Sits, quietly, the old man's gesture, tired, provides for the passage of time and distant. It made you want to approach, sit with him and stay there to watch the rest of the group climb trees. Then, suddenly, decides to go ahead amid a thick vegetation just let the air run. The light is gone in some areas under the shade perennial tree leaves hanging over 30 meters. We are going after him, giving enough space (sometimes no more than three meters) to not feel threatened. It is five times stronger than us, but he deceives the same way as men, makes us judge things with eyes. "We are bigger and they are afraid of us because they think we are stronger. We could easily start an arm ", guide explains.
Moving costs, follow, overwhelming in the tangle of vegetation in the wild. Spider webs will stick to the face, in the clay soil there footsteps of the rare forest elephants, fallen tree trunks become impassable walls. We are in the rainforest of Kibale, in western Uganda, and near the Congo, of which only separate us from the Mountains of the Moon. Chimpanzees Area.
Moving costs, follow, overwhelming in the tangle of vegetation in the wild. Spider webs will stick to the face, in the clay soil there footsteps of the rare forest elephants, fallen tree trunks become impassable walls
One of the surprises that I got to watch the chimps up close is its enormous size and menacing fangs. Tarzan movies, I devoured every Saturday at three and a half when I was a kid, made me believe that chimpanzees are some nice little monkeys that hang from your arm and, as prank, pouch of chocolate stolen. Well, The cute animal is distressed middle of the jungle. In fact, Most primates have fled their areas of control because "when they are hungry eat the living monkeys, leaving them without an arm or a piece of body meat ". There is an alpha male, as in almost all animal species, dominating the pack. The guide will baptize with the name Mubutu. «He is a dictator, like him ", says, referring to former President of Zaire.
Behind us is a ranger armed with a gun. The guy is open, wanting to talk. Pose for a picture with pride, the same as seen when he speaks of Uganda: "I worked as a guide in many national parks here. Everyone is special ", explains. We began the withdrawal, after more than three hours of walking, thunderous roars from jungle. Chimpanzees scream to warn of the danger of encountering elephants and other primates hostile group of brothers. They are not so different from us our ancestors: are grouped, form nuclear families and protect their food, young and territory. They do most wild animals also, but others do not have a face that resembles both our. At times felt like giving them the camera and we did the photos to us. A unique experience in a few days to repeat the impressive mountain gorillas. They say the "rural legends" that if they get aggressive you have to bend down and eat leaves soil. We, in case, last two days rehearsing with salad. At the first sound strange, we get a palm tree in the mouth and pray.
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