WEBVTT

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>>DAVID NIVEN: 8,000 feet up in the rainforest
of Zaire.

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A man called Adrien Deschryver searches for
the animals

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who have become his driving force in life,

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as well as his constant companions.

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The creatures he seeks are possibly the ones
that man finds the most imposing on Earth.

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The reason is obvious, they so closely resemble
himself.

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[branches rustle]

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They're extremely shy and the dense undergrowth
in which they live

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makes observation appallingly difficult.

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They can also be extremely intimidating.

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Though, aggressiveness is not their true nature.

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[GORILLA HOWLING, BRANCHES SNAPPING]

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[howling continues]

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>>VOICE 2: Come, come, come, come, come.

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>>DAVID NIVEN: Deschryver took four years
to get gorillas to accept him,

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even though some of the adult males still
charged him.

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[GORILLA HOWLING]

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[DESCHRYVER SPEAKING FOREIGN LANGUAGE]

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[gorilla howling]

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[gorilla huffs]

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[Deschryver speaking foreign language]

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[gorilla howls]

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>>DAVID NIVEN: This is the story of an extraordinary
man, Adrien Deschryver,

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and his fight to save one of the last populations
on Earth

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of one of the rarest animals on Earth,

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the mountain gorilla.

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[GORILLA HOWING]

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[gorilla howling]

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Adrien Deschryver stands firm when faced with
a charge of a fully grown male gorilla.

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This is because he understands not only gorillas
in general but this particular animal.

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Their nature is not all as legend insists.

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The strip cartoon image is of a blood thirsty
creature

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who embodies the Mr. Hyde side of man's own
nature.

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The horror aspect was emphasized by King Kong
and later by the monster called Konga.

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âŞ

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>>DAVID NIVEN: Both Kong and Konga were about
thirty feet tall,

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and although they had a kinder side to their
natures, they were essentially horrific.

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[kong growls]

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How true are the legends about the great ape

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who fascinates man by constantly reminding
him of his own primeval origins?

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Well, to begin with, the gorilla is astonishingly
human-looking.

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Everything written about his great strength
is true too.

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The muscles that can snap a four inch bamboo
like a twig could pull a man apart.

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The gorilla does beat its breast, though not
for the reasons usually ascribed to it.

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[GORILLA THUMPING CHEST, HOWLING]

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The males put on one of the most terrifying
demonstrations in the animal kingdom

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but only when they feel threatened.

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But all of this is only part of the story.

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Until recently, very little has been known
of the other,

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gentler family side of the gorilla's life.

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Largely because of the difficulty of studying
these peaceful vegetarians

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in the inaccessible forests in which they
live.

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[gorilla growls]

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The vast nation of Zaire, the former Congo
in central Africa,

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contains small, isolated pockets in which
live the few thousand remaining mountain gorillas.

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They're scattered over an area 300 miles long
by 200 miles wide.

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One such concentration exists in the mountains

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to the northwest of Bukavu on the Rwanda-Zaire
border.

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The twin peaks of Kahuzi and Biega tower above
Lake Kivu in the western rift valley.

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The peaks, themselves, are bare volcanic rock.

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Their lower slopes, heavily forested,

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making ideal habitat for the largest of the
great apes, the mountain gorilla.

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The forests are humid and rich in the herbs
and vines the gorillas prefer.

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The forests start at around 6,000 feet.

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Below that the fertile land has been cleared
for cultivation.

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Once inside the trees,

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you're in a world that the layman would call
jungle and the scientist rainforest.

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It's lush, dark, and smells richly of wet
Earth and forest herbs.

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Only the hum of insects and the cry of an
occasional turaco breaks the silence.

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Concealed in the 600 square kilometers of
Kahuzi-Biega National Park are, perhaps,

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250 mountain gorillas, some of the last in
their species.

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The world they inhabit beneath the canopy
of the trees

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is one of undisturbed primordial peace.

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[repeated gun shots]

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>>DAVID NIVEN: Adrien Deschryver, sometime
hunter, survivor of a bloody civil war,

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is best described as a man of peace even though
one violent part of his life made him otherwise.

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A Belgian with plantations on the slopes of
Mount Kahuzi,

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he survived the terrible Kongo fighting of
the early 1960's,

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though, he saw his farm and home burnt to
the ground.

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Deschryver is a man of great gentleness and
few unnecessary words.

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He's also a man of deadly action when necessary.

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During the fighting, he evacuated his family
safely across Lake Kivu by dugout canoe.

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At one point he captured 300 raiding Simba
rebels single-handed

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with a jeep and heavy machine gun but none
of this saved his property from destruction.

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Nowadays he seldom visits the ruins of his
former home but when he does so,

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he climbs the tower and remembers the six
months his family lived inside it

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with a machinegun trained on the surrounding
bush from which the attack might come at any time.

