This Movie About Gorillas In Zaire took SEVEN Years To Make (Incredible Story) | Our World

[Music] me dawn over a refugee camp in northeastern zaia weary from a year under canvas three-quarters of a million luandan hutu exiles are faced with life on a lava wasteland a desperate population is nestled on the very edge of virunga africa's oldest national park this appalling humanitarian crisis is now on the verge of becoming one of the continent's most tragic ecological disasters [Music] isolated high up on a volcano overlooking the brooding intent in the valley below lives one of the world's rarest and most endangered large mammals the mountain gorilla [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 meccano over thousands of years extensive forests have contracted forming what is now the mountain gorillas high-altitude home in zaire eight years ago long before the human crisis began in the valleys below a mature 22 year old silverback gorilla called 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 are black he has a bump at the top of his head where powerful jaw muscles are attached for three months two younger brothers have been keeping their ailing father company gradually losing contact with the main group as they've fallen further and further behind there is something here that's upsetting the two brothers [Applause] this is rafiki the eldest of the two he has been calling continuously displaying on and off for days their father has died from old age in the cold of a verunga night fastidious about keeping themselves and each other clean the younger brother lua 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 have laid eggs in a curious piece of behavior lua eats what he begins to uncover for ours 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've consumed most of what is edible they now desperately need to move on in order to feed 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 [Music] rafiki at the age of 11 is on the verge of sexual maturity a time when he will strike out to lead a life on his own the brothers quickly distance themselves from the corpse and move into a new part of the forest lua 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 plant 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 settled down to rest several kilometers from their father's remains [Music] the zyrian 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] [Music] in the twelve weeks it took their father to die the pair have lost all contact with their elder brother um dungutse he has taken the group far off up the slopes of meccano rafiki and lua 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 farmers ignore the buffer zone on the edge of the virunga park and cultivate to 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's forest cousin it does not bear the distinctive fruit with which we are so familiar the gorillas eat only the pit found at the center of the trunk ignoring the bananas that are frequently brought down during the raid the juicy pith is rich in sap gorillas seldom drink and obtain all their moisture requirements from the vegetation that they eat for many young saiyans helping their parents farm 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 oh understandably many zyrians harbor deep resentment against the wild animals that raid their plots 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 brother's group [Music] is far away the youngsters in indonesia's family are taking advantage of the mid-morning siesta period to play like their human counterparts they find it difficult to remain quiet for very long although the adult group members will take this opportunity to rest undungutsy 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 lives a fourth brother a 19 year old silver back 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] salama concealed from his brother's prying eyes mates with her he is invited to copyright during the two days of her easters and this cements her association with him by maintaining contact with both silverbacks and allowing them to mate with her she can successfully fool the two into believing that they are in turn the rightful father of the infant 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 of it 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 dumb 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 father's death lua and rafiki have not re-established contact with um don gutsey's group he has moved too far up the slopes of mecano 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] its 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 so lua is 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 so [Applause] [Applause] overwhelmed by one boisterous brother the owl finds the close attention of the other too intimidating and quickly learns what wings are for [Music] [Applause] the lush green forests around mekano are lapped by a rising tide of human cultivation which threatens to engulf the island-like home of the mountain gorilla at any time the virunga volcanoes straddle the central african republics of zaire rwanda and uganda ancient legends tell how the ghosts of the dead still dwell in the depths of these fiery furnaces stirring their innermost flames it was from here that rumors reached the first early explorers that there lived an ape on these smoking mountains [Music] 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 kilometers to the east totally lacking in water and protected by the boundaries of the verunga 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 zaia in a matter of days aid organizations were forced to establish tented camps on the old lava 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 forests [Music] [Applause] [Music] for over a year the equivalent of seven soccer fields of forest have been completely erased each day [Music] has been leading his family for eight years now and they're 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 triggers 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 group from for the moment the showdown subsides allowing salama's favorite female to approach still tense from the interaction he rebuffs her intimate gesture but she continues to remain nearby if salama can successfully take over the group she might become a high-ranking female in the rainy season when the indonesia family are