BBC Mountain Gorilla Page #3

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That's exciting. Now we know.

Knowing the gorilla's paternity

helps Martha paint

a much more accurate picture

of gorilla life.

Although little Ponoka is

the son of Rukina,

this doesn't make his first year

any easier.

At ten months, he's still

pretty wobbly on his legs,

and only just beginning to explore

his jungle playground.

But once he reaches his first birthday,

his chances of survival will increase.

Through her close scrutiny

of this gorilla family,

Martha is finding silverback Rukina

to be a very successful leader.

Part of this success

is his ability to attract females.

Unlike Rano, whose only female is

the elderly Tuck, Rukina has six females,

including the newly arrived Twijiki.

Young females often move

between groups

to avoid breeding with their fathers,

but today, young Twijiki seems happy

to mate with just about anyone.

She's already nearly been caught

with one of the blackbacks,

and that's a dangerous game

to be playing.

Her behaviour has certainly

stirred up the group.

Twijiki has now positioned herself

between two blackbacks.

Both are interested...

but she seems to have a favourite.

The spurned blackback

spoils their game.

They started to mate,

but then the other blackback grunted

at them aggressively, very loudly.

And then they stopped

and the female moved off.

There was a chance

that Rukina would come running.

If this goes on for much longer,

the youngsters are certain to get caught.

In Rwanda, Felix has received the news

about Rano leading his group

onto the farmland.

He decides to find them.

Although Rano needs the group

to help him attract more females,

the group needs Rano.

Without him, the male blackbacks

are too young

to take on the responsibilities

of leadership,

and the group would fall apart.

But now it's Rano's leadership skills

that are about to be tested to the limit.

There's another group close by,

so what now they're doing is,

you know, the chest beats,

hooting from one side

and then from the other side as well.

It's not uncommon

for gorilla groups to meet,

and although potentially dangerous,

it's a chance for females

to switch groups.

Felix is concerned that Tuck,

the only female in the group,

may take this opportunity to leave.

But Rano seems prepared to risk

life and limb trying to hold on to her,

even though she's spurned him.

Why he's so determined

to keep hold of Tuck is a mystery,

especially since she's unable to breed.

For whatever reason, he continues

to put on an impressive display

in the hope

he can ward off any challenger.

The whooping is thought to be a way

of filling the chest with air

to help increase the effect

of the chest beat.

And right now, Rano needs to sound

as impressive and as powerful as he can.

Felix radios the rangers

tracking the other group.

They are very close.

The other group is about 200 metres.

This could be dangerous

for Felix and his rangers.

No-one wants to get caught up

in the middle of full-on gorilla warfare.

But it's terrible news for Rano,

as it now seems inevitable

that he will have to face up to a fight

with another silverback.

To make matters worse,

Tuck is definitely showing signs

of interest in what's going on.

Oh, come on, Tuck,

where are you going?

Already the blackbacks

from both groups have started to mix,

but this is not their fight.

It's all down to the silverbacks now.

Rano holds back with Tuck...

...but a clash seems unavoidable.

And Tuck doesn't make things any easier,

as she follows Rano.

This is a real test of Rano's skills

as a leader.

With three silverbacks and seven females,

the rival group is a big one.

There's three silverbacks in there.

These females could use

this opportunity to join Rano,

so the rival silverbacks

are understandably cautious.

It's quite serious.

Everybody's here, all the females.

Everybody's interested

in the other group,

so it's a very tense situation.

If this escalates,

Rano could be badly hurt.

The silverbacks posture to each other,

turning side on to show their full might.

Rano must stand his ground

if he wants to hold on to his group.

You need to go up there,

because that can be nasty sometimes.

As the gorillas size each other up,

Rano's stoic defence of Tuck

seems to be working.

The silverbacks realise that none

of the females are ready to move...

...and since no-one wants to fight,

things begin to calm down.

As the gorillas start to disperse,

Felix senses

that the situation has been defused.

Rano has handled

this potentially disastrous encounter

with great skill and courage.

Whether this has been appreciated

by Tuck and the rest of the group

remains to be seen.

In Congo, gorilla vet Magda

is on her way to visit

the family of one of the orphans.

News has reached her

of a newborn baby in the group,

and she wants to make sure it's healthy.

This is the biggest group

on Congolese side.

unusual thing - only one silverback.

Usually, in big groups like this, we have

three, four, sometimes five silverbacks.

In Congo side, since April this year,

we introduced masks,

so, because of the health reasons

and disease transmission,

we all wear masks

when we watch gorillas.

Congo is the first country

to insist

that all visitors to the gorillas

put on face masks

to prevent the spread of human disease.

It's especially important,

as these are some of the least visited

mountain gorillas in the world.

Magda makes reassuring gorilla sounds

so that they are fully aware

of her presence.

He's got his lunchbox with him.

It's an amazing time of year for gorillas

now in all Virungas, with bamboo shoots.

That's probably 90% easily of their diet

at this time of year.

I haven't seen this group before,

but that's a very interesting group.

That's by far the biggest

of all the Congolese groups.

And especially we would like

to see the female, Maisha, today,

maybe we are lucky to see her,

because she's the youngest

in the history mother.

She's only six years old and she

already has a three-week-old baby.

So we will try to see her

if we are lucky.

Trying to see a mother and baby

in a group still suspicious of humans

is proving to be difficult.

But at last, Magda is able to get

a glimpse of the newly born baby.

Sometimes, with young females like this,

they are confused,

they don't know

how to take care of the baby,

and babies die within a few days.

But this baby's already three weeks old.

It's holding well, it's active,

starts already looking

at its surroundings.

So I think it's going to be OK.

With the birth of this baby,

the group is slowly rebuilding itself

after the horrors

of the gorilla murders.

War, poaching, armed rebels...

the problems facing gorillas in Congo

are immense.

But despite all this,

the Congolese are forging ahead

with gorilla conservation.

Looking after the animals

are over 650 dedicated rangers.

Often outnumbered and outgunned,

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