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When peace returned to Zaire in 1965 Deschryver
had had enough

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to last several life times.

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Now all he wanted to do was preserve the peace
of the forests around his property

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and above all peace of the great animal rarities
who were lords of that forest,

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the mountain gorillas.

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[gorilla howls]

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[gorilla howls]

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As a former hunter, he knew the value of local
trackers.

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He knew, too, that these trackers had previously
been the most successful gorilla poachers.

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So, on the principal that the best poachers
make the best gamekeepers

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he enlisted their help in trying to make contact
with at least some of the gorilla groups.

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[TREES SNAPPING]

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[snapping continues]

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[tress snapping]

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They kept at it day after day learning a little
more each time

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about the movements and the habits of the
gorilla families.

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[GORILLA HOWLING]

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[indistinct conversation]

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>>DAVID NIVEN: This initial phase took Deschryver
nearly four years.

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At the end of that time one or two families
seemed willing to let him approach and study them

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though they were still very shy of revealing
themselves in the open.

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[gorilla growls]

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One trick that he adopted early on was that
to reassure a gorilla that you meant him no harm,

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he ate whatever the gorilla was eating.

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Deschryver believes that an eating gorilla
is one that comes in peace.

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As far as the gorillas are concerned the same
apparently goes for their distant relative.

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At the end of four years Deschryver had begun
to understand the ways of the gorilla.

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Today he freely studies the daily lives of
several families and of one family in particular.

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The one dominated by a superb silver-backed
male whom he calls Kasimir.

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[GORILLA NOISES]

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We meet Kasimir as he is making up his mind
to cross a road that cuts through the park.

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[TREE SNAPPING]

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Deschryver waits silently with his chief trackers,
Mishebere and Pili Pili.

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He's been able to anticipate Kasimir's intentions
but now he talks to him by way of reassurance.

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>>DESCHRYVER: Come, come, come, come, come,
come, come.

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[SOUND OF A TREE BRANCH FALLING]

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[GORILLA HOWL]

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>>DESCHRYVER: Come, come, come, come, come,
come, come, come.

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>>DAVID NIVEN: Gorilla's don't like the trackers

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perhaps because they associate them with earlier
hunting

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and the trackers don't care much for the gorillas
either.

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So when gorillas are close his trackers sit
well behind Adrien.

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[TREE BRANCH SNAPPING]

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>>DESCHRYVER: Come, come, come, come, come,
come, come, come.

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[GORILLA HOWLING]

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>>DAVID NIVEN: Kasimir is responsible for
the safety of his family

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so he is understandably cautious about crossing
a road

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that has been recently been made through his
home range.

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[GORILLA SCREECHES]

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>>DAVID NIVEN: Kasimir comes out first and
stands guard all 450 pounds of him.

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Then come the females and the young.

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[gorilla growls]

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The first three are safely up the bank on
the far side.

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Next a mother and two young.

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[branches rustle]

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Satisfied that the coast is clear Kasimir
is content to hand over guard duties to his subordinate male.

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The second female that is crossing is called
Broken Arm.

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Finally the rear guard, the second rank males,
first Hannibal.

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Then a gorilla named after a tracker whose
mouth is always open, Musha Romina.

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[GORILLA GRUNTS]

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>>DAVID NIVEN: Kasimir takes his family of
nineteen up the bank

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to be swallowed by the forest once more.

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It is Kasimir's family with whom Deschryver
has a close day-to-day relationship with.

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[branches break]

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A gorilla's day starts just after dawn.

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The whole day is governed by the need to eat.

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Kahuzi-Biega provides rich feeding much of
it at ground level.

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The small animals, young males, females, infants,

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sometimes spend their night in the trees building
well-made nests there.

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The larger animals build their nests on the
ground.

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[gorilla growls]

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The senior male Kasimir leaves the family
from the nest's side.

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He knows the general direction he intends
to take them in search of food.

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During the day they'll cover anything up to
two miles seldom more.

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Shortly after dawn one of the trackers has
watched to see which way the gorillas are moving.

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Soon head tracker, Mishebere, and Deschryver
arrive at the nest's side.

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The condition of the nest tells them how long
it is since the gorillas got out of bed.

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Mishebere produces a loose bunch of gorilla
hair from a silver-back. It's Kasimir's.

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When they're traveling gorillas move in single
file.

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The trail will be harder to follow later when
they spread out to feed.

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There are rotten logs to be crossed, jagged
needles to be avoided,

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vines and creepers to be cut and parted.

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Sometimes the approach takes hours even though
torn chutes

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and nibbled leaves show that the gorillas
are only a short distance ahead.

