“In the dark, misty forests of the Virunga Mountains in Rwanda around 700 mountain gorillas eke out an existence, despite increasing human encroachment”

Rwanda, 30 years ago a country of peace, beauty and fabulous wildlife. One man's fascinating story....
Romain Baertsoen, a Belgian diplomat arrived in 1966 and started to film two of Rwanda's closely guarded secrets: the Bahima tribe and the Gorillas of the Virunga mountains.

At the time, Dian Fossey had barely started her fieldwork that would inspire the film 'Gorillas in the Mist'. So Romain had to learn how to behave with these enormous animals, as not much was known about them.
He learnt through trial and error - being charged by a 400-pound Silverback was not something he wanted to repeat.

Thanks to Baertsoen's films, we are able to witness young gorillas playing, resting and feeding, and in one extraordinary incident we see gorillas trying to help a dog that is caught in a trap, using sign language.

Baertsoen also filmed spectacular footage of one of the Congo's erupting volcanoes. The cooled lava provides a fertile land, and a thrilling view full of fantastic flora and fauna.

The Bahima lived in this wild terrain as they had done for centuries. With most of their needs provided for by their spectacular cattle, with horns up to two and a half meters long. Romain only got to know and film the tribe in return for providing medicine to treat their malaria.

But for the Bahima and the Gorilla, their peaceful existence was shattered in 1994 with the Rwandan civil war, as warring factions plundered the forests for food and fuel.
By the end, remarkably, the gorillas were intact, but tragically, the Bahima Tribe was no more. Refugees, never to return to their ancient way of life.

This DVD is accompanied by a beautifully illustrated 24-page hardback reference book. Watch the close-up wildlife film and at the same time read the book to learn about habitats, diet, life cycle and more. The book is packed with intriguing facts, illustrations, photography and a 'Test your knowledge' quiz.

English narration by Samuel West
Filmed and directed by Romain Baertsoen
Produced by Suevia Films (2001)
As seen on the National Geographic Channel.

 To watch a pre-view of this DVD please visit YouTube or watch it at the bottom of this page