Category: Animals
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Our Stories:
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Four-Legged Guardians
31mm, 1/250s, f/8, ISO250 My conservation and travel photography don’t always mix quite so readily as at Akagera National Park. Miha had asked me to spend some time here when the Gorilla Highlands region expanded to include all of Rwanda, and African Parks — the NGO in charge of the park — wondered if I…
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Tale of Kachima Reviewed by Mom and Daughter
The Tale of Kachima: Saving the Golden Monkeys with Sandra Gray is a fun, adventurous, wildly artistic book that allows the imagination of a child to explore and create possibilities. The book takes us on a journey of a conservationist as she learns the secrets of Mother Nature and its inhabitants, especially the endangered golden monkeys. The…
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Showered Siblings
500mm, 1/400s, f/4, ISO800 Well, this takes me back quite a few years! My first gorilla experience was actually in DR Congo, in Virunga National Park. I had just spent a few weeks in Uganda, where I met Miha and a few other members of the Gorilla Highlands team who are still part of the…
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Were Batwa Really Dangerous to Gorillas?
The sad story of the Batwa “Pygmies” of the Gorilla Highlands reached its dramatic peak when they were kicked out of national parks. This was in line with the traditional view of conservation — nature can only be protected in strict separation from indigenous peoples — but was that actually needed? Were they truly dangerous to gorillas? Dian Fossey,…
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How Do Gorillas Get Habituated (Used to Humans)?
In the national parks of the Gorilla Highlands, many gorilla groups roam. But only some of them can actually receive one-hour visits from tourists. That is because they are habituated or, in other words, used to humans. This is done very selectively and carefully. For example, when in 2017 Rwanda doubled its gorilla tracking fees…
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Big 1
500mm, 1/500s, f/4, ISO500 I’m not sure if you have come across the New Big 5 Project: basically, an initiative to come up with, obviously, a new big five. The old big five list — lions, elephants, buffaloes, rhinos and leopards — actually originated with hunting, as they were considered the most dangerous of Africa’s…
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Why Do Gorillas Fart So Much?
Contrary to old myths about bloodthirsty gorillas hunting humans, mountain gorillas are peaceful vegetarians. What Do Mountain Gorillas Eat? They are herbivores, eating up to 140 different types of fruit, herbs, stems and roots. Like other primates they sometimes munch on ants and termites and have been seen to enjoy a communal meal off a favourite…
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Monkey Mischief
100mm, f/4.5, 1/400s, ISO250 I don’t lose my temper very often, but this was an exception. Baboons are intelligent, unafraid and — if not shown plenty of respect — potentially aggressive. The small group on the road between Kabale and Kisoro are often fed from passing cars, and so are even less scared than most…
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Marhale and His Gift of Joy
One of the most rewarding parts of studying the social behaviour of animals is getting to know individuals and watching their personalities come through. For gorillas, we begin identifying each one using a variety of characteristics, such as unique nose prints, ear shape, and scars. For example, notice the notches on Pilipili’s ear and the…
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