Look what I've found: It's a human! The WILD mountain gorillas
who groom the tourists
By
Pamela Owen
24th December 2011
There's nothing like a stroll with the children. But as
any dad knows, they can be proper little monkeys when they come
across a stranger.
This baby gorilla got a touch overfamiliar when he spotted
a tourist sitting by the path of a camp in Uganda’s Bwindi National
Park.
Perhaps mistaking him, because of his black T-shirt, for
one of his own species, he wanders up, puts a hand on the
holidaymaker’s knee and gives him a sniff.
Submissive: John is unaware of just how close the large
silverback is
Feel for it: One of the babies is so curious it decides
to climb up a nearby tree to get a better look
Happy he’s a friend, he then moves up behind the man and
snatches a kiss. Under the watchful eye of their giant silverback
father, other youngsters from the band then join in, petting and
grooming the American, known only as John.
The images were caught on video, which has been viewed
430,000 times on YouTube.
It starts with John sitting by the side of a path filming
gorillas as they wander among other tourists in the camp –
something which is said to happen only a few times a
year.
Gimme a kiss: The female comes up to John and licks his
hear
I don't bite! The tourist is shocked as the gorilla
muzzles his neck
Enough: The silverback decides that it is time to go
and nudges the youngster before they all head off
As one of the babies begins to touch him, John’s face
lights up and he mouths, ‘I just feel like one of the gang’ and
later: ‘My heart is racing.’
The apes, which can grow up to 6ft tall and weigh up to
440lb, can easily kill a human with one blow of their powerful
arms. They are mostly gentle giants but, if threatened, the males
can become aggressive.