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Until they're close Mishebere leads cutting
a trail with his Panga.

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[Mishebere cuts branches]

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[gorilla barks]

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Often the gorillas are heard long before they're
seen.

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[gorilla barks]

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If they are uneasy they often beat their breasts.

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[gorillas beat their chests]

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The noise is made by hitting the cupped hand
on the chest

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[rapid beats]

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It's not aggression as many people suppose
but a gorilla's way of releasing tension

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like you or I scratching our head, humming,
or lighting a cigarette.

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[trees rustling]

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If they're feeding on a banana tree the sound
of tearing leaves can be heard hundreds of yards away.

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[trees rustling and leaves tearing]

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The whole family under Kasimir's leadership
has halted to demolish one particular tree.

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Kasimir scoops out the soft bitter pulp.

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It's not the best part but it's full of moisture
and he needs a drink.

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The females at the foot of the tree get the
most succulent portions

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but that's only because Kasimir doesn't want
them at the moment.

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The entire family may spend up to half an
hour disposing of this single tree.

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It's only one item on the menu in their twelve hour day most of which will be spent eating, eating, eating.

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It's been estimated that an adult male gorilla
disposes of sixty pounds

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of food or vegetable matter every single day
of his life.

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[leaves tearing]

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[leaves tearing and squeaking]

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[gorilla crunches leaves]

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>>NIVEN: By the time Kasimir decides to move
on there's very little of the banana tree left.

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Deschryver maintains that Kasimir is an excellent
conservationist.

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His family seems to wreck one banana tree
at a time.

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As Mishebere and Deschryver follow once more

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they pass the remains of Kasimir's previous
banana tree snacks.

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A third tree has been left untouched for the
future.

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Gorillas are highly selective feeders.

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They appear to know just what plants they
want at any given time of the day and season.

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They have a large selection to choose from.

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A list of over 200 food plants has already
been compiled.

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Next on this day's menu is a clinging weed
called galium or bedstraw.

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[Plants snapping]

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Once again using his eating mime to approach
Kasimir

00:19:52.980 --> 00:19:57.500
Deschryver studies the great ape's technique
for dealing with this troublesome weed.

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The leaves of galium are armed with little
hooks which make it difficult to handle.

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To get around this minor inconvenience Kasimir
rolls it up before swallowing.

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[Crunching of plants]

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After years of contact it appears that Kasimir
actually likes to meet Deschryver

00:20:19.440 --> 00:20:22.900
and always chooses an open space in which
to do so.

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In the open he no longer charges him.

00:20:25.380 --> 00:20:30.050
Just the same Deschryver often takes ten minutes
of cautious step-by-step approach

00:20:30.050 --> 00:20:33.100
to get as close as this.

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Hannibal is number three male not yet silver-backed

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you can always recognize him by his down-turned
mouth.

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He is an inquisitive animal and lately Deschryver
has been able to approach him

00:20:46.130 --> 00:20:48.660
even more closely than Kasimir.

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What follows is an incredible scene because
this time it seems to be Hannibal

00:20:56.640 --> 00:21:02.900
who wishes to make contact with Deschryver
though at first the gorilla plays hard to get.

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[Gorilla grunts]

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Deschryver senses that something unusual is
going to happen.

00:21:22.500 --> 00:21:26.220
[Gorilla pounding chest]

00:21:28.400 --> 00:21:29.680
[Gorilla shouting]

00:21:29.680 --> 00:21:31.440
>>DESCHRYVER: Come, come, come, come, come,
come, come, come.

00:21:31.440 --> 00:21:42.220
>>DESCHRYVER: [speaking in French]

00:21:42.420 --> 00:21:48.040
>>NIVEN: Hannibal is reassured and settles
down again only feet away.

00:21:48.780 --> 00:21:50.540
[Birds chirping]

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But Deschryver is still certain something
tremendous is going to happen and suddenly it does.

00:22:20.260 --> 00:22:23.740
[Gorilla shouting fiercely]

00:22:24.040 --> 00:22:28.480
Was this aggression or a desire to make contact?

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Deschryver was totally unhurt as action replay
shows.

00:22:34.960 --> 00:22:37.020
[KISSY NOISES]

00:22:37.100 --> 00:22:40.740
[Gorilla roaring]

00:22:42.020 --> 00:22:46.200
>>NIVEN: The blow from that huge fist never
actually landed.

00:22:46.200 --> 00:22:49.360
The right hand simply pulled out the shirt.

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[Gorilla roars]

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Hannibal has never tried to repeat that performance.

00:22:53.680 --> 00:22:55.510
Possibly once was enough for him.

00:22:55.510 --> 00:22:57.880
It certainly was for Deschryver.

