The Mountain Gorilla - Documentary

The Mountain Gorilla
Narrated by David Niven

Mountain Gorillas are an endangered species that live in high altitude impenetrable rainforests. In this documentary of one man's successful struggle to protect one small population of mountain gorillas on the slopes of Mount Kahuzi in Zaire. The mans name is Adrien Deschryver. It took him four years of daily contact and study to persuade the gorillas to let him approach closely. During that time he was charged many times by the senior males and, in particular, a great silver-backed male whom he calls Kasimir.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mountain_gorilla

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

A man called Adrien Deschryver searches for
the animals

who have become his driving force in life,

as well as his constant companions.

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

The reason is obvious, they so closely resemble
himself.

[branches rustle]

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

makes observation appallingly difficult.

They can also be extremely intimidating.

Though, aggressiveness is not their true nature.

[GORILLA HOWLING, BRANCHES SNAPPING]

[howling continues]

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

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

even though some of the adult males still
charged him.

[GORILLA HOWLING]

[DESCHRYVER SPEAKING FOREIGN LANGUAGE]

[gorilla howling]

[gorilla huffs]

[Deschryver speaking foreign language]

[gorilla howls]

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

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

of one of the rarest animals on Earth,

the mountain gorilla.

[GORILLA HOWING]

[gorilla howling]

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

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

Their nature is not all as legend insists.

The strip cartoon image is of a blood thirsty
creature

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

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

âŞ

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

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

[kong growls]

How true are the legends about the great ape

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

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

Everything written about his great strength
is true too.

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

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

[GORILLA THUMPING CHEST, HOWLING]

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

but only when they feel threatened.

But all of this is only part of the story.

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

gentler family side of the gorilla's life.

Largely because of the difficulty of studying
these peaceful vegetarians

in the inaccessible forests in which they
live.

[gorilla growls]

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

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

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

One such concentration exists in the mountains

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

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

The peaks, themselves, are bare volcanic rock.

Their lower slopes, heavily forested,

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

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

The forests start at around 6,000 feet.

Below that the fertile land has been cleared
for cultivation.

Once inside the trees,

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

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

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

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

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

The world they inhabit beneath the canopy
of the trees

is one of undisturbed primordial peace.

[repeated gun shots]

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

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

A Belgian with plantations on the slopes of
Mount Kahuzi,

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

When peace returned to Zaire in 1965 Deschryver
had had enough

to last several life times.

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

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

the mountain gorillas.

[gorilla howls]

[gorilla howls]

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

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

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

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

[TREES SNAPPING]

[snapping continues]

[tress snapping]

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

about the movements and the habits of the
gorilla families.

[GORILLA HOWLING]

[indistinct conversation]

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

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

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

[gorilla growls]

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

he ate whatever the gorilla was eating.

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

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

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

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

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

[GORILLA NOISES]

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

[TREE SNAPPING]

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

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

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

[SOUND OF A TREE BRANCH FALLING]

[GORILLA HOWL]

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

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

perhaps because they associate them with earlier
hunting

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

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

[TREE BRANCH SNAPPING]

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

[GORILLA HOWLING]

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

so he is understandably cautious about crossing
a road

that has been recently been made through his
home range.

[GORILLA SCREECHES]

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

Then come the females and the young.

[gorilla growls]

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

Next a mother and two young.

[branches rustle]

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

The second female that is crossing is called
Broken Arm.

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

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

[GORILLA GRUNTS]

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

to be swallowed by the forest once more.

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

[branches break]

A gorilla's day starts just after dawn.

The whole day is governed by the need to eat.

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

The small animals, young males, females, infants,

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

The larger animals build their nests on the
ground.

[gorilla growls]

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

When they're traveling gorillas move in single
file.

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

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

vines and creepers to be cut and parted.

Sometimes the approach takes hours even though
torn chutes

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

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

[Mishebere cuts branches]

[gorilla barks]

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

[gorilla barks]

If they are uneasy they often beat their breasts.

[gorillas beat their chests]

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

[rapid beats]

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

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

[trees rustling]

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

[trees rustling and leaves tearing]

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

Kasimir scoops out the soft bitter pulp.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

[leaves tearing]

[leaves tearing and squeaking]

[gorilla crunches leaves]

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

Deschryver maintains that Kasimir is an excellent
conservationist.

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

As Mishebere and Deschryver follow once more

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

A third tree has been left untouched for the
future.

Gorillas are highly selective feeders.

