MOUNTAIN GORILLAS - Gap between ape, human vanishes

The Vancouver Sun has another gorilla trekking report...

After a long, arduous hike through the jungle of Uganda's Bwindi National Park, I had come to appreciate why the area was often called 'the impenetrable forest.' Dependent on our guide's machete to clear a path for our group, we had pushed our way through vines and bamboo as stinging nettles ripped at our clothing.

I had come to this part of Uganda on a gorilla-tracking tour and, looking at the surrounding terrain, I could see why Bwindi was one of the last remaining strongholds for these remarkable animals. The mountain gorilla is one of the rarest animals on Earth and of the 600 or so that remain in the wild, almost half are found here.