WHAT TO DO WHEN A GORILLA CHARGES AT YOU
What to do when a Gorilla Charges at You : Gorilla are quite gentle species that you should visit once in your lifetime for amazing Rwanda safari tours, Uganda safaris and Virunga safaris where you can access the different gorilla trekking species in the different parks for an amazing gorilla trekking experience in Africa. It should be noted that Rwanda is home to half of the world’s remaining mountain gorillas that can be seen when you participate in gorilla trekking in volcanoes national park for an amazing experience and other destinations where you will get to observe the behavior of the primates but during the activity, you should consider paying attention during your briefing session that will give you the chance to understand the rules and regulation to follow in the park and when you get to the gorillas to avoid accidents like gorillas charging at you and in case they do, below you will get to understand how to deal with such situations.
Some of the factors that can trigger gorillas to charge at you.
Noise is one of the major factors that can lead the gorilla to charge at you because they are quite gentle species that love their quiet therefore, you should consider keeping quiet in the presence of the gorillas to avoid them charging at you.
Flashing lights will also lead the gorilla charge at you because they see the light as a threat to their existence that is why you’re advised to avoid using flashing mode while taking pictures of the primates to avoid them from attacking you which can be fatal.
Petting the young ones can also lead the gorillas charge at you. Whatever you do n the presence of the gorillas, you should avoid petting the infants however adorable they are because it can lead them to attack you. The adult females and the silverback are very protective of their young ones that there have been recording of gorillas killing chimpanzees that disturb wandering infants.
Being too close too close to the gorillas will lead the to attack you that is why tourists are urged to maintain a distance of about 7 meters to prevent them from getting to close to the gorillas which can irritate them and hinder them from participating in their daily activities and thus lead them to attack you.
What to do when a gorilla charges at you
Stay calm as much as possible and avoid making any movement that gorillas can interpret as being ready for a fight challenge which can lead them to attack you. It should be noted before a gorilla fights you, they can be seen making grunts loud noises and waiting for you to respond to that and if you do, they can fight however if you remain calm they will make noise until they get tired and are uninterested and walk way.
Crouch down and make yourself the smallest target to avoid being looked at as a threat by the primates which can lead them to attack you. Therefore, crouch down so that you do not appear as a challenge to the gorillas.
Stay quiet until help arises however intimidating the gorilla can be, the gorillas can easily be cooled off by exercising the most cowardly behavior like keeping quiet in such situations to avoid them from attacking you.
Groom the gorilla in case it holds you and tightens its grip and you continue where there is help. The point of grooming the gorilla is to calm it down and this can be done by mimicking the behaviour of picking any parasites from their fur so as to distract them and loosen their grip,
Be submissive when a gorilla charges at you, you should be submissive and avoid looking directly in the eyes of the gorillas which can trigger them as a threat and also a way of them interpreting that you have accepted their challenge to fight which can be fatal
Observe the gorillas behaviour for instance when a gorilla vocalizes loudly, makes loud grants, pounds, beats its chest, jumps and slaps the ground then it is angry and you should slowly back off from it and maintain a still posture and when a gorilla is curious, he will just grab your clothes or tug them and with this you should not be scared or react violently because in such scenarios they are not in position to cause harm as opposed to situations when they are loud.
For tourists interested in participating in gorilla trekking in Africa, you will have the chance to visit the different destination like Uganda where you will participate in gorilla trekking in Bwindi impenetrable national park and gorilla trekking in Mgahinga national park, when you visit Rwanda you will take part in gorilla trekking in volcanoes national park and when you visit the democratic republic of Congo, you will also get to participate in gorilla trekking in Virunga national park for tourists in visiting and understanding more about the endangered mountain gorillas in the wild and the lowland gorilla in Congo, the tourists will get the chance to participate in gorilla trekking in kahuzi biega national park.
The gorilla trekking experience will give you one hour when you get to the habituated gorilla families which you will get to observe in the wild watching a number of rewarding features like how they co-exist with one another, their diet which consists of edible leaves, wild celery, you will also get to understand about mountain gorilla reproduction in Rwanda which orchestrated a number of tourism activities in Rwanda like the Kwita Izina ceremony also known as the gorilla naming ceremony and many other interesting features f the different gorilla species in the country.
