Comments on: Gorilla trek podcast and photos

By: Baraza » Can you name that gorilla from its noseprint?

Baraza » Can you name that gorilla from its noseprint? — Tue, 14 Oct 2008 14:17:40 +0000

[…] found the family photo of the Amohoro group in Rwanda that I visited and wrote about in June on the IGCP […]

By: Makonzi

Makonzi — Mon, 22 Sep 2008 06:06:29 +0000

You took great pictures Paula.Have done gorilla trek in Uganda as wel
as well?

Gorilla Trek is worth more than USD 500.Even if the price is raised to USD 1000, still it would remain a worth while experience.You must be sharing the same sentiments.Visit our Uganda safaris

Thanks Paula

By: Rwanda Gorilla Trek with a Conservation Podcaster «

Rwanda Gorilla Trek with a Conservation Podcaster « — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 02:45:00 +0000

[…] While the rest of us were armed with still and video camera’s, Paula had her audio equipment strapped to her side for podcasting the experience to her faithful blog followers. (I include myself now) She documented our journey via audio as we tromped through the stinging nettle and mud up to the Gorillas. Then as we encountered the Gorillas up-close and personal, there was Paula, microphone outstretched in hand, capturing the cacophonous sounds of the Gorilla habitat for her blog. This is what happens when you have an audience. This is what happens, and we’ve been addressing this for two years now, when you know you can make a difference with your story. I am inspired by her forward thinking, which includes organizing and encouraging many conservation-minded trackers and rangers to start their own blogs and communicate about the issues surrounding this endangered species. Check out her channel here. […]

By: Jim from Mass USA

Jim from Mass USA — Sat, 28 Jun 2008 14:23:14 +0000

Hi Paula … :-} … I copied the MP3 file to my Virgin ipoddie and turned the sound way up … very cool … thanks … you were lucky those ants weren’t “bullet ants” or you’d have turned numb! … I hear putting moth balls in the cuffs of your trousers helps … I too am not a big fan of zoos … I remember visiting the Melbourne Australia zoo and seeing a big black cat enclosed in a brick and wrought iron enclosure with a narrow worn path all around the perimeter except for a short interruption … the cat paced the perimeter, whiskers barely brushing the iron bars and turned at the same place, every time, to retrace his steps, yet one more time … it was heartbreaking … I have always had cats and have observed how, even “domesticated” cats, hate to be confined … a wise man one said that a cat is domesticated only as far as it suits its own ends (Saki)!

By: Annie

Annie — Sat, 28 Jun 2008 14:14:43 +0000

Wow so cool………I would so love to do this………..thanks for sharing this wonderful experience!

By: Paula

Paula — Sat, 28 Jun 2008 12:59:11 +0000

Thanks Lisa and Sheryl! I’m glad you liked it. Lisa, yes it’s hard not to be emotional - but with only an hour it feels far too limited. Seeing happy gorillas swinging through branches, staring into each others eyes lovingly, playing..it makes you so happy - they are at peace. However, I will openly admit that I often feel moved to tears in zoos when I see magnificent animals jailed for life and committed to terms of pure boredom. At Berlin Zoo I watched an orangutan throw clumps of mud at the visitors who thought it was a great experience. The sadness in the orangs eyes was devastating, but they didnt’ notice as they ducked and squealed. If you haven’t seen animals truly in the wild perhaps you wouldn’t notice how retarded some animals behave, the steriotypical behavior, the numbed expressions, the abnormal patterns. Watch the wild dogs at the Bronx zoo pacing in an area that looks big for a zoo, then recall that in the wild they use tens of thousands of square kilometers. We only put the worst criminals in such conditions. I feel especially for all primates, big cats, elephants and the dolphins and sharks in aquaria …

By: Paula

Paula — Sat, 28 Jun 2008 12:49:55 +0000

Hi Jim, hope you managed to hear it. I was asked what Siafu are - they are the nastiest biting ants in the world, also called army ants, or safari ants. They don’t bit til they have made as much progress as possible up the trouser! And then as if by magic, they all start biting at exactly the same time. It’s entertaining for onlookers, hell for the victim!

By: Lisa, California

Lisa, California — Sat, 28 Jun 2008 05:49:53 +0000

Loved the podcast, Paula. Great job. I would pay $500 and then some to experience the wonderful gorillas in their natural habitat. I would probably cry like a baby though. Do you ever feel emotional when you are among them? Heck, I started crying when I saw the Lowland gorillas at the LA Zoo. It’s for sure a lifetime experience and one I want to have someday! Thanks for sharing your experience with us. Lisa

By: sheryl, washington dc

sheryl, washington dc — Fri, 27 Jun 2008 21:41:55 +0000

Awesome podcast, Paula! I plugged in my iPod headphones and it’s really the best way to hear it.

I’m a little concerned about the coughing baby, though. After Dr. Lucy’s posts about the Susa group respiratory outbreak I’m now concerned that any human contact is problematic for them.

The sounds of the gorillas are incredible. Just incredible. I’d pay $500 or more for such an experience.

By: Jim from Mass USA

Jim from Mass USA — Fri, 27 Jun 2008 17:44:44 +0000

Nevermind … I copied the file from my “Temporary Internet Files” folder to my desktop … it is stored as an “mp3″ file … on a Windows machine.