The Impact Of Man Vs Gorillas (Wildlife Documentary) | Real Wild

[Music] dawn over a refugee camp in northeastern Sai here we read from a year under canvas three-quarters of a million flew and on who to exiled are faced with life on a lava wasteland [Music] a desperate population is nestled on the very edge of the room de applicants oldest National Park is appalling humanitarian crisis is now on the verge of becoming one of the continents most tragic ecological desire isolated high up on a volcano overlooking the brooding intent in the valley below it was one of the world's rarest and most endangered large mammals the mountain gorillas [Music] the Virunga volcanoes rise up out of the heart of a deeply troubled continent to a height of over four and a half thousand meters towering above the active more recent cones in the West is the ancient cloud-capped peak of Makino over thousands of years extensive forests have contracted forming what is now the mountain gorillas high altitude huh in Ziya eight years ago long before the human crisis began in the valleys below amateur 22 year old silverback gorilla called Windham Guzzi inherited leadership of a family from his father a distinctive spray of white hair grows across his back first appearing at about the age of 12 it's a hallmark of maturity all other members of the group of black he has a bump at the top of his head where powerful jaw muscles are attached for three months Unum good says two younger brothers have been keeping their ailing father company gradually losing contact with the main group as they fallen further and further behind there is something here that's upsetting the two brothers this is Rafiki the eldest of the tomb he has been calling continuously displaying on and off for days their father has died from old age in the cold of Earth along the night fastidious about keeping themselves and each other clean the younger brother Liu WA moves in to attend his father by grooming his fur thousands of flies attracted to the body lying in the warm dampness of the forest floor of laid eggs in a curious piece of behavior Louella eats what he begins to uncover Faraz he cleans the fur eating as many of the eggs as he can find during the weeks that the old silverback took to die the brothers have not eaten properly primarily vegetarian and finding themselves confined to one small part of the forest they consumed most of what is edible they now desperately need to move on in order to face the bond forged over years of close association makes it difficult for the brothers to leave their father they have known no other leader and continue to remain near the body for a while longer Rafiki at the age of eleven is on the verge of sexual maturity a time when he will strike out to lead a life on his own [Music] the brothers quickly distanced themselves from the corpse and move into a new part of the forest Louella is four years younger than Rafiki and at this stage of his life is less inclined to want to lead a solitary existence preferring instead to stick with his older more experienced brother for the first time in a fortnight the pair are in an area where there's plenty of food gorillas spend over a third of each day eating a large male consuming about 18 kilos of vegetable matter the brothers eat over 50 species of plants at different times during their travels through the forest many are astringent to the human palate and others like this bracket fungus are eaten only occasionally tired and replete for the first time in days the pair settle down to rest several kilometres from their father's remains [Music] desire e'en Park authorities closely monitor the gorillas in this part of their range with only an estimated 620 mountain gorillas left in the world each body recovered for examination yields valuable information on a subspecies that was only discovered this century [Music] [Music] in the 12 weeks it took their father to die the pair of lost all contact with their elder brother done good see he has taken the group far off up the slopes of McKenna Rafiki and the wah-wah range through the forests on their own for the first time in their lives they are making important decisions that were previously the exclusive preserve of the leading silverback male Samas ignore the buffer zone on the edge of the Virunga park and cultivate within sight of the forest the brothers have been tempted on several days in a row to leave the comparative safety of the forest so that they can raid a neighboring banana plantation [Music] introduced into tropical Africa in prehistoric times the banana plant is an important and valued food in Central Africa although gorillas eat this plant forest cousin it does not bear the distinctive fruit with which we are so familiar the gorillas eat only the pits found at the center of the trunk ignoring the bananas that are frequently brought down during the raid the juicy period rich in SAP gorillas seldom drink and obtain all their moisture requirements from the vegetation that they for many young Zaire Ian's helping their parents from small parcels of land this is their first encounter with a living gorilla the National Park and its wildlife are strictly off limits and they're unlikely to come face-to-face with wild animals understandably many Syrians Harbor deep resentments against the wild animals that raid their flocks with such tempting crops growing so close to the forest edge who can blame such intelligent creatures for taking advantage of the situation they have been so busy feeding the pair will have even more difficulty finding their older brothers [Music] [Music] far away the youngsters in ndon good his family are taking advantage of a mid-morning siesta period