大象传媒

In the aptly named Bwindi Impenetrable forest is one of the last strongholds of the mountain gorilla. There are only 700 wild mountain gorillas on the planet. Half are here, and half 30 miles away. Every day, a controlled number of people from across the world is allowed to visit the gorillas in these mountains, and every year over 2 million dollars are raised in this way. All the money is spent on training local people in anti-poaching techniques, not only to protect the gorillas, but other endangered species in these valuable forests. Mark explains that the silverback is the alpha male of the group. As a male reaches about 10 or 12 years old, the hair on his back begins to turn silver and is seen as a sign of maturity. He'll be the father of all the babies though occasionally a son may stay with the group and sire some of the children. The rest of the group are females and youngsters. Mark explains that the loud belch they hear is not gorilla wind, but a subtle form of communication - belch vocalisation - that just lets the rest of the group know where they are. A one-year-old baby wanders metres away from its mother and Stephen rates every step of the 'sobbing, gasping, aching journey' as having been worth the pain and humilation.