Nkuringo

Monday, January 25th, 2010

nkuringo silverback mountain gorilla

Everyone has their favourite photos, and this is a sentimental one of mine.

Nkuringo was an old silverback of the first mountain gorilla group we visited in 2008, the Nkuringo Group at South Bwindi in Uganda. There were sixteen in the group then, but the leadership belonged to another younger silverback called Safari.

Nkuringo was the last of the group we spent time with, of some fifteen minutes, and was stripping the vines of leaves, not much bothered by his visitors. He was very old and seemed to have an injury to his mouth which we later learned had obtained in a fight two years earlier, leaving him slightly paralysed and making it difficult to eat.

If anyone still thinks that gorillas have the persona of a 1933 style King Kong, then they’d soon be persuaded otherwise by this guy.

Sadly, Nkuringo died of natural causes in April 2008 aged forty-nine, just six weeks after our visit.

Taken using a Nikon D300 with a 70-200mm f/2.8 lens at 200mm, f/3.3, 1/125 and ISO 560.

Related Posts:
Nkuringo II
Kigoma in the Rain
Mountain gorillas gallery

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Nkuringo II | www.davidlloyd.info
Monday, May 3rd, 2010 at 5:14 pm

{ 4 comments… read them below or add one }

Sally Elkus Newberry Tuesday, January 26th, 2010 at 1:33 pm

I just love all your work.Just beautiful.
Sally

Dale Joan Stoffel Wednesday, January 27th, 2010 at 1:44 am

Your wildlife photos are superb ! I’m also glad for your integrity in not trying to alter what you see. Magnificent !

grant marcus Thursday, February 4th, 2010 at 10:09 am

Read your blog on photo-africa..great stuff !!
will be visiting your blog often.

Grant

jane chadwick Sunday, April 25th, 2010 at 10:52 pm

He looks quite lonely and sad at this moment in time , a beautiful guy.

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