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

They have a large selection to choose from.

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

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

[Plants snapping]

Once again using his eating mime to approach
Kasimir

Deschryver studies the great ape's technique
for dealing with this troublesome weed.

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

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

[Crunching of plants]

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

and always chooses an open space in which
to do so.

In the open he no longer charges him.

Just the same Deschryver often takes ten minutes
of cautious step-by-step approach

to get as close as this.

Hannibal is number three male not yet silver-backed

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

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

even more closely than Kasimir.

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

who wishes to make contact with Deschryver
though at first the gorilla plays hard to get.

[Gorilla grunts]

Deschryver senses that something unusual is
going to happen.

[Gorilla pounding chest]

[Gorilla shouting]

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

>>DESCHRYVER: [speaking in French]

>>NIVEN: Hannibal is reassured and settles
down again only feet away.

[Birds chirping]

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

[Gorilla shouting fiercely]

Was this aggression or a desire to make contact?

Deschryver was totally unhurt as action replay
shows.

[KISSY NOISES]

[Gorilla roaring]

>>NIVEN: The blow from that huge fist never
actually landed.

The right hand simply pulled out the shirt.

[Gorilla roars]

Hannibal has never tried to repeat that performance.

Possibly once was enough for him.

It certainly was for Deschryver.

At mid-day the gorillas seek thicker cover
and Deschryver once again follows them.

They've been eating continuously since they
arose from their nests just after dawn.

Now the gorillas take a lunch break, or rather
a non-lunch break.

For up to two hours each day they relax and
stop eating,

presumably to digest the huge intake of the
morning.

Complete peace falls over the forest.

The sound of crashing branches and rending
leaves stops.

During this siesta period the gorillas groom
and relax.

[Crunching of plants]

Towards the end of the lunchtime break there's
sometimes a disturbance.

The youngsters grow restless while like human
children after a picnic.

With the indulgence of their seniors they
take part in play fights.

The midday halt is the only time they can
do this

without getting left behind by the constantly
moving family.

[NOISES OF THE THICKET BEING DISTURBED AND
CHIRPING SOUNDS COMING FROM THE GORILLAS]

>>NIVEN: Deschryver observes the same lunch
time pause.

His field craft and knowledge of gorilla habits
often enables him

to anticipate the next stopping place along
their intended route

and he waits for them there.

They climb up into the trees for their first
feed of the afternoon.

What they're after is a parasitic growth rather
like mistletoe.

[BRANCHES CRACKLING AND GORILLAS CHEWING]

>>NIVEN: Previous observation of gorillas
in more open country

has suggested that they were cautious and
rather clumsy climbers.

In the forest of Kahuzi where there are plenty
of large trees to bare their weight

they show themselves to be extraordinarily
agile.

[Foliage crunching]

They move on again.

There's still three good feeding hours left.

Their chosen route is taking them towards
the edge of the park

where the trees end and the farm land begins.

Kasimir clearly has a definite objective in
mind.

It's very rarely that the whole group emerges
into the open together

but that's what they do now on a track at
the border of the park.

So here assembling for their portrait is Kasimir's
family.

The young male Fred escorts a female.

The difference in size is very evident.

The males besides being much bigger have a
fatter face and a higher peaked forehead.

Fred is probably seven or eight.

This female looks pregnant in which case she's
probably carrying Kasimir's infant.

Kasimir has first choice of receptive females.

Though Kasimir is over twenty he's still very
much in command of the group.

His stately exit tells the youngsters and
more timid females that it's safe to cross the track.

[Gorilla growls]

Any quarreling in the gorilla group is usually
among the females.

Males take little notice of female temperament.

They prefer to eat in dignified silence.

[Gorilla growls]

Gorillas do a good deal of barking to warn
or appear aggressive.

Sometimes they give a questioning bark as
if to ask 'who's there?'

[Gorillas barking]

>>NIVEN: Now Hannibal and Mushamuka martial
the rest of the family to hurry on

in the general direction which Kasimir has
indicated.

[Gorillas crunching leaves]

The final objective is now reached.

A wild fruit called a bwemba is ripe for the
gathering.

When the bwemba season comes gorilla groups
make their way

to certain well-known bwemba trees and pillage
for ripe fruits.

First they'll clean up the fruit that has
fallen to the ground.

Then Kasimir leads the assault to the top-most
branches.

[Gorilla growls]

Mushamuka follows next.

Then come the females and younger males.

A youngster beats the branches though it's
hard to say why perhaps this time in play.

