This past month the doctor and a few of his residents took a trip to Central Africa in the heart of Congo. Deep within the forest, we survived with only the packs on our backs tracking through the swamps and marshes of the heavy dense forest for seven days. We encountered many dangerous moments from our environment, as well as coming into contact and eye to eye with species exotic small and large. Nothing interested us more than the Silverback Gorilla. This beast of a mammal reminded me so much of someone very close to me that I just couldn’t help my ambition to learn more about these creatures to compare to the person at topic.

This person I know loves to feed into the drama, a complete control freak, tries to scare everyone so she can have puppets on a string, and believes most of all she can out hustle a hustler. As the days went by, the comparisons just grew more and more between Silverbacks and the tub of lard we see everyday, with the fake smile, the twinkle in her eye, and the stomping waddle. We ended up spending four whole days and nights tracking, trailing, and spying on these Silverbacks.

The Silverback is an adult male gorilla, and is known to be a strong, dominant troop leader. Silverbacks are also known to be the center of the group attempting to get all the attention, making all the decisions, listening to all the drama, and attempting to control everything within the group. The Silverback knuckle-walks, but can stand on back two legs when not being…(a lazy ass). Most stand in height from 5’5 to 5’9 and weigh 310 -- 440 pounds, which in my estimation is pretty damn close to comparison with the individual. These gorillas will eat and eat and eat all day, most herbivores as well as fruits, which i believe does not quite compare since the human would eat their own children to get a leg up. The most interesting fact I found in our trip and observations was that I can swear these Silverbacks I.Q.’s may just be higher than the individual at conversation. I am amused, amazed, and more than anything so grateful for the trip to Congo, the great stories that came of it, and thanks to my three residents for coming along.

Here are some videos of Silverbacks:

“The Fight”

Dr. Hustle