to play like their human counterparts or they find it difficult to remain quiet for very long although the adult group members will take this opportunity to rest when doing good see is keenly aware of all that's happening and will intervene if play becomes too boisterous the focal point of every gorilla family is the dominant silverback male he is the sole decision maker each female is bonded to him directly and he's usually the father of all their offspring clothes fine-tuned Boots's group lives a fourth brother a 19 year old silverback called Salama he maintains a healthy distance from his older brother by trailing the family wherever they go although he lives on the edge he's familiar to all group members and during the regular siesta periods he often plays with one particular infant belonging to a female with whom he has a very close bond [Applause] Salameh concealed from his brothers prying eyes mates with her he's invited to copulate during the two days of her estrus and this cements her association with him by maintaining contact with both Silverbacks and allowing them to make it her she can successfully fool the two into believing that they are in turn the rightful father of the infant's that she carries this strategy puts her in the unique position of being able to pick and choose between the two brothers when it suits her [Music] all gorillas have large pot bellies bacteria in the gut help to break down all the vegetable matter needed to satisfy their daily energy requirements a byproduct of all this activity is gas huge quantities on as a result all family members are in a semi permanent state of flatulence gorillas have been known to do something very strange at certain times they will eat their own dung for no apparent reason whether this unusual behavior is an attempt to recycle a particularly nutritious food source or is simply a hot meal on a cold day has yet to be determined since their fathers des lieux ama and Rafiki have not reestablished contact with whom damn good said group he has moved too far up the slopes of Makino this imposed early separation from the family helps to build confidence wandering through the forests prepares the pair for the eventual day that they will be group leaders in their own right [Applause] it's quiet contemplation interrupted a fledgling Eagle Owl is suddenly aware that the world outside its nest can be terrifyingly large it hasn't learned to fly properly yet and it's not often that Rafiki can get this close to an animal Lowell was less interested at first his natural sense of curiosity sparked by the unique nature of the situation draws Rafiki into wanting to provoke a response [Applause] overwhelmed by one boisterous brother the owl finds the close attention of the others to intimidating and quickly learns what wings are for the lush green forests around Makino are lapped by a rising tide of human cultivation which threatens to engulf the island like home of the mountain gorillas at any time [Music] the Virunga volcanoes straddle the Central African Republic of Zaire Rwanda and Uganda ancient legends how how the ghosts of the dead still dwell in the depth of these Fiery Furnaces stirring their innermost flames it was from here that rumors reached the first early explorers for their lived and tape on these Smoky Mountains with frequent eruptions spilling out over this hostile land forests come and go but gorillas are not found in this active area they roam the quieter cooler slopes of the dormant volcanoes just six kilometres to the east totally lacking in water and protected by the boundaries of the Virunga park people cannot live on these old lava flows [Music] in July 1994 some of the two million Hutu refugees fleeing retaliation after the ethnic bloodshed in neighboring Rwanda streamed into Ziya in a matter of days aid organizations were forced to establish tented camps on the old gravel fields next to the park after 40,000 people died from disease and exhaustion their most basic needs for water food and medicine are taken care of but to cook and keep warm at night the refugees must turn to the forest [Music] [Music] [Music] for over a year the equivalent of seven soccer fields of forests have been completely erased each day [Music] Londyn good say has been leading his family for eight years now and they are oblivious to the tragedy unfolding in the valley below his status as leader is under increasing threat from his younger brother Salama who yawns with tension as he closes in to test his position this trigger is one of the most complex and ritualized displays seen between mammals the brothers can amplify the sound of the display by puffing up two prominent air sacs located at the side of the throat a stale human sweat like odor permeates the air an excited silverback will emit this smell from special glands in his armpits the brothers are displaying more frequently now there's a distinct possibility that Salama will make a final bid to wrench control of the drift from middle good see for the moment the showdown subsides allowing for lamas favorite female to approach still tense from the interaction eerie buffs are internal gesture but she continued to remain nearby if Salama can successfully take over the group she might become a high-ranking female in the rainy season when the England Goods a family are roaming through McConnell's lush forested slopes they pay particular attention to the moist leaf litter underfoot attracted by some telltale sign Salameh begins to dig raking his way into the inner sanctum of one of the forests most voracious and numerous insects army ants nest here in their Millions gorillas have developed a taste for the plentiful supply of eggs and larvae