[Gorilla growls]

[Gorilla tapping branches]

The bwemba feast is over for the day and when
the family finally climbs down

each member has his mouth stuffed full of the
fruit.

The gorillas seldom leave the forest and trespass
on the farmland.

When they do so it brings them in contact
with the chief danger to their future: man.

This particular man is no direct threat to
them.

He's a simple farmer and he has every right
to be where he is

but as long as trees are felled and forests
cleared the gorillas will be on the retreat.

Now it's the African farmer who beats a retreat
minus his hat.

[Gorilla grunts]

The gorilla family continues unperturbed to
find a resting place at the end of their day.

The farmer's hat becomes an object of brief
curiosity.

[Gorilla barks]

>>NIVEN: After considerable scrutiny they
discard it.

Possibly because it's the one piece of vegetable
matter they've met with all that day that's

no good to eat.

Kasimir doesn't even dare to look at it as
he and his family move away

to a nights rest in the forest.

Tomorrow there'll be another feast of the
bwembas.

That African farmer's limits are clearly defined
by this vital piece of paper.

This letter justifies all Adrien Deschryver's
efforts.

In 1970 President Mobutu Sese Seko of Zaire
designated the Kahuzi-Biega forest

a national park for mountain gorillas.

President Mobutu has more over declared that
up to 15% of his country will eventually become

national park.

So the omens for the Kahuzi-Biega gorillas
are good although the local situation continually needs watching.

At many points tea and coffee plantations
march alongside the forest.

Just beyond more trees have been felled that
were once all part of the gorilla's range.

It's a situation which the farmers are always
going to try to push to the limit.

On this particular boundary encroachment has
been stopped.

Of the process of erosion goes on elsewhere.

In the few places gorillas still exist they're
continually being pushed back.

Even close to park headquarters Deschryver
has problems with intruding cattle.

Recently he gave the villagers three warnings
to get their cows out of the forest

and when this failed acting on direct orders
he shot quite a few head.

His trackers who have watched their traditional
hunting grounds in the park had a feast.

If such encroachment was not instantly checked

there'd soon be a thousand or more cattle
trampling and eating the vegetation

which the gorillas need for their survival
and their range would become even smaller.

[Cows mooing]

[DESCHRYVER SPEAKS IN FRENCH]

>>NIVEN: The point was eventually taken and
the locals removed their cows

at least for the moment.

Poaching gorillas for food in the remotest
part of the forest is a constant threat.

Deschryver has authority to shoot poachers
though he's never done so yet.

Even though his own brother was killed by
a poacher's bullet intended for him.

There is a tender side to Adrien Deschryver's
nature that is far from being sentimental.

This baby gorilla's parents were killed by
poachers.

Some farmers had adopted her.

As warden of Kahuzi-Biega park Deschryver
has the authority over all gorillas in Zaire

including orphans.

So he flew his own aircraft to visit the farmers
who had adopted this one.

Sadly he told them that they must give up
the young gorilla.

There are so few gorillas left in the wild
that it was Deschryver's duty someday

to try to return this baby to the wild state.

At the time he had no idea how or when and could not have begun to guess how the story would end.

As a start he took the mini gorilla back with
him to his house at Bukavu on the shores of Lake Kivu,

with the idea of teaching her some of the
skills she'd need in the wild.

Julie the nearest European equivalent to the
Swahili word nyani or gorilla

was encouraged to play with his own children.

This was not an entirely successful lesson
in breast beating.

To a young gorilla a bicycle offers the same
sort of gymnastic opportunities as a young tree.

You can cling and you can swing.

[Children laughing]

>>NIVEN: Adrien introduced her to the sort
of companions she might eventually meet

if he ever succeeded in releasing her into
the wild,

like this three-horned chameleon.

But would
he succeed?

There was no previous record of an orphan
being successfully adopted by a wild gorilla family.

[Deschryver speaking French]

[Julie grunts]

>>NIVEN: Gorillas have very little use for
water.

They obtain all the liquid they need from
the plants they eat

and they certainly never bath.

Grooming keeps their hair clean but there
were no gorilla adults to groom Julie

so occasionally she had to endure bath night.

[Julie grunts]

Gorillas are not known to swim.

One of the things that helps limit their natural
range is their inability to cross large rivers.

For an animal naturally allergic to water
Julie was more cooperative

than many small humans about being bathed.

She was now about six months old.

Up to six months young gorillas progress faster
than humans

but this was no human baby however cuddly
she might be

and however much she might behave like one.

