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Mountain Gorilla
MOUNTAIN GORILLA
Gentle giant of the great apes
Close to us in temperament
With compassion and love of family
Mighty vegetarian walking the Congo
Hunted and endangered species.
Silver-backed male
Father and protector
Too heavy to sleep in trees
Sleeps on the jungle floor
While his family sleep safely above.
Babies cling to mothers’ backs
Carried through the jungle
With silver-back on guard for danger
Loving family group of nine
Moving peaceably from place to place.
Villagers of the Congo
Hunt and kill gorillas for meat
Selling skins on the black market
While hunters kidnap the young
Selling them to zoos for public display.
Days of gorillas in the wild are numbered
Soon only to be found
Gentle giants caged in zoos
Paraded for human entertainment
Great apes so close to us in temperament.
Colin Ian Jeffery
Copyright ©
Colin Jeffery
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