The Mbeli Bai is a large, swampy forest clearing located deep in the Republic of Congo’s Nouabalé-Ndoki National Park - where gorillas routinely engage in age-old rituals safe from the dangers of the modern world. This primitive setting presents the perfect opportunity for researchers to observe these great apes in subtle ways that do not disrupt their normal behavior patterns. Over a period of 12 years, conservationists with the Wildlife Conservation Society followed the lives of 19 adult male western