Rain started pouring down. I managed to grab Bonne Année, and passed her up to John. Amazingly, the youngster shortly descended again to Tuck and Effie, determined to be a free-living gorilla.

But to see these gorillas walk past you, it’s mesmerizing and heart-stopping. It’s not an easy quest. CJ: Mountain rain forests are steep, about 8,000 to 13,000 feet. It can be muddy ...

Gorilla numbers did see a precipitous drop in the 1990s, but only after refugees from the conflict in neighboring Rwanda moved into Kahuzi-Biega National Park and began to poach wildlife.