Gorillas Pet Tourist In Uganda (VIDEO)

An American tourist on a gorilla-watching tour in Uganda came a little closer to the gorillas than he expected.

The man, identified only as John, was pet and groomed by a group of wild mountain gorillas--including a mama and her babies--near Bwindi National Park.

In the video below, John sits cowering next to the gorillas and laughs as his "heart was racing."

Park rangers say interactions such as these are very rare, USA Today reports.

The video doesn't get good until the 2:50 mark, so fast forward to see the petting and laughter.

Comments

[lousackman420]

05:13 PM on 01/12/2012

This is amazing. I would be soooooooo scared if that happened to me.

[Andrew Seguya]

08:12 AM on 01/03/2012

The Uganda Wildlife Authority enforces a 7 meter distance between tourists and the gorillas. However Gorillas are known to go out of the park since there are no physical barriers to stop them. This happened in this case as the encounter was in a tourist camp outside the national park. We advise tourists to stay calm in such encounters, look away from the gorillas and be in a submissive posture. When safe, one can walk away from the gorillas.This type of encounter is rare and not the norm.
Dr Andrew G. Seguya, Acting Director, Uganda Wildlife Authority, www.ugandawildlife.org

[Tony Duhon]

10:41 AM on 02/02/2012

rare, but beautiful.....poachers forced gorillas to "learn" that humans are 'bad'..... hopefully, parks like this one can help them learn that not all humans are bad

[darkmark]

12:45 PM on 01/02/2012

well lucky him. and he has it on video to look at the rest of his life. can't imagine it getting any better than that.

[rewith85man]

01:30 AM on 01/02/2012

That is proof telling me that animals are smarter than some humans.

[O K Ali]

09:17 PM on 01/01/2012

I felt my bowels shift just watching. Too close for comfort.

[Deborah Paley]

10:32 AM on 12/31/2011

Breathtaking! A life altering experience. Precious.

[Blarg]

03:26 AM on 12/30/2011

I'm suspicious of these gorillas.

Just what's their angle?

[gypsumrose]

03:18 AM on 12/31/2011

yeah ok lol its amazing when animals can trust a human enough to act that way. They were in a way testing him to see what he would do the silver back sat right behind him to protect the others truly an amazing video.

[rewith85man]

01:31 AM on 01/02/2012

to have a love triangle. LOL

[rewith85man]

01:31 AM on 01/02/2012

and you for dessert.

[hollyoffner]

12:54 PM on 12/28/2011

This was truly amazing! How could anyone ever hurt one of these beautiful creatures?

[aicequeen36]

09:20 PM on 12/26/2011

I am glad this story has a happy ending , but I would have peed myself out of fear! I think that was wonderful,I just do not trust wild animals.It was a rare gift that's for sure

[Sidedoor]

11:39 AM on 12/26/2011

Although this close contact should not have happened, it did and John seemed to act in a responsible way.
Gorillas are are beautiful, awe inspiring animals which need to be protected. This video could be very helpful to any organization trying to advance the cause of gorilla survival in the wild because it is so touching and at the same time exciting. They find us somewhat interesting too when they do not fear us!

[Julie Takase]

09:38 AM on 12/26/2011

I'd be very scared. The silverback is very intimidating.

[dpwatts01]

03:13 PM on 12/25/2011

This is embarrassing for the Uganda Wildlife Authority, which is responsible for conservation efforts and supervising tourism in Uganda's national parks. I can attest from personal experience (from long ago! I wouldn't allow it now) that experiencing a juvenile mountain gorillas' curiosity like this is wonderful. However, it places the gorillas seriously at risk of contracting diseases from humans, hence the official UWA rule that all humans must stay at least 7 meters from the gorillas. UWA Tourism Guides know that they are required to enforce this rule; everyone who works at the tourism facilities is aware of it. Sadly, pathogens transmitted from humans have almost certainly killed some mountain gorilla, and human-introduced pathogens have undoubtedly killed chimpanzees in Ivory Coast. Those of us who do research on wild chimpanzees and gorillas and everyone involved in conservation efforts is acutely aware of the risks and of the responsibility that everyone who comes close to the animals has to minimize these. The protection that our presence and that regular monitoring of the chimpanzee and gorilla groups that are "habituated" for tourism provides, plus the financial incentives that successful tourism programs provide to host country governments (mountain gorilla tourism is the biggest source of tourism revenue for Uganda!), outweigh the risks so long as people act responsibly. This isn't to castigate John -- I'm glad he enjoyed it (and hope he didn't have a respiratory infection!) -- but this shouldn't have happened.
-- David Watts

[Janetgv]

08:13 PM on 12/25/2011

Your comment was extremely informative. Thanks:)

[fifi lahkay]

02:03 AM on 12/26/2011

John didn't seem to seek out close contact, though by sitting like he did made it perhaps more inviting. I noted that he kept his head down and away for the most part during the exchange, maybe so as not to breathe on the family?

It's a real razors edge isn't it? Keeping the gorilla safe from poachers while at the same time keeping the gorilla safe from one possible solution to poaching.

[dpwatts01]

11:16 AM on 12/26/2011

You're right. "Razor's edge" is a good way to put it. I often call tourism a "double-edged sword". Someone who isn't explicitly told that the proper response is to back away and maintain the distance (or who isn't with a Tourism Guide who does something to make the gorilla maintain its distance -- that's possible!) can hardly be blamed for thinking the best thing to do is sit there without moving so as to be non-threatening. In fact, that's a smart response. The ideal for health reasons would be stay away and leave the gorillas alone -- but then no tourism, serious limits on research, and most importantly, serious limits on protection!

[myemily0500]

02:25 PM on 12/25/2011

OMG this is unbelievable!! No other words to say but absolutely AWESOME!!!!!!!!!!!

[Neoamericanboy]

11:22 AM on 12/25/2011

maybe it was the gorilla parents version of takign the kids to the human zoo

[aicequeen36]

09:21 PM on 12/26/2011

Good perspective

[O K Ali]

09:16 PM on 01/01/2012

I liked the way that huge Silverback ushered the smaller ones by.