roaming through meccano's lush forested slopes they pay particular attention to the moist leaf litter underfoot attracted by some telltale sign salama begins to dig breaking his way into the inner sanctum of one of the forest's most voracious and numerous insects ants nest here in their millions gorillas have developed a taste for the plentiful supply of eggs and larvae that appear during the wet months and they will go to extraordinary lengths to get at this protein-rich food source armed with one of the most potent bites 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 so all right the brief periods of raiding 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 so 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 mechano 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 its 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 undunguts younger brother 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 diker 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 luama's family is encountering at least one primed trap each day as he leads the group through his threatened kingdom with so many traps set in the forest luama has taken to patiently waiting near each mechanism they encounter vegetation often obscures visual contact with some of the younger more inexperienced group members [Music] what happens next is quite extraordinary lua breaks the trap in his short time as a family leader he's encountered so many of these snares that he's learnt 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 salama's remains are found on a well-used poacher trail [Music] the female with whom salama had a close bond has moved on within dunguts's family unaware of the tragedy that has befallen this silver bag she continues to maintain an even lonelier existence on the edge of the room undone 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 oh there are parts of mechano where its volcanic rocky core is exposed to the elements two or three times a year when gutsy 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 guerrillas that have done this journey before the entire family climb 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 leaching over time 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 it's a steep and dangerous place [Applause] it's not known for certain whether this behavior allows the gorillas 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 [Applause] weighing close to 180 kilos and twice the weight of a female the descent requires some sure-footed judgment for a departing ponderous male [Applause] 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 hutus fearing for their lives in rwanda use the park to cloak their escape into zaire the extensive network of forest trails quickly take the refugees into guerrilla country [Music] for the guerrillas the caves at the heart of undunguts's territory are out of bounds now as tired rwandan families seek temporary shelter on their weary exodus from a country at [Music] war [Music] cool [Music] with 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 good says infants uh she's caught in the deadly embrace of a sprung trap the rope is strong fashioned from nylon fibers removed from food aid sacks that deliver sustenance to the masses in the valley below for more than a day and a night she has struggled to escape and all undunguts attempts at breaking the trap have failed 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 fights deeper and restricts blood flow to the infant's hand the distress calls repeatedly bring the weary mother in to comfort her offspring cannot stay here too long he must take the group away to feed the mother will have to follow and if she leaves her baby will die for now the infant suckles 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 and gutie's efforts at snapping it have failed while undumb gutsy is out of sight with only a young male nearby the baby gorilla is cut free with more people in the park than ever before a confrontation is inevitable man and gorilla will meet head-on a showdown that will have far-reaching consequences [Music] foreign [Music] lua who broke the trap protecting his family is mercilessly gunned down on the high slopes of meccano leaving a traumatized group running scared for the park authorities lua's death is devastating news and a great effort is made to remove his remains for expert examination in the hope that some tell-tale 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 lua 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 lua covered huge distances looking for a suitable home range for 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 belong to a commonly used weapon since the rwandan civil war the ak-47 is easily purchased like some giant earth tremor the killings ripple outwards from meccano engulfing other gorilla families too 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 if he's 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 roam 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 lua's older brother rafiki was last seen on the dangerous zaire 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 gorillas killed so far it's their lack of fear that has put them at risk from man ironically here in the virungas the guerrillas only hope for long-term survival lies in trusting their distant human relatives the gorillas have to pay their way prove that they're worthy overlords of the forests that they roam with such enormous human pressures on potential agricultural land 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 around mekano 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 families out in the cold if the refugee crisis is not resolved soon the future will not be bright for rafiki [Music] [Music] you

Channel: Our World

Views: 2,344,890

Keywords: wildlife, wildlife documentary, natural history, earth, environment, documentary, documentaries, animals, nature, animal documentary, full documentary, nature documentary, planet earth, our world, wild animals, global warming, climate change, natural habitats, our planet, mountain gorilla documentary, silverback gorilla documentary, gorilla documentary, mountain gorilla, gorillas mourning, baby gorilla, gorilla, congorock babylon, intelligent primates, discovery channel

Id: HouremZZXAU

Length: 49min 56sec (2996 seconds)

Published: Mon Aug 09 2021