The Godfather and the Controversial Martyr of Mountain Gorilla Research
The first scientist to study mountain gorillas full time in the wild was George Schaller. When he reviewed the literature he could find few verifiable facts, largely…
History
Batwa “Pygmies”: History and Present
The Batwa “Pygmies” are one of the oldest peoples in Africa and their origin is unknown. They were hunter-gatherers, roaming the forests in bands foraging for honey, wild yams, fruit, stems…
Dawn of Gorilla Tracking as a Tourism Activity
While there were sporadic non-scientific expeditions to mountain gorillas before, real tourism began with the arrival of Walter Baumgartel. Baumgartel was a German who had…
Why Did Rwanda’s Fiercest Woman Die Teaching Black Magic in Kampala?
Muserekande, born c. 1870, was one of the wives of King Rwabugiri of Rwanda. On his death in 1895 there was a succession dispute led…
King Kong vs. Gentle Gorilla
As the Godzilla vs. Kong movie opens globally tomorrow, let us investigate why people got gorillas so wrong initially, and how they started to realise…