Man is carried through the jungle on a stretcher to fulfill his lifelong dream: meeting a gorilla in the wild

A man went on an excursion into the Rwandan Virungga Mountains to fulfill his deepest wish and life’s dream: to see a gorilla in the wild. But Collin had difficulty walking, so the local guides built a stretcher to carry the man through the jungle. “Collin was immediately put on the ground when we found gorillas,” said private guide Cameron Scott, who shared the footage of the encounter on Instagram. “A unique experience.”

There are only about a thousand mountain gorillas left in the wild, most of which live in the Virunggas, a mountain range that extends across Rwanda, Congo and Uganda. Anyone who can pay enough money – at least $1,500 per person – can go on an excursion to track down, track and, with a bit of luck, meet the primates in their natural habitat.

According to his Instagram, guide Cameron Scott organizes such trips for VIPs and celebrities, and a while ago he traveled through the Rwandan mountains with such a group of tourists. They were looking for the Hirwa, a family of gorillas that were “blessed with twins that lived to adulthood,” it said. But during the excursion Collin is said to have been injured, meaning he could no longer climb the mountain on his own, but he was still able to meet the gorillas with the help of local guides.

“The Hirwa had actually been chased away from their normal spot by an aggressive gorilla and we happened to stumble upon them,” Cameron explains. “We suddenly found ourselves face to face in a small clearing, without warning or preparation. Collin was immediately put on the ground and had a unique experience with the twins. An incredible and beautiful experience.”

But not everyone shares that opinion. Although many people are impressed by the meeting and the images, there are also many others who have questions. “Not being able to walk well and embarking on such an adventure seems quite dangerous,” says the comments accompanying the images. “It couldn’t have been easy for the guides to carry that man all the way up and down again. Hopefully he gave them a big tip.”