00:23:02.000 --> 00:23:07.420
At mid-day the gorillas seek thicker cover
and Deschryver once again follows them.

00:23:07.420 --> 00:23:12.320
They've been eating continuously since they
arose from their nests just after dawn.

00:23:12.320 --> 00:23:16.220
Now the gorillas take a lunch break, or rather
a non-lunch break.

00:23:16.220 --> 00:23:20.290
For up to two hours each day they relax and
stop eating,

00:23:20.290 --> 00:23:25.500
presumably to digest the huge intake of the
morning.

00:23:39.600 --> 00:23:42.540
Complete peace falls over the forest.

00:23:42.540 --> 00:23:46.350
The sound of crashing branches and rending
leaves stops.

00:23:46.350 --> 00:23:52.900
During this siesta period the gorillas groom
and relax.

00:23:55.560 --> 00:23:57.480
[Crunching of plants]

00:24:16.380 --> 00:24:20.820
Towards the end of the lunchtime break there's
sometimes a disturbance.

00:24:20.820 --> 00:24:25.220
The youngsters grow restless while like human
children after a picnic.

00:24:25.220 --> 00:24:29.360
With the indulgence of their seniors they
take part in play fights.

00:24:29.360 --> 00:24:32.120
The midday halt is the only time they can
do this

00:24:32.120 --> 00:24:38.480
without getting left behind by the constantly
moving family.

00:24:38.480 --> 00:24:48.000
[NOISES OF THE THICKET BEING DISTURBED AND
CHIRPING SOUNDS COMING FROM THE GORILLAS]

00:25:30.680 --> 00:25:33.900
>>NIVEN: Deschryver observes the same lunch
time pause.

00:25:33.900 --> 00:25:37.580
His field craft and knowledge of gorilla habits
often enables him

00:25:37.590 --> 00:25:41.110
to anticipate the next stopping place along
their intended route

00:25:41.110 --> 00:25:43.020
and he waits for them there.

00:25:43.020 --> 00:25:47.240
They climb up into the trees for their first
feed of the afternoon.

00:25:47.240 --> 00:25:52.400
What they're after is a parasitic growth rather
like mistletoe.

00:25:52.400 --> 00:25:56.600
[BRANCHES CRACKLING AND GORILLAS CHEWING]

00:26:35.000 --> 00:26:37.900
>>NIVEN: Previous observation of gorillas
in more open country

00:26:37.900 --> 00:26:41.800
has suggested that they were cautious and
rather clumsy climbers.

00:26:41.800 --> 00:26:46.460
In the forest of Kahuzi where there are plenty
of large trees to bare their weight

00:26:46.460 --> 00:26:49.900
they show themselves to be extraordinarily
agile.

00:26:59.660 --> 00:27:03.700
[Foliage crunching]

00:27:11.500 --> 00:27:13.140
They move on again.

00:27:13.180 --> 00:27:16.000
There's still three good feeding hours left.

00:27:16.000 --> 00:27:18.720
Their chosen route is taking them towards
the edge of the park

00:27:18.720 --> 00:27:21.670
where the trees end and the farm land begins.

00:27:21.670 --> 00:27:25.820
Kasimir clearly has a definite objective in
mind.

00:27:29.060 --> 00:27:33.100
It's very rarely that the whole group emerges
into the open together

00:27:33.100 --> 00:27:37.400
but that's what they do now on a track at
the border of the park.

00:27:37.400 --> 00:27:42.260
So here assembling for their portrait is Kasimir's
family.

00:27:42.260 --> 00:27:45.840
The young male Fred escorts a female.

00:27:45.840 --> 00:27:48.120
The difference in size is very evident.

00:27:48.120 --> 00:27:53.400
The males besides being much bigger have a
fatter face and a higher peaked forehead.

00:27:53.400 --> 00:27:57.020
Fred is probably seven or eight.

00:27:57.020 --> 00:28:01.940
This female looks pregnant in which case she's
probably carrying Kasimir's infant.

00:28:01.940 --> 00:28:07.060
Kasimir has first choice of receptive females.

00:28:08.740 --> 00:28:13.020
Though Kasimir is over twenty he's still very
much in command of the group.

00:28:13.020 --> 00:28:19.680
His stately exit tells the youngsters and
more timid females that it's safe to cross the track.

00:28:31.060 --> 00:28:33.180
[Gorilla growls]

00:28:34.200 --> 00:28:37.640
Any quarreling in the gorilla group is usually
among the females.

00:28:37.640 --> 00:28:40.520
Males take little notice of female temperament.

00:28:40.520 --> 00:28:43.660
They prefer to eat in dignified silence.

00:28:47.040 --> 00:28:48.240
[Gorilla growls]

00:28:55.860 --> 00:29:00.480
Gorillas do a good deal of barking to warn
or appear aggressive.

