky guy to have that experience.

Wow.

[avebury]

13. That is just too cute! nt

[geckosfeet]

14. Astounding. They were almost treating him like a member of the troop.

[Arugula Latte]

15. Beautiful. How tempting to hug the babies. :)

But not with that silverback there! (Or, really, under any circumstances, but, ooooh, they are adorable.)

[Indpndnt]

16. That was AMAZING!!

Wow! That was so cool! I couldn't stop thinking that he should stop smiling or they'd think he was snarling at them or something. Still, they found him fascinating and he was obviously in heaven.

So, so cool.

[nolabear]

17. He has been blessed.

I would have loved every minute of it. What a wonderful patriarch. *sigh*

[flobee1]

24. thinking the same

how many others have experienced that? my guess is NONE!

very interesting turn on things, gorillas going to the human zoo.
"ALRIGHT, we've seen the man long enough, lets go see some birds! lol

[etherealtruth]

18. It really is beautiful

This is slightly off topic but I watched a very sad peice on the displacement of The Batwa Pygmies of Lake Bunyonyi ... it was done with the "intent" of protecting these Gorillas, however, these indigineous folk have lived in harmony with the gorillas for thousands of years ... they are not the problem

[OnyxCollie]

19. That was incredible! nt

[SunSeeker]

20. Too cool.

The baby chimps were actually trying to groom him. Looks like with the man's black long-sleeve shirt and gray hair, they thought he might be some sort of skinny silverback gorilla.

[lonestarnot]

21. Wow. That was fantastic.

[Odin2005]

22. The demeanor of that big male reminds me of any human father.

Fucking awesome!

[BumRushDaShow]

23. They were practicing setting up a grooming line...

Have seen many specials over the years when they line up to groom.

More on the above encounter here -

http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/travelnews/2011/12/111228-mountain-gorillas-king-grooming-uganda-tourist-animals/

[Scuba]

25. Are you sure that isn't Robin Williams?

[Beringia]

27. I hope Gorillas are always here

The father gorilla made them all feel relaxed to explore.

[stuntcat]

38. Me too!

We'll take out so many species the next few decades, but I hope we'll leave some of them.

[cthulu2016]

39. Me to. I wonder where else they can live wild?

[flyguyjake]

29. I practically shit my pants just watching it.

My heart was pounding!

[FedUpWithIt All]

30. I cried.

I love when life on this planet breaks through and, for a brief moment, it is right.

Thank you for bringing this into my day. The timing is perfect!

[Spazito]

31. Wow!

That is incredible video! My heart was beating quicker just watching this, seeing the big guy, the silverback, sitting just behind the man while the young ones checked him out.

Beautiful and moving.

Thank you for posting this, it is absolutely stunning!

[Stargazer09]

32. Wow!

That guy was just sitting there, trying not to make any threatening moves, and all of those gorillas came over and started grooming him! Incredible!

[progressoid]

33. The man did a good job of being non-threatening.

Don't mess with the Silverback!

I wouldn't be able to sleep for days after that. Too damn cool!