Incredible moment a conservationist gets up close to gorillas in Rwanda.

The footage filmed in January 2019 by Veteran wildlife biologist Ian Redmond OBE, shows the mountain gorillas playing and eating in the middle of the bush.

Redmond explained to Newsflare: "last year was the 40th anniversary of Sir David Attenborough's landmark BBC series Life on Earth, which included his famous encounter with the mountain gorillas.

"One day on the trip, Sir David had intended to say something erudite about the importance of the opposable thumb when a rambunctious juvenile named Pablo sat in his lap and sprawled back while infant Poppy (off-camera) untied his shoelace.

"To mark the Life on Earth anniversary, Mirror Newspapers sent me with a reporter and photographer to find Poppy, but sadly before we arrived she disappeared and is presumed to have died of natural causes. Undaunted, we photographed one of Poppy's daughters and three of her grandchildren."

Last year was the 40th anniversary of Sir #DavidAttenborough's landmark BBC series Life on Earth, which included his famous encounter with the mountain #gorillas. I was fortunate to be #DianFossey's research assistant (and general gopher) at the time of filming, and was told to go for the film crew take them to meet the study groups. One day, Sir David had intended to say something erudite about the importance of the opposable thumb when a rambunctious juvenile named Pablo sat in his lap and sprawled back while infant Poppy (off camera) untied his shoelace. Poppy grew up to be a very successful female in the Susa Group and lived into her 40s.
To mark the Life on Earth anniversary, Mirror Newspapers sent me with a reporter and photographer to find Poppy, but sadly before we arrived she disappeared and is presumed to have died of natural causes. Undaunted, we photographed one of Poppy's daughters and 3 of her grandchildren - read all about it here:
https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/world-news/mirror-travels-see-apes-rwanda-14023132
It is always a delight to see any infant of an endangered species - evidence of #conservationsuccess - so for my last #BrightenYourDay video, No.101 in this series as we approach the end of #Covid19 #lockdown, I offer a few scenes of life in the Igisha Group. It is especially moving when you have known the infant's grandma and great grandparents Beethoven and Effie, all of whom starred in the #LifeonEarth episode about #primates, A Life in the Trees.
#Mountaingorillas are the only ape whose numbers are increasing, apart from humans, but to maintain the recovery we need to protect them from two new threats: Covid-19 and climate change!
Find out more at Ape Alliance​ https://4apes.com/species/gorilla and The Gorilla Organization​ www.gorillas.org
For a virtual gorilla safari, visit www.vEcotourism.org​