00:29:00.480 --> 00:29:04.600
Sometimes they give a questioning bark as
if to ask 'who's there?'

00:29:04.660 --> 00:29:10.460
[Gorillas barking]

00:29:13.500 --> 00:29:17.980
>>NIVEN: Now Hannibal and Mushamuka martial
the rest of the family to hurry on

00:29:17.980 --> 00:29:21.600
in the general direction which Kasimir has
indicated.

00:29:22.860 --> 00:29:24.860
[Gorillas crunching leaves]

00:29:37.260 --> 00:29:39.680
The final objective is now reached.

00:29:39.680 --> 00:29:43.380
A wild fruit called a bwemba is ripe for the
gathering.

00:29:43.390 --> 00:29:46.390
When the bwemba season comes gorilla groups
make their way

00:29:46.390 --> 00:29:50.180
to certain well-known bwemba trees and pillage
for ripe fruits.

00:29:50.180 --> 00:29:54.140
First they'll clean up the fruit that has
fallen to the ground.

00:30:01.940 --> 00:30:08.000
Then Kasimir leads the assault to the top-most
branches.

00:30:24.680 --> 00:30:26.440
[Gorilla growls]

00:30:27.620 --> 00:30:30.200
Mushamuka follows next.

00:30:48.320 --> 00:30:51.500
Then come the females and younger males.

00:31:13.380 --> 00:31:19.500
A youngster beats the branches though it's
hard to say why perhaps this time in play.

00:31:20.080 --> 00:31:22.120
[Gorilla growls]

00:31:38.980 --> 00:31:41.660
[Gorilla tapping branches]

00:31:53.250 --> 00:31:58.320
The bwemba feast is over for the day and when
the family finally climbs down

00:31:58.320 --> 00:33:14.740
each member has his mouth stuffed full of the
fruit.

00:33:14.740 --> 00:33:18.300
The gorillas seldom leave the forest and trespass
on the farmland.

00:33:18.300 --> 00:33:23.640
When they do so it brings them in contact
with the chief danger to their future: man.

00:33:23.640 --> 00:33:26.420
This particular man is no direct threat to
them.

00:33:26.420 --> 00:33:29.780
He's a simple farmer and he has every right
to be where he is

00:33:29.780 --> 00:33:35.780
but as long as trees are felled and forests
cleared the gorillas will be on the retreat.

00:33:35.780 --> 00:33:41.340
Now it's the African farmer who beats a retreat
minus his hat.

00:33:41.440 --> 00:33:43.480
[Gorilla grunts]

00:33:47.300 --> 00:33:52.580
The gorilla family continues unperturbed to
find a resting place at the end of their day.

00:33:52.580 --> 00:33:57.340
The farmer's hat becomes an object of brief
curiosity.

00:34:00.740 --> 00:34:02.260
[Gorilla barks]

00:34:11.000 --> 00:34:13.800
>>NIVEN: After considerable scrutiny they
discard it.

00:34:13.800 --> 00:34:17.900
Possibly because it's the one piece of vegetable
matter they've met with all that day that's

00:34:17.900 --> 00:34:20.179
no good to eat.

00:34:26.460 --> 00:34:30.620
Kasimir doesn't even dare to look at it as
he and his family move away

00:34:30.620 --> 00:34:32.659
to a nights rest in the forest.

00:34:32.659 --> 00:34:37.460
Tomorrow there'll be another feast of the
bwembas.

00:34:39.940 --> 00:34:44.320
That African farmer's limits are clearly defined
by this vital piece of paper.

00:34:44.320 --> 00:34:48.270
This letter justifies all Adrien Deschryver's
efforts.

00:34:48.270 --> 00:34:54.940
In 1970 President Mobutu Sese Seko of Zaire
designated the Kahuzi-Biega forest

00:34:54.940 --> 00:34:57.810
a national park for mountain gorillas.

00:34:58.520 --> 00:35:03.640
President Mobutu has more over declared that
up to 15% of his country will eventually become

00:35:03.640 --> 00:35:05.080
national park.

00:35:05.080 --> 00:35:12.000
So the omens for the Kahuzi-Biega gorillas
are good although the local situation continually needs watching.

00:35:16.220 --> 00:35:21.040
At many points tea and coffee plantations
march alongside the forest.

00:35:21.040 --> 00:35:26.080
Just beyond more trees have been felled that
were once all part of the gorilla's range.

00:35:26.080 --> 00:35:29.820
It's a situation which the farmers are always
going to try to push to the limit.

00:35:29.820 --> 00:35:33.020
On this particular boundary encroachment has
been stopped.

00:35:33.020 --> 00:35:36.040
Of the process of erosion goes on elsewhere.