that appear during the wet month and they will go to extraordinary lengths to get at this protein rich food source armed with one of the most potent spikes in the business the infuriated ants retaliate on mass using powerful mandibles they quickly succeed in driving even the largest gorilla away after a very short time with the dominant animal out of sight the whole family can then participate in the pleasure of this feast taking only what their pain threshold will allow the brief periods of ratings lead to hours of patient grooming despite the very thick fur that mountain gorillas have evolved to protect their skin from the harsh elements it's no safeguard against thousands of painful bites the remnant army is forced into a hasty retreat each ant burdened with a young member of the colony salvaged in order to secure their future existence 42,000 refugees remove over 900 tons of wood a day vital for their survival [Music] with more and more refugees collecting forest materials armed poachers are able to penetrate the heart of the forest undetected in their search for food over half of the bamboo stands on Makino have gone chopped down and taken into the refugee camps as a construction material some of the bamboo is used in the forest by skilled hunters it's flexibility when freshly cut allows the fashioning of a primitive but deadly antelope trap carefully positioned on a quiet forest trail the mechanism is set in the new home range of ending good says younger brother Lu WA he has changed a great deal in the seven years that have passed since he was last seen eating fly eggs from his father's dead body he is now a fully mature silverback with a family of his own his group is attracted by the discovery of a black fronted dagger in a triggered bamboo snare youthful curiosity gives way to adult concern as the mature members of the family display in agitation the forests are heavily infiltrated by people now and almost impossible to police effectively it's hardly surprising that llamas family is encountering at least one primed trap each day as he leads the group through his threatened kingdoms with so many traps set in the forest Louella is taken to patiently waiting near each mechanism they encounter vegetation often obscures visual contact with some of the younger more inexperienced group members what happens next is quite extraordinary Louella breaks the trap in his short time as a family leader he's encountered so many of these snares that he's learned how to destroy them the enormous pressures that now bear down on the brothers can have only one consequence [Music] in the chill of a forest morning three weeks after he had suddenly disappeared salaam oz remains are found on a well-used poacher trail the female with whom Salama had a close bond has moved on with Indian gooses family unaware of the tragedy with us befallen this silverback she continues to maintain an even lonelier existence on the edge of the room London would say has lost a rival and for the time being his position as family leader will remain unchallenged this is not a good time for guerrillas one infant has experienced the harsh reality of life on this volcano he was caught in a poacher's trap and in breaking free lost his hand to the tight grip of a wire snare very lucky to survive he manages despite the mutilation there are parts of McKenna where it's volcanic rocky core is exposed to the elements two or three times a year Windham good say is in the vicinity he suddenly breaks away from his routine he climbs with purpose using trails and markers familiar only to him and those gorillas should have done this journey before the entire family climbed the precipitous sides of the volcano in order to reach a very special place there's nowhere else quite like this in the entire 14 square kilometer expanse that they regularly frequent finally all the exertion pays off and the gorillas find what they're looking for with so much erosion and bleaching overtime minerals concentrate here forming high-altitude salt licks some of the rock contains sodium and potassium and periodically the gorillas eat huge quantities of it searching the cliffs requires nimble footwork with its weathered face crumbling is a steep and dangerous place it's not known for certain whether this behavior allows the guerrillas to obtain essential elements lacking in their vegetarian diet or if the rock simply helps to neutralize the action of toxins that may build up after intensive feeding on some plants these caves have been visited for countless generations the exact location passed down through the years from one animal to another weighing close to 180 kilos and twice the weight of a female the descent requires some sure-footed judgment for a departing hundra's male each day people penetrate deeper into the park now there's nowhere in the forest where the gorillas are completely safe over a hundred thousand tutus fearing for their lives in Rwanda use the path to slope their escape into Zion the extensive network of forest trail quickly take the refugees into gorilla country [Music] the gorillas the caves of the heart abundant good say territory are out of bounds now a tired ruined and Families seek temporary shelter on their weary exodus from a country at war [Music] there's so many people in the park effective policing is even more difficult now on a dawn patrol Park guards find that a terrible thing has happened to one of them doing good said infamy she's caught in the deadly embrace of a sprung trap the Rope is strong fashioned from an island fibers removed from food aids that would deliver sustenance to the masses in the valley below for more than a day and a night she has struggled to escape and