Watching: Living With Gorillas

Overview

Deep within the dense jungle of the Congo Basin, people are bringing the once-deserted village of Lossi back to life. In the spirit of Jane Goodall's work with chimps, Explorer joins primatologist Magdalena Bermejo as she conducts groundbreaking research of the western lowland gorilla in its natural environment. Skilled local trackers help Bermejo and Illera look for clues in crushed leaves, half-eaten plant stems, and dung. The team is finally rewarded in an area less than two miles outside of Lossi, surrounded with ancestral eyes peering from the forest. Bermejo focuses her study on a magnificent 350-pound male she names Apollo and his family. Journey with Explorer into the heart of equatorial Africa to sit amidst swarms of sweat bees and stinging ants that would try the patience of the most dedicated biologists for an intimate view of a noble silverback and his tribe.