Mondika - Kingo

The borderland between the Congo and the Central African Republic is one of the last untouched wilderness areas on this planet. Dense jungle covers an area of the size of Western Europe, while the only mode of transport is a boat on the river. The boatman loaded the canoe with the last supplies and some minutes later we were on our way to Mondika, a village deep into the African jungle. It took us several hours until we reached a small pier from where we started to trek. We were wading in deep mud when we heard the sound of cracking wood. High upon the tree was one of the last remaining low-land gorillas greeting us by clapping his hand. Kingo, the Silverback was not far away slowly munching some leafs. The Silverback is the leader of the family and is the only male, who is allowed to breed. Gorillas are vegetarians but can get aggressive if they fear danger. Especially from humans, who they consider as competitors for food and the females. Therefore its better to keep some distance from the Silverback. Behind me was a female with a small baby in her hands, while some other young gorillas were playing below a huge mango tree. I felt like being guest in a small village at the beginning of mankind.