Show Notes
In this special three part miniseries from Our Wild World, we will explore the behavior of both lowland and mountain gorillas. For many of us of a certain age, the first gorilla we ever became aware of was King Kong, scaling the Empire State Building and batting airplanes and helicopters like they were no more than bothersome flies. The film reflects the prevailing misconception of gorillas that dated back to their discovery in the mid-19th century as being fierce, even monstrous creatures. Almost as soon as they were discovered, European and American trophy hunters began hunting them. By the time Dian Fossey began her study of mountain gorillas in 1966, the species was well on the way to extinction due to poaching and habitat loss. Part 1 introduces this misunderstood species. I'll take listeners back to Rwanda and Zaire in 1991. I'll tell the harrowing story of how I almost became one of the first victims of the Rwandan genocide. Unknowingly, I took pictures of the Presidential Palace in Kigali, Rwanda. I was accused of being the wrong kind of guerrilla, a rebel from Uganda, and detained by soldiers. Then, I'll share my trek to see the lowland gorillas at Kahuzi Biega National Park in the Congo (what was then Zaire). While the conservation of mountain gorillas has been a true success story, the lowland gorillas sadly are disappearing fast. They have the bad luck of being located in the Democratic Republic of the Congo which has always been a very unstable, war torn region. It was in 1991 as well when I took my trip there. In this episode, I will also describe my meeting with legendary German conservationist Conrad Aveling. Part 2 will explore Dian Fossey's groundbreaking research of mountain gorillas, her battles to save them, and her untimely, still unsolved death. I'll investigate her death by sharing with listeners who Fossey's lover, National Geographic photographer Bob Campbell, suspected was her killer as well as my correspondence with her biographer, famed Canadian conservationist Farley Mowat, and what the American diplomats stationed in Kigali, Rwanda in 1991 told me. Part 2 will also include the fascinating story of Koko the gorilla, and the research Francine Patterson did teaching Koko American Sign Language and proving the intelligence of these amazing sentient beings. In Part 3, I will recount tracking the mountain gorillas, descendants of the family members Fossey studied, at Volcanoes National Park in 2017. Then, I will detail our trek into Uganda's Impenetrable Forest to see mountain gorillas there. This episode will include more research on the complex social behavior and lives of mountain gorillas. Check out our companion Facebook and Instagram sites for pictures my wife and I have taken in the bush.
More from Our Wild World
Hyenas are amongst the most misunderstood and maligned animals, perhaps only rivaled by wolves, coyotes, and wild dogs. For too long, Africans and westerners have despised the hyena, viewing it as an ugly scavenger, when in fact, as we shall see, they are one of the most successful hunters in the animal kingdom. Hyenas possess many of the ethical principles that we admire most in the best human beings. Instead of fearing the hyena, and wanting to kill it, we need to develop a new ethos, based on factual knowledge, and give this amazing predator its due.
In this episode, you'll learn about the most feared animal in all of Africa. No, it isn't a lion, hippo, or crocodile. The Black Mamba, nicknamed Africa's Death Kisser, is legendary for being the world's deadliest snake. Its reputation is well deserved. Considered the world's deadliest snake, the black mamba is extremely fast and aggressive when threatened. It's bite is almost always fatal, and death occurs within 10 to 20 minutes. While effective black mamba antivenin does exist, it isn't widely available in rural Africa where most black mamba deaths occur. Because death can occur in as little as ten minutes after a black mamba bite, antivenom must be administered immediately for it to be effective. It seems that every veteran safari goer has a story or two about the black mamba. I'll share a few, as well as the extremely close encounter my wife and I had with a Black Mamba in 2022. It's one of the best black mamba stories I've ever heard, and we lived to tell it.
In this episode, we will learn all about the three species of zebras – the Plains, Mountain, and Grevy's zebras. We will explore the physical and behavioral similarities between the species. Their social organization, habitats, ranges, diets, and their threats to survival will all be discussed. Finally, no discussion of zebras can be complete without addressing the various theories as to the function of those incredible stripes which make the zebra so endearing.
Cheetahs have long captured our the imagination of humans, and were frequently depicted in the artwork of the ancient Egyptians and San Bushmen of the Kalahari. As the fastest mammal on earth, cheetahs have an athletic body – long legs, a small, round head, slim torso, flexible spine, and semi-retractable claws. They can run breathtakingly fast – up to 70 mph (113 kph) – a speed they can reach astonishingly fast, in just three seconds. Cheetahs are more successful at killing prey than any of the other African cats. They are second only to wild dogs as the most successful predators. Cheetahs are successful at killing their prey about 70 percent of the time, an astonishingly high success rate for predators. Because they most typically hunt alone, cheetahs rarely take down prey larger than themselves. In this podcast, listeners will learn all about this fascinating predator.
In this podcast, we will learn about African buffalo, a formidable animal with a well-deserved reputation for being grumpy and unpredictable. The nicknames given to African buffalo reflect their formidable strength, short-temper, and unpredictability: Black Death, Widow Maker, and the Mafia of the Bush. Some Pygmy groups in Cameroon avoid buffalo because of a commonly held belief that it is inhabited by powerful evil spirits. We will introduce the different species of buffalo, their social organization, behavior, range, physical attributes, and their current status in the wild.