00:35:36.040 --> 00:35:41.360
In the few places gorillas still exist they're
continually being pushed back.

00:35:49.760 --> 00:35:54.620
Even close to park headquarters Deschryver
has problems with intruding cattle.

00:35:54.620 --> 00:35:58.640
Recently he gave the villagers three warnings
to get their cows out of the forest

00:35:58.640 --> 00:36:03.400
and when this failed acting on direct orders
he shot quite a few head.

00:36:03.400 --> 00:36:09.200
His trackers who have watched their traditional
hunting grounds in the park had a feast.

00:36:20.000 --> 00:36:22.980
If such encroachment was not instantly checked

00:36:22.980 --> 00:36:26.730
there'd soon be a thousand or more cattle
trampling and eating the vegetation

00:36:26.730 --> 00:36:31.040
which the gorillas need for their survival
and their range would become even smaller.

00:36:33.320 --> 00:36:34.860
[Cows mooing]

00:36:34.860 --> 00:36:37.040
[DESCHRYVER SPEAKS IN FRENCH]

00:36:38.480 --> 00:36:42.280
>>NIVEN: The point was eventually taken and
the locals removed their cows

00:36:42.280 --> 00:36:45.380
at least for the moment.

00:36:45.380 --> 00:36:50.220
Poaching gorillas for food in the remotest
part of the forest is a constant threat.

00:36:50.220 --> 00:36:54.000
Deschryver has authority to shoot poachers
though he's never done so yet.

00:36:54.000 --> 00:36:59.120
Even though his own brother was killed by
a poacher's bullet intended for him.

00:37:03.040 --> 00:37:08.460
There is a tender side to Adrien Deschryver's
nature that is far from being sentimental.

00:37:08.460 --> 00:37:12.060
This baby gorilla's parents were killed by
poachers.

00:37:12.060 --> 00:37:14.580
Some farmers had adopted her.

00:37:14.580 --> 00:37:19.680
As warden of Kahuzi-Biega park Deschryver
has the authority over all gorillas in Zaire

00:37:19.680 --> 00:37:21.900
including orphans.

00:37:21.900 --> 00:37:26.140
So he flew his own aircraft to visit the farmers
who had adopted this one.

00:37:26.140 --> 00:37:29.840
Sadly he told them that they must give up
the young gorilla.

00:37:29.840 --> 00:37:34.360
There are so few gorillas left in the wild
that it was Deschryver's duty someday

00:37:34.360 --> 00:37:37.900
to try to return this baby to the wild state.

00:37:37.900 --> 00:37:45.680
At the time he had no idea how or when and could not have begun to guess how the story would end.

00:37:53.200 --> 00:37:59.820
As a start he took the mini gorilla back with
him to his house at Bukavu on the shores of Lake Kivu,

00:37:59.820 --> 00:38:04.900
with the idea of teaching her some of the
skills she'd need in the wild.

00:38:04.900 --> 00:38:09.950
Julie the nearest European equivalent to the
Swahili word nyani or gorilla

00:38:09.950 --> 00:38:12.700
was encouraged to play with his own children.

00:38:12.700 --> 00:38:17.200
This was not an entirely successful lesson
in breast beating.

00:38:26.280 --> 00:38:33.280
To a young gorilla a bicycle offers the same
sort of gymnastic opportunities as a young tree.

00:38:38.560 --> 00:38:42.900
You can cling and you can swing.

00:38:47.100 --> 00:38:49.740
[Children laughing]

00:38:57.620 --> 00:39:01.420
>>NIVEN: Adrien introduced her to the sort
of companions she might eventually meet

00:39:01.420 --> 00:39:04.680
if he ever succeeded in releasing her into
the wild,

00:39:04.680 --> 00:39:07.660
like this three-horned chameleon.

00:39:07.660 --> 00:39:09.380
But would
he succeed?

00:39:09.380 --> 00:39:14.240
There was no previous record of an orphan
being successfully adopted by a wild gorilla family.

00:39:15.840 --> 00:39:23.260
[Deschryver speaking French]

00:39:32.840 --> 00:39:34.360
[Julie grunts]

00:39:48.120 --> 00:39:50.940
>>NIVEN: Gorillas have very little use for
water.

00:39:50.940 --> 00:39:54.060
They obtain all the liquid they need from
the plants they eat

00:39:54.060 --> 00:39:56.660
and they certainly never bath.

00:39:56.660 --> 00:40:00.940
Grooming keeps their hair clean but there
were no gorilla adults to groom Julie

00:40:00.940 --> 00:40:04.840
so occasionally she had to endure bath night.

00:40:05.580 --> 00:40:06.620
[Julie grunts]

00:40:12.680 --> 00:40:14.960
Gorillas are not known to swim.