Deschryver had no illusions about the choice
that lay ahead:

confinement in a zoo or the unknown presence
of confrontation with wild relatives.

Young gorillas will continue to suckle up
to eighteen months longer if they're given the chance.

Deschryver got his wife to bottle feed Julie

but it would be too much of a risk to hope
that some lactating female would adopt her

if and when she ever returned to the forest.

It's easy to get a young mammal to accept
bottle feeding

but far more difficult to wean it onto solids

and this had to be done as soon as possible.

[Julie grunts]

Meantime, while Julie grew in strength,

Deschryver's daily observations of gorilla
behavior influence continued.

It was a rainy season and now the gorillas
had left the bwemba trees on the border of the park

and climbed high into the bamboo forests that
begin at 7,500 feet.

The bamboos provide them with a great deal
of protein at this time of year.

For some reason the gorillas become more aggressive
and less approachable

in the dense bamboo woodlands.

[Bamboo rustling and gorillas grunting]

[Bamboo stretching and snapping]

>>NIVEN: Julie was constantly on Deschryver's
mind.

One of the things taxing him was at what age
if ever he should try to return her to the forest.

She could hardly hope to look after herself
at eighteen months old.

Above all her education had to be kept up
so he started carrying her into the forest

to get used to its sight, sounds, and smells.

He began to show her wild food such as choice
banana leaves.

[Leaves snapping]

At first she didn't seem very keen but gradually
she began to chew on them.

It was another great step forward.

[Deschryver speaks French while tearing banana leaves]

>>NIVEN: She was already an accomplished crawler.

As first apparent Deschryver next persuaded
her to crawl with him.

Just as she would with her mother when roaming
through the forest.

She looked to him constantly for guidance.

Deschryver confesses he became completely
captivated by her.

Though he remained realistic about her future.

It was no good becoming too attached to Julie
as warden he was committed

to returning her to the wild.

The question was when?

Deschryver had no intention of trying to reintroduce
her too soon.

He was prepared to wait years if necessary.

The forest was far too intimidating and the
behavior of gorillas too uncertain to take any chances.

[Gorilla roars]

>>NIVEN: What now follows was completely unplanned.

One day Deschryver decided to take Julie close
to Kasimir's family

to let her hear and become used to the sounds
of wild gorillas.

Hannibal was very close and obviously agitated.

[Gorilla chirping]

Now unexpectedly Julie started to cry.

[Julie crying]

[Gorilla barks]

>>NIVEN: Even Deschryver began to get alarmed.

There was no way he could retreat the gorillas
were all around.

[Animal chirping]

[Gorilla barks]

[Gorilla barks]

[Animal chirping]

[Gorilla barks]

In a situation like this the group would look
to Kasimir for a lead.

Suddenly they got it.

[Gorilla roaring]

[Deschyver speaks French]

[Gorilla shouting]

>>NIVEN: By sheer good luck Kasimir stopped
in the one open space

where the rest of the family waited to inspect
and fondle her.

[Animal chirping]

Kasimir reappeared briefly to reassert his
dominance over Deschryver

whom they will regard as another gorilla leader.

Deschryver admitted afterwards that he only
dropped Julie on the ground because he expected to be killed by Kasimir.

The whole kidnapping happened so quickly

that it's only possible to see the details in slowed
up action.

[Gorillas roaring]

>>NIVEN: Kasimir scooped Julie up carried
her away and then suddenly dropped her.

Deschryver starts forward as if to try to
recover her but Kasimir

was never once taking his eyes off him charges
once again.

This time he successfully picks Julie up under
the undergrowth.

[Leaves crunching]

It was perhaps a tragedy that Kasimir took
matters into his own hands and kidnapped Julie.

At last unprecedented rain and cold struck
the mountains.

She lived for only ten days.

Had there been a nursing female in the group
who could have breast fed her

she might very well of survived.

But the one thing that has been proved is
that wild gorillas will accept orphaned young.

In creating Kahuzi-Biega National Park the
republic of Zaire

has undoubtedly saved one of the largest remaining
populations of mountain gorillas.

Adrien Deschryver is convinced that although
neighboring forest areas are also inhabited

by the great apes he has made his daily companions.

To establish this scientific surveys must
be done over a huge area of forest.

Then his task is to try to get the size of the
present park enlarged.

The dedication of the man is so complete that
he will almost certainly exceed.

[Gorilla barks]

[Insect noises]