all in jungles his attempts at breaking the crackers fail he jealously guards his baby making it impossible for the park staff to get close to release her other family members are just as disturbed and frustrated by the drama of the last 24 hours the rope spikes deeper and restricts blood flow to the infant's hand the distress calls repeatedly bring the weary mother into comfort our offspring linden would say cannot stay here too long he must take the group away to feed the mother will have to follow and if she leaves a baby will die for now the infant circles drawing much-needed comfort and warmth from the animal that it most needs in its life family members are drawn in to investigate the trap examining carefully what it is that keeps the youngster rooted to one spot a fresh springy green sapling was used to make this device and all under good his efforts at snapping its a face wildin goose is out of sight with only a young male nearby the baby gorilla is cut free with more people in the past than ever before a confrontation is inevitable man and gorilla will meet head-on a showdown that will have far-reaching consequences [Music] Louella who broke the trap protecting his family his mercilessly gunned down on the high slopes of Makino leaving a traumatized group running scared for the park authorities lawar was death is devastating news and the great effort is made to remove his remains for expert examination in the hope that some telltale sign might identify his killers human hands dwarfed by those of the giant slowly maneuver the tremendous dead weight and gently lower the silver back onto a makeshift litter fresh ferns are collected and carefully laid on his chest to keep the flies away and in ritual like solemnity this once magnificent animal is prepared for his final journey off the volcano carrying the Wawa to the park headquarters will take 12 men more than 15 hours ironic that he was first named for his ability to travel quickly through the forest for several years Louella covered huge distances looking for a suitable home range so his new family he was called by the locals the gorilla that moves far and wide without ever touching the ground this is a dark chapter in the history of mountain gorilla conservation a year when eight gorillas are killed the first slayings in over a decade the majority of bullets belonged to a commonly used weapon since the Rwandan Civil War the ak-47 is easily purchased and I hear like some giant earth tremor the killings ripple outwards from Makino engulfing other gorilla families to less than 20 kilometers away another silverback and female have been gunned down while defending the youngest member of their family this is the only shooting with an established motive the kidnapped infant has been successfully recovered from poachers no one can look after him and it is not returned to the group soon he will die there is no male old enough to succeed his dead father if no new silverback in the vicinity takes over then the family may be doomed to slowly fragment and decline for the moment his family roamed the forest leaderless disorientated and terrified of people this new fear of man may be their key to survival but it makes it very difficult for the trackers to return the infant to the group when the team get as close as possible they can only hope that he will wander towards the noise he is gone whisked away by a rapidly departing female Laura's older brother Rafiki was last seen on the dangerous Dyer Rwanda border with all the tragedies in the region so far it seems impossible that he could have escaped the slaughter it's eight years since his playful encounter with the owl and he's not seen a cameraman since that time so long ago this can only be Rafiki the friendly one as his name implies at last with a home range of his own he has been able to establish a family a small one with a couple of young infants and some very nervous females Rafiki is drawn in close to the camera captivated by his own reflection in the lens it's been a long time since he was last exposed to anything like this and in a moving display of trust he allows his young infant to share the experience with him for all the guerrillas killed so far it's their lack of fear that has put him at risk from man ironically here in the virunga's the guerrillas only hoped for long-term survival lies entrusting their distant human relative the gorillas have to pay their way prove that they're worthy overlords of the forest that they roam with such enormous human pressures on potential agricultural lands wildlife must generate an income visitors and scientists pay to get close to the gorillas and this is the only way that such a highly prized tract of Central Africa can be preserved without this incentive the gorillas are on Makino would have vanished a long time ago it's a tragedy that our objectives and priorities have been so narrowly focused on the human disaster in the valley below leaving the gorilla family is out in the cold if the refugee crisis is not resolved soon the future will not be bright for a thinking [Music]

Channel: Real Wild

Views: 4,654,096

Rating: 4.5008597 out of 5

Keywords: nature documentary, full documentary, documentary movie, animals attack, wildlife documentary, english, hd, vice africa, discovery channel, bbc, natgeo wild, Nature documentaries - topic, Animals - topic, Apes - Topic, Primates - Topic, Planet Earth, David Attenborough, sean barrate, Rwanda, Gorilla, Intelligent Primates, Baby Gorilla, monkeys, gorillas mourning, gorilla documentary, mountain gorilla documentary, mountain gorilla, silverback gorilla documentary

Id: IOI-QOiQ01g

Length: 49min 51sec (2991 seconds)

Published: Sun Jan 29 2017