In the remote rainforests of Gabon, primate researcher Martha Robbins and her team have achieved an extraordinary feat. They have gained the trust of a group of wild, elusive Western Lowland Gorillas. Western Lowland Gorillas have been researched extensively in captivity but their behaviour in the wild has been a mystery. Shy by nature, the wild gorillas normally avoid close human contact – until now.
Robbins is from Germany’s prestigious Max-Planck-Institute. For 15 years she and her team have monitored the group, amassing invaluable data. In the early days they kept their distance from the gorillas. As the team gained their trust, the Atananaga gorillas became more accepting.
This is the first blue-chip documentary about Western Lowland Gorillas, and the first time that the behaviour of this elusive species has ever been captured on film.
Written and directed by Harald Pokieser, Photography by Stephan Krasser, Camera Assistance and Aerials: Johannes Berger, Florian Lorenz, Edited by Jörg Achatz, Music composed by David Mitcham, Narrated by Mercedes Echerer, Margit Maurer, Sound Mixing by Matthias Ermert, Scientific consultant: Martha Robbins, Production team: Mariella Bleimuth, Grace Ntahinta, Anita Pfeffinger, Production management: David Steinbach, Toni Nemeth, Executive producers: Roman Landauer, Dinah Czezik-Müller, Producer: Birgit Peters
A co-production of Terra Mater Studios and Doclights / NDR Naturfilm in association with National Geographic Channels.