Second Day with the Gorillas – The Susa Group

High fives went around by a few people when they learned that they, like me, had been assigned to view the Susa group. I was a little embarrassed by my group’s outright display of competitive behavior, but also very glad to be able to view this group. The Susa group is popular because it is the largest of the gorilla groups, with 36 gorillas, including 3 silverbacks and many young ones, a few of the gorillas were part of Dian Fossey’s research groups and, for the more adventurous tourist, seeing them involves a more difficult trek through the mountain forest.

After my first visit (Saturday 25 August) with the Kwitonda group, I decided that, while in Rwanda, I had to try to see the mountain gorillas again. So I went on to Lake Kivu on Saturday afternoon, where I spent all of Sunday, and worked to procure another permit. This was not easy, as most days the permits are sold-out, requiring booking months in advance. But with a lot of phone calls, I landed one and then headed back to Ruhengeri on Monday afternoon to spend the night there, and view the gorillas in the Parc National Des Volcans on Tuesday morning.

After being assigned to the Susa group and briefed by our guides, we drove an hour to the base of Karisimbi, the highest volcano in the Parc at 4507 metres. We began our trek at 8:30 a.m., first walking up gently sloping Irish potato fields – neat rows planted in dark black soil along the hillside – until we hit the start of a bamboo forest – beautiful and surreal looking We kept climbing up and up, and on this day, so did the Susa group. One of the younger silverbacks had recently been abandoned by the rest of group after he remained sick for too long and could not keep up as the group moved throughout Karisimbi for food each day. That morning, the trekkers spotted him, alone, and following the rest of the group from a short distance. They believed this might have spooked the rest and caused them to move within their home range further, and more quickly, than usual.

The group kept moving. After passing through the bamboo forest, we hit dense, swampy forest of Hagenia trees. The guides used machetes to help us push through thick brush and crawling vines. Stinging nettles were everywhere and burned our skin through our clothes. Noon came, then 1:00, and still we kept climbing up, and so did Susa. I became a little worried with the passing time, as I had carried little food and water, mistakenly expecting us to find the gorillas within an hour or two. But finally, the trekkers radioed our guides to tell them that the group had turned around and was heading back down the volcano slopes. We were lucky, at just that moment we were discussing whether to continue on or turn and head back down. Upon this news, we continued and at 2:45, the trekkers radioed us again to tell us we were now very close and should be prepared to stop, leave our belongings and move closer to the Susa group.


I’ll never get used to the feeling I had upon first seeing the gorillas each of the two treks, cannot imagine how my heart would not ever race, or my breathing would ever remain steady – it is overwhelming. Susa did not disappoint, and the trek was worth every muddy uphill step and stinging nettle to get to them. There were gorillas everywhere, so many of them sitting together, playing or eating. Most gorillas consume about 50 pounds of roots, stems and leaves every day – bamboo, celery, blackberries. We followed the dominant silverback as he moved through the brush. When he moved the rest of the group did, and so did we. He tore apart branches, pulled down trees. One startling moment came as I crouched on a “path” only a few feet from the silverback, watching him. He then stood up – a giant beast towering over me – I stumbled over backwards, worried he was about to come crushing down on me, and covered my head. He grabbed onto a tree limb over his head – over my head – and lifted himself up off the ground, using his entire weight to pull down the tree. Leaves and branches covered me. He sat back down, and ate. And I sat back up, exhilarated, and continued to snap pictures – him not paying much attention to me, but me completely fascinated by this male silverback mountain gorilla, and his large family, in the Parc National Des Volcans, Rwanda.

(Pictured: Gorillas of the Susa Group; the third picture was taken by me on my back, after I fell backwards as the dominant male silverback stood up to grab a tree limb over my head; the fourth picture is the aftermath of this, the silverback sitting and eating after he pulled down the tree)