Meeting with Rwandan gorillas who owe life to David Attenborough – World News

After climbing the fossilized lava flows at 9,000 feet above sea level, we hid in the vegetation, my guide cutting his machete through tendrils that grip your legs like lbados.

Finally, we see them – a family of gorillas from those made famous by David Attenborough in 1979.

Our hearts pounding in a silence only broken by the buzz of the insects, we observe the gorillas of the mountains of Rwanda while they are motionless, suspended with a luxuriant vegetation like sculptures.

Here is Ururabo, 22, with her sons Nkurunziza, five, and Imena, 11, and her strong-armed daughter, Wang Wang Uburumbuke, with a one-year-old brush fuzz head.

Ururabo is the daughter of Poppy, who was only 18 months old when she was filmed while she watched her boyfriend Pablo sit down and have fun on an astonished David Attenborough.

Later, out of the camera, mischievous Poppy loosened the naturalist's boots.

In April, it will be 40 years since the film of Sir David's Life on Earth series was screened on the BBC in front of an audience that knew more about King Kong gorillas than about animal shows.

Previously, the presenter himself had never met one in the flesh, let alone filmed them.

When its meeting with the gorillas was broadcast, the creatures were extremely rare, counting less than 250 people in the world and should disappear by the end of the century.

But there are now more than 1,004, making mountain gorillas the only monkey on the planet, with the exception of humans, in increasing numbers.

Although they are still in danger, it is an extraordinary conservation success, thanks in large part to Sir David.

We came to the Volcanoes National Park in Rwanda, in the Virunga Mountains, to retrace his steps and try to understand his feat and find the descendants of the cheeky gorillas he met.

We are accompanied by biologist Ian Redmond, 64, who in the 1970s worked in this dense jungle as a 22-year-old primatologist Dian Fossey, who had studied these groups and gave them names.

Ian, who was holding the microphone while the gorillas were gently teasing Sir David like a brother, said the movie "helped change the fate of a species".

The gorillas were targeted by poachers, who cut their hands and feet into trophies and stole their babies for sale.

Ian said, "First of all, Sir David has demolished the myth of King Kong by being so clearly accepted by the gorillas. He turned people's opinions on them.

"He did not expect to be so close, but they took him, though he certainly does not expect Pablo to sit on him.

"There was even a moment when the goal was changed, when Poppy's sister, Puck, took her head and glanced at him.

"When you are with a family of gorillas at rest, you are not afraid. That's what people saw and they loved them.

"Then he used his reputation to raise funds and involve organizations."

The genealogical tree of these gorillas is now long.

A census conducted exclusively for the Mirror reveals that the Poppy, Puck and Tuck sisters, the gorillas of Attenborough, have 26 children, 17 grandchildren and a great-grandchild.

Our goal was to meet some of the youngest children of Poppy's brood.

Until last year, she was a regular face in the forest, at the age of 42, she remained alive. She then disappeared, thinking she was dead from natural causes. As we watch, the family of her daughter Ururabo begins to move.

Imena's impressive hands, fingers that look like bananas, surround crackling shoots while Ururabo graciously steps into the butterflies with her baby in the back.

Later, crawling on our knees through the wild grbad and celery, we find Agahebuzo, the 12-year-old grandson of Tuck, who is tied up.

As he falls asleep to take a nap, he raises his leg and grabs it with his hand as big as a plate, as if he was doing yoga. It is hard to believe that anyone can knowingly hurt these serene beings, who share 98% of human DNA.

As Sir David said: "Sharing a look with a gorilla has more meaning and understanding than any other animal I know."

After being a little afraid of having caught the malicious brown eyes of Agahebuzo, the same color as mine, I understand.

But in the 1970s, they were prey. Just before the arrival of Sir David, a man baptized Digit was speared with his hands and feet sliced ​​by poachers.

Ian says, "Two days later, that's how I found it. When Sir David arrived, we were angry and mourning.

Six months after his departure, a man and a woman were shot dead and their baby, Kweli, who was also in the documentary, became an orphan. He died later.

Ian says, "He lost the urge to live."

Chief custodian Prosper Uwingeli said authorities must recognize gorillas as a treasure to protect them.

Once the filming was over, Sir David and his team were hit by a bullet and a strip search as they headed for the mountain, suspicious army having attempted to highlight poaching.

When they realized that they had simply emphasized the beauty of these incredible creatures, their attitude changed.

Prosper says, "Attenborough's message changed his mind. We are grateful to him.

Later in the year, the first group of gorillas accustomed to structured sightseeing tours is created.

In 1986, full-time veterinary care was established and today, gorilla doctors are operating in the forest, which is also spreading to neighboring countries, Uganda and the Democratic Republic. from Congo, looking for wounds and life-threatening diseases.

Prosper states, "Some do not see tourism as a form of conservation, but it is a low-intensity activity, limited to one visit per day, for one hour only. It works."

Despite their familiarity with human faces, there is no doubt that gorillas are wild.

We meet Poppy's daughter feeding her baby and the surprise gives rise to a whistling roar that forces us all to squat into submissive postures.

Direct poaching has stopped in Rwanda and Uganda. But in the DRC politically unstable, gorillas are more difficult to protect and the great apes are still poached.

The last positive step in the protection of gorillas is the decision of the Rwandan government last year to expand the forest, adding nearly 4,000 hectares to the current 16,000.

I am sure that the agricultural residents who live there will be relocated and will have new ways to earn a better living.

That must happen, but in the end, forest expansion is in everyone's interest.

The huge amount of carbon dioxide absorbed by forests is essential to combat climate change.

Just before going back into the undergrowth, the trackers see a newborn almost hidden in the arms of his mother, his umbilical cord still attached, his fur still wet.

We are advised not to approach, but to celebrate in silence.

Ian says, "David never came back, but he would be blown away by seeing what we saw."

• To learn more and help protect gorillas, visit Ape Alliance: Action for Apes at 4apes.com.