00:40:14.960 --> 00:40:20.340
One of the things that helps limit their natural
range is their inability to cross large rivers.

00:40:20.340 --> 00:40:24.120
For an animal naturally allergic to water
Julie was more cooperative

00:40:24.120 --> 00:40:28.060
than many small humans about being bathed.

00:40:30.940 --> 00:40:33.440
She was now about six months old.

00:40:33.440 --> 00:40:37.000
Up to six months young gorillas progress faster
than humans

00:40:37.000 --> 00:40:39.950
but this was no human baby however cuddly
she might be

00:40:39.950 --> 00:40:42.420
and however much she might behave like one.

00:40:42.420 --> 00:40:45.640
Deschryver had no illusions about the choice
that lay ahead:

00:40:45.640 --> 00:40:52.000
confinement in a zoo or the unknown presence
of confrontation with wild relatives.

00:41:01.800 --> 00:41:07.020
Young gorillas will continue to suckle up
to eighteen months longer if they're given the chance.

00:41:07.020 --> 00:41:10.880
Deschryver got his wife to bottle feed Julie

00:41:10.880 --> 00:41:15.320
but it would be too much of a risk to hope
that some lactating female would adopt her

00:41:15.320 --> 00:41:18.540
if and when she ever returned to the forest.

00:41:18.540 --> 00:41:21.090
It's easy to get a young mammal to accept
bottle feeding

00:41:21.090 --> 00:41:23.850
but far more difficult to wean it onto solids

00:41:23.850 --> 00:41:27.540
and this had to be done as soon as possible.

00:41:30.820 --> 00:41:31.860
[Julie grunts]

00:41:40.660 --> 00:41:43.040
Meantime, while Julie grew in strength,

00:41:43.040 --> 00:41:47.080
Deschryver's daily observations of gorilla
behavior influence continued.

00:41:47.080 --> 00:41:51.940
It was a rainy season and now the gorillas
had left the bwemba trees on the border of the park

00:41:51.940 --> 00:41:56.840
and climbed high into the bamboo forests that
begin at 7,500 feet.

00:41:56.840 --> 00:42:00.480
The bamboos provide them with a great deal
of protein at this time of year.

00:42:00.480 --> 00:42:03.710
For some reason the gorillas become more aggressive
and less approachable

00:42:03.710 --> 00:42:05.400
in the dense bamboo woodlands.

00:42:07.240 --> 00:42:13.640
[Bamboo rustling and gorillas grunting]

00:42:32.780 --> 00:42:35.100
[Bamboo stretching and snapping]

00:43:40.280 --> 00:43:43.500
>>NIVEN: Julie was constantly on Deschryver's
mind.

00:43:43.510 --> 00:43:49.690
One of the things taxing him was at what age
if ever he should try to return her to the forest.

00:43:49.690 --> 00:43:52.880
She could hardly hope to look after herself
at eighteen months old.

00:43:52.880 --> 00:43:58.460
Above all her education had to be kept up
so he started carrying her into the forest

00:43:58.460 --> 00:44:02.000
to get used to its sight, sounds, and smells.

00:44:12.820 --> 00:44:17.040
He began to show her wild food such as choice
banana leaves.

00:44:20.380 --> 00:44:22.300
[Leaves snapping]

00:44:24.000 --> 00:44:27.320
At first she didn't seem very keen but gradually
she began to chew on them.

00:44:27.320 --> 00:44:30.000
It was another great step forward.

00:44:32.360 --> 00:44:40.000
[Deschryver speaks French while tearing banana leaves]

00:45:02.160 --> 00:45:05.480
>>NIVEN: She was already an accomplished crawler.

00:45:11.080 --> 00:45:15.000
As first apparent Deschryver next persuaded
her to crawl with him.

00:45:15.000 --> 00:45:18.660
Just as she would with her mother when roaming
through the forest.

00:45:18.660 --> 00:45:21.220
She looked to him constantly for guidance.

00:45:26.700 --> 00:45:30.340
Deschryver confesses he became completely
captivated by her.

00:45:30.340 --> 00:45:33.100
Though he remained realistic about her future.

00:45:33.100 --> 00:45:36.760
It was no good becoming too attached to Julie
as warden he was committed

00:45:36.760 --> 00:45:38.610
to returning her to the wild.

00:45:38.610 --> 00:45:41.160
The question was when?

00:45:45.320 --> 00:45:48.860
Deschryver had no intention of trying to reintroduce
her too soon.

00:45:48.860 --> 00:45:51.820
He was prepared to wait years if necessary.

00:45:51.820 --> 00:45:57.660
The forest was far too intimidating and the
behavior of gorillas too uncertain to take any chances.

