“A look at the elusive giant of the jungle: the Silverback Gorilla in its natural environment of the Congo Basin”

Journey with National Geographic into the heart of equatorial Africa to sit amidst swarms of sweat bees and stinging ants that would try the patience of the most dedicated biologists for an intimate view of a noble silverback and his tribe.

In the spirit of Jane Goodall’s work with chimps, National Geographic joins primatologist Magdalena Bermejo as she conducts groundbreaking research of the western lowland gorilla in its natural environment.

Gorillas are gentle, intelligent creatures with an unjustified reputation for aggression. The roaring and chest-beating of the giant male silverback presents a most intimidating spectacle, but is mostly done for effect - to ward off intruders who threaten his family group.

Deep within the dense forest of northern Congo, people are bringing the once-deserted village of Lossi back to life. In National Geographic’s Living With Gorillas, Spanish primatologist Magdalena Bermejo and her cinematographer husband, German Illera, set up camp in Lossi - the heart of primate territory.

Skilled local trackers help Bermejo and Illera look for clues in crushed leaves, half-eaten plant stems, and dung. The team is finally rewarded in an area less than two miles outside of Lossi, surrounded with ancestral eyes peering from the forest.

Bermejo focuses her study on a magnificent 350-pound male she names Apollo and his family.  Magdalena and her husband, German, begin their painstaking quest - braving swarms of sweat bees and stinging ants - to get to know the gorillas.

The gorillas slowly come to trust their human visitors. The youngsters are the least shy and even start playing up to the cameras. Older females are more retiring.