It seemed like we were surrounded by the famous mountain gorillas.

To see Rwanda's mountain gorillas, it was well worth climbing through mud so thick it takes the boot right off your foot and plants that prick you and leave welts. All exhaustion was forgotten about when I first saw the apes. All of a sudden you realize you’re surrounded by them! You hear lots of eating and see the trees and shrubs moving as the gorillas rip off leaves and eat them.

Researcher Winnie Eckardt records behavior in the group.

I spent four hours with the research team observing the Kuryama’s group of mountain gorillas. I watched Winnie Eckardt collect behavioral data on several individuals. Research assistant Jean Paul collected behavioral data, feces and urine for Stacey Rosenbaum’s project. Both Stacey and Winnie are using the zoo’s field fecal-hormonal method to analyze the samples for stress hormones.

Jean Paul collects a gorilla fecal sample, which will be analyzed to yield valuable information about stress levels.

It started raining during the last behavioral follow. So coming down was even muddier and very slippery, but we all made it safe—just a little dirty!

Rachel Sanytmire
Rachel Santymire, Ph.D., is director of Lincoln Park Zoo’s Davee Center for Epidemiology and Endocrinology.