Ron Magill

And I thought for, I really thought for a while that I was not going to live through that. But, you know, any other thing, I understand the gorillas are these gentle giants. And this was not a male that came up to me. It was a female. And females are much more inquisitive. They're much less aggressive. You know, the male might tend to be aggressive if he feels you're threatening the troop.

But this was a female. And Dan, this is one of the rarest animals in the world. At that time, there were probably less than 500 mountain gorillas in the world. And here's one sitting next to me on this mountain that I'd watched on National Geographic, the same mountain that Dian Fossey sat on working with these gorillas. That's a magical connection.

But this was a female. And Dan, this is one of the rarest animals in the world. At that time, there were probably less than 500 mountain gorillas in the world. And here's one sitting next to me on this mountain that I'd watched on National Geographic, the same mountain that Dian Fossey sat on working with these gorillas. That's a magical connection.

I mean, you know, you could look, you know, as a journalist and think, God, this is like, you know, Sitting at the desk of Edward R. Murrow and talking to these people. I mean, I don't know. It's not a good analogy, I guess. But for me, it was just so exciting to have such an incredible animal, such a majestic animal, and yet such a gentle giant next to me. I really never was afraid.

I mean, you know, you could look, you know, as a journalist and think, God, this is like, you know, Sitting at the desk of Edward R. Murrow and talking to these people. I mean, I don't know. It's not a good analogy, I guess. But for me, it was just so exciting to have such an incredible animal, such a majestic animal, and yet such a gentle giant next to me. I really never was afraid.

It was an adrenaline rush. I'm not going to tell you my heart wasn't beating over 200 beats a minute, but it was not out of fear. It was just adrenaline.

It was an adrenaline rush. I'm not going to tell you my heart wasn't beating over 200 beats a minute, but it was not out of fear. It was just adrenaline.

You know, when I say be careful, yes, you do not want to look up and look at the gorilla because that would be a threat. But I knew that. I knew just to keep myself in a fetal position, take the photograph, and yet I could just feel her lips gently tugging on my earlobe and feeling her just...

You know, when I say be careful, yes, you do not want to look up and look at the gorilla because that would be a threat. But I knew that. I knew just to keep myself in a fetal position, take the photograph, and yet I could just feel her lips gently tugging on my earlobe and feeling her just...

blowing into my ear smelling smelling me probably thinking i stink uh whereas you know the gorilla to me wasn't the greatest smelling animal in the world but another another incident i'll give you actually happened in the masai mara in kenya and this was an elephant we were in the middle of a herd of a large herd of elephants probably about 30 40 elephants mothers with calves and all of a sudden this cab came walking closer to the vehicle and you know one of the most dangerous times to be around an elephant is a mother with her calf because they're very protective of their calves

blowing into my ear smelling smelling me probably thinking i stink uh whereas you know the gorilla to me wasn't the greatest smelling animal in the world but another another incident i'll give you actually happened in the masai mara in kenya and this was an elephant we were in the middle of a herd of a large herd of elephants probably about 30 40 elephants mothers with calves and all of a sudden this cab came walking closer to the vehicle and you know one of the most dangerous times to be around an elephant is a mother with her calf because they're very protective of their calves

So this cab came walking over and you could tell the mother was looking at it. And then all of a sudden the mother came between the cab and the vehicle, but to the point where she was literally five feet from the vehicle. And I'm just standing there trying to stand perfectly still. And then the trunk comes over and it reaches over and just, you hear the trunk again.

So this cab came walking over and you could tell the mother was looking at it. And then all of a sudden the mother came between the cab and the vehicle, but to the point where she was literally five feet from the vehicle. And I'm just standing there trying to stand perfectly still. And then the trunk comes over and it reaches over and just, you hear the trunk again.

and kind of touches the side of the vehicle. And I could feel the whiskers. I'm not moving. I grabbed my arm on the top of the Land Cruiser and I could feel the whiskers of the trunk. And everybody's just saying, stay still, don't make any moves. That's a big adrenaline rush there too. But I think,

and kind of touches the side of the vehicle. And I could feel the whiskers. I'm not moving. I grabbed my arm on the top of the Land Cruiser and I could feel the whiskers of the trunk. And everybody's just saying, stay still, don't make any moves. That's a big adrenaline rush there too. But I think,

I mean, this is gonna sound like a little stupid and people are gonna, oh, you know, Ron, that's ridiculous. I just really felt that that elephant knew that we were not there to harm her, that she was just kind of scoping out and there was a way that she could sense that we were not a threat. And then she continued to eat and let us photograph her calf and be close to her calf.

I mean, this is gonna sound like a little stupid and people are gonna, oh, you know, Ron, that's ridiculous. I just really felt that that elephant knew that we were not there to harm her, that she was just kind of scoping out and there was a way that she could sense that we were not a threat. And then she continued to eat and let us photograph her calf and be close to her calf.

And that's kind of a very special feeling when an animal accepts you into its environment without thinking of you as a threat.

And that's kind of a very special feeling when an animal accepts you into its environment without thinking of you as a threat.

So very strange. It's not right, guys. It's not right that you guys give these animals a bad label. You ran at him with that animal and waved it in his face. I'm going to put my headphones back on. Don't worry, Greg. I'm not going to let it hurt you. It's looking right at Greg. Look at Greg! Don't move, Greg. Just stay still. I want you to look at this animal. It's beautiful.