By Todd Gustafson

The morning was cloudy and looked like we could be in trouble with rain. We were assigned to the Kwitonda group, a good group to get as they are usually close to the Buffalo Wall and contain 23 gorillas of all ages including three big Silverbacks and three Blackbacks.

It started to rain as soon as we began the hike to the Buffalo Wall. We were all thinking, “this sucks.”  We trekked for a short 20 minutes to the trackers and waited in the rain. While we waited, our guide told us what to expect.

We moved to the gorillas as the rain let up. They had been hiding from the rain (as had we), and when it stopped, they stretched, yawned, and began to move around. The Silverback stood and pounded his chest and led the group into the forest to feed. We walked with them for an hour of great photography as they fed on twigs, vines and leaves; moving from tree to bush to open glade. The number of gorillas we saw, the variety of behaviors they had, and the changes in habitat left us breathless! Once again, my walking MASH unit had a fantastic gorilla trek! We’ll see what tomorrow brings.