2023-07-09 19:00:00
Naturalist Max Hurdebourcq tells the story of a decade of observations of human-gorilla relationships in Gabon. The poignant testimony of a disillusion.
This article is taken from the monthly Sciences et Avenir – La Recherche n°917-918, dated July-August 2023.
Self-taught naturalist, Max Hurdebourcq was able to penetrate the closed environment of foresters, bristling with criticism from NGOs.
Ten years in a sustainable concession in the process of certification in Gabon
Enduring the crises of malaria or the political game, he embedded himself for ten years in a sustainable concession in the process of certification in Gabon, 600,000 hectares of dense, humid and tropical forest, to observe the impact on the gorillas of a more virtuous exploitation.
From these stays, he notably drew two reports for Science and Future (No. 722 and No. 743) and a great ape charging video. It has also set up scientific partnerships with primatologists and botanists from the universities of Barcelona (Spain) or Gembloux (Belgium).
The forest never stops being eaten
The first field observations in 2008 were optimistic, the gorillas seeming to adapt to the intrusion on their territory. The naturalist then dreams of developing an ecotourism financed by patrons and of buying a territorial peace for the primates he observes and whose movements and points of fall he detects near watered clearings.
The solo sailor engages in awareness-raising missions with all kinds of populations, but is enraged by the lack of means or realism, including naturalist associations endowed with the best intentions. Disillusion sets in, while the forest, where many other species live, never stops being eaten, poachers crack down. This story sounds like a warning all the more precious because it is rare.
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“The Gorilla Whisperer“, Max Hurdebourcq, Editions du Rocher, 316 p, €19.90
Find this article on sciencesetavenir.fr
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