ARE GORILLAS GENTLE? ARE MOUNTAIN GORILLAS FRIENDLY?

Man taking a picture with a gorilla in Mgahinga Gorilla National Park while the gorilla is gently minding its business

What do you do when you encounter a gorilla? For decades, the answer might have been to scream and run. Gorillas were wild beasts that could tear cities apart or so many thought based on the movie King Kong. However, from the 1960s onwards the primatologist Dian Fossey transformed gorillas’ reputation with her pioneering studies of wild eastern gorillas. And today, if your asking “Are gorillas gentle?” then once you encounter the gorillas during your Uganda tours, you should stand quietly and observe the creatures.

Fossey found that these great primates were hardly ever violent. For the most part, they were, gentle, peaceful, affectionate, and shy. They are calm vegetarians that spend most of their time interacting, feeding, and playing. Male gorillas whether silverback or subordinates, can cuddle infants, play with them, welcome them into their nests, and just plain hang out with them.

They are very peaceful creatures and this is why safari trekking expeditions for mountain gorillas are possible. Hiking through a dense jungle full of foliage that obstructs vision could make searching for more aggressive creatures risky, but searching for gorillas is often a safe and uncompromising exercise.

if you are to trek gorillas in Uganda in Bwindi Impenetrable National Park & Mgahinga Gorilla National Park, Rwanda in Volcanoes National Park or the Democratic Republic of Congo in Virunga National Park and Kahuzi Biega National Park

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