Gorilla Bonanza!

Long live terra incognito.

That was my first thought after hearing NPR's Morning Edition report that there are 125,000 western lowland gorillas concentrated in a rugged, swampy area in the northern reaches of the Republic of Congo, nicknamed the "Green Abyss." Wow! That's more than twice the global estimate for this species, before today. And population densities ranged as high as eight individuals per square kilometer -- among the highest gorilla densities ever recorded.

Made my day. Yes, I know that the extinction gun is still leveled at gorillas, and that there's lots of work to be done to protect this habitat and its residents. But just for today, I'm going to bask in this news. Reminds me of the joy I felt four years ago on seeing reports that the "Lord-God Bird" had been sighted in an Arkansas swamp; I guess I am very hungry for signs that no matter what we throw at nature, or how vigorously we pull teeth from the wild, nature is resilient enough to continue to surprise and delight.

Give yourself a five-minute gift and go watch this video of gorillas... well, being gorillas, out in the inaccessible wilds of the Green Abyss.