Mountain Gorillas: The Rules of Engagement

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This post courtesy BBC Earth and the Deadly 60 Team. For more wildlife news, find BBC Earth on Facebook and Posterous.

Mountain gorillas are endangered, with only 786 of them left in the world. Visiting them can be an incredible experience, as Steve Backshall discovered when he travelled to the forests of Uganda.

Gorillas are one of our closest relatives. They may be powerful, but they are also intelligent and shy. If—like Steve—you visit mountain gorillas, respect is key. Here are some tips to consider:

  • Small groups: Gorillas are social primates living in complex groups. Only a few people at a time can visit them for short periods. Large groups of people would cause too much of a disturbance and risk stressing the animals.
  • Stay quiet: You’ll also need to keep your voices low. Gorillas use vocalisations to communicate; loud noise and chatting might confuse the animals or make them anxious.
  • Gorillas and humans share 98 percent of their genes: This means they may be vulnerable to the same diseases as we are. If you’re feeling ill or have a cold you’ll risk passing on your infection.
  • Keep clean: To reduce contamination and spreading disease, the team also washed their hands before seeing the gorillas and weren’t allowed to smoke, drink or eat.
  • Keep your distance: It’s never a good idea to approach or touch a large wild animal. A gorilla might see this as a threat.
  • Listen to the guides: Our crew had a team of experienced guides with them at all times; they understand the gorilla’s behavior and can advise you how to act around them.

For more great tips and moving moments, check out the Deadly Diaries, direct from Steve and the Deadly 60 Team.

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WHO DOESN’T LOVE A POSITIVE STORY—OR TWO?

“Great journalism really does make a difference in this world: it can even save kids.”

That’s what a civil rights lawyer wrote to Julia Lurie, the day after her major investigation into a psychiatric hospital chain that uses foster children as “cash cows” published, letting her know he was using her findings that same day in a hearing to keep a child out of one of the facilities we investigated.

That’s awesome. As is the fact that Julia, who spent a full year reporting this challenging story, promptly heard from a Senate committee that will use her work in their own investigation of Universal Health Services. There’s no doubt her revelations will continue to have a big impact in the months and years to come.

Like another story about Mother Jones’ real-world impact.

This one, a multiyear investigation, published in 2021, exposed conditions in sugar work camps in the Dominican Republic owned by Central Romana—the conglomerate behind brands like C&H and Domino, whose product ends up in our Hershey bars and other sweets. A year ago, the Biden administration banned sugar imports from Central Romana. And just recently, we learned of a previously undisclosed investigation from the Department of Homeland Security, looking into working conditions at Central Romana. How big of a deal is this?

“This could be the first time a corporation would be held criminally liable for forced labor in their own supply chains,” according to a retired special agent we talked to.

Wow.

And it is only because Mother Jones is funded primarily by donations from readers that we can mount ambitious, yearlong—or more—investigations like these two stories that are making waves.

About that: It’s unfathomably hard in the news business right now, and we came up about $28,000 short during our recent fall fundraising campaign. We simply have to make that up soon to avoid falling further behind than can be made up for, or needing to somehow trim $1 million from our budget, like happened last year.

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