Rare mountain gorillas breed in the shadow of magical volcanoes. Good news. But 17,000 people are now expected to leave their homes for a larger animal kingdom.
Gahinga has discovered us, the hairless intruders. His deep brown eyes stare out of the silverback’s wrinkled face. They meet my gaze for a tense, brief moment. Then the gorilla king plops his at least one and a half hundredweight, King Kong-like, onto a nest of leaves. He picks his nose. He scratches his armpits. He farts. He looks at the female lying on her back next to him. He does what a grown man could do on the living room couch. Man, the mountain gorilla: 98 percent genetic twins.