John and his friends joined an experienced wildlife guide on a two-week expedition through Uganda, on a mission to find and observe Mountain Gorillas. While taking pictures, they came upon a family of exactly that. Little did John know, he was about to experience an unreal encounter with a giant male Silverback gorilla. Instead of running away, the man froze, hunkered down, stared into the camera with a smile plastered across his face, and let the gorilla and his family know he and his friends posed no threat.
The longer the male gorilla checks out John, the more gorillas surround him. Soon, adult and baby gorillas sit down with John and even begin to groom him like they would their own. This is truly a once-in-a-lifetime moment, and I can't even begin to imagine how it felt.
The video below was shot in a gorilla forest camp near the Bwindi National Park in the southwest of Uganda. Fiercely protected by the Uganda Wildlife Authority, Bwindi is home to roughly half of the world’s population of endangered Mountain Gorillas.
As long as they're not provoked, these beautiful animals are truly curious and gentle beings.
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