00:45:57.660 --> 00:45:59.460
[Gorilla roars]

00:46:01.060 --> 00:46:04.440
>>NIVEN: What now follows was completely unplanned.

00:46:04.440 --> 00:46:08.540
One day Deschryver decided to take Julie close
to Kasimir's family

00:46:08.540 --> 00:46:14.200
to let her hear and become used to the sounds
of wild gorillas.

00:46:29.120 --> 00:46:32.520
Hannibal was very close and obviously agitated.

00:46:32.580 --> 00:46:34.140
[Gorilla chirping]

00:46:39.280 --> 00:46:42.710
Now unexpectedly Julie started to cry.

00:46:42.710 --> 00:46:45.460
[Julie crying]

00:46:47.000 --> 00:46:48.120
[Gorilla barks]

00:46:48.180 --> 00:46:50.520
>>NIVEN: Even Deschryver began to get alarmed.

00:46:50.520 --> 00:46:53.080
There was no way he could retreat the gorillas
were all around.

00:46:53.080 --> 00:46:56.360
[Animal chirping]

00:47:00.720 --> 00:47:02.360
[Gorilla barks]

00:47:05.180 --> 00:47:06.580
[Gorilla barks]

00:47:12.180 --> 00:47:15.420
[Animal chirping]

00:47:16.980 --> 00:47:18.340
[Gorilla barks]

00:47:18.500 --> 00:47:23.200
In a situation like this the group would look
to Kasimir for a lead.

00:47:23.200 --> 00:47:24.300
Suddenly they got it.

00:47:24.560 --> 00:47:27.280
[Gorilla roaring]

00:47:27.340 --> 00:47:33.680
[Deschyver speaks French]

00:47:33.760 --> 00:47:39.960
[Gorilla shouting]

00:47:47.400 --> 00:47:51.180
>>NIVEN: By sheer good luck Kasimir stopped
in the one open space

00:47:51.180 --> 00:47:55.000
where the rest of the family waited to inspect
and fondle her.

00:47:59.840 --> 00:48:04.680
[Animal chirping]

00:48:09.640 --> 00:48:13.980
Kasimir reappeared briefly to reassert his
dominance over Deschryver

00:48:13.980 --> 00:48:17.080
whom they will regard as another gorilla leader.

00:48:17.080 --> 00:48:23.520
Deschryver admitted afterwards that he only
dropped Julie on the ground because he expected to be killed by Kasimir.

00:48:23.520 --> 00:48:26.020
The whole kidnapping happened so quickly

00:48:26.020 --> 00:48:29.619
that it's only possible to see the details in slowed
up action.

00:48:29.620 --> 00:48:35.320
[Gorillas roaring]

00:48:42.980 --> 00:48:48.780
>>NIVEN: Kasimir scooped Julie up carried
her away and then suddenly dropped her.

00:48:55.060 --> 00:48:58.680
Deschryver starts forward as if to try to
recover her but Kasimir

00:48:58.680 --> 00:49:02.440
was never once taking his eyes off him charges
once again.

00:49:02.440 --> 00:49:06.680
This time he successfully picks Julie up under
the undergrowth.

00:49:06.960 --> 00:49:10.480
[Leaves crunching]

00:49:23.720 --> 00:49:29.120
It was perhaps a tragedy that Kasimir took
matters into his own hands and kidnapped Julie.

00:49:29.120 --> 00:49:33.240
At last unprecedented rain and cold struck
the mountains.

00:49:33.240 --> 00:49:35.940
She lived for only ten days.

00:49:35.940 --> 00:49:38.940
Had there been a nursing female in the group
who could have breast fed her

00:49:38.940 --> 00:49:40.940
she might very well of survived.

00:49:40.940 --> 00:49:47.040
But the one thing that has been proved is
that wild gorillas will accept orphaned young.

00:49:50.120 --> 00:49:54.220
In creating Kahuzi-Biega National Park the
republic of Zaire

00:49:54.220 --> 00:50:00.000
has undoubtedly saved one of the largest remaining
populations of mountain gorillas.

00:50:00.000 --> 00:50:04.280
Adrien Deschryver is convinced that although
neighboring forest areas are also inhabited

00:50:04.280 --> 00:50:07.340
by the great apes he has made his daily companions.

00:50:07.340 --> 00:50:13.000
To establish this scientific surveys must
be done over a huge area of forest.

00:50:13.000 --> 00:50:17.960
Then his task is to try to get the size of the
present park enlarged.

00:50:17.960 --> 00:50:24.160
The dedication of the man is so complete that
he will almost certainly exceed.

00:50:24.340 --> 00:50:26.540
[Gorilla barks]

00:50:39.100 --> 00:50:42.380
[Insect noises]