Gemma Cosgriff was pushed by a silverback gorilla while holidaying in Rwanda
AN AUSTRALIAN woman honeymooning in the wild feared for her life for a split second when she became the target of a silverback gorilla.
AN AUSTRALIAN woman honeymooning in the wild feared for her life for a split second when she became the target of a silverback gorilla.
Melbourne’s Gemma Cosgriff was holidaying in Rwanda in Africa with her new husband Damian when a 300kg gorilla began beating its chest before bounding up to her and pushing her over.
“I was fearing for my life in a split second,” she told Channel 9.
“I’d been given advice not to look at him so I was like ‘don't look at him, don’t look at him’.”
A video shows the frightening moment she is set upon before she is picked up by a tour guide who repeatedly tells her she is OK.
She quickly stands up and is laughing from shock.
Travel agency Expert Africa warns tourists they should stay seven metres from the animals at all times.
People are also encouraged not to make sudden movements or talk loudly because the wild animals could at times be unpredictable, despite seeing tourists often.
Mrs Cosgriff told Channel 9 while the animal was large, it felt like a pillow and didn’t hurt her.
She was dressed in a pink T-shirt and she thought the colour may have attracted the primate.
“I’m pretty sure it may have been the pink, I probably should’ve worn camouflage colours,” she said.
Melbourne University’s anatomy and neuroscience lecturer Varsha Pilbrow told Channel 9 the colour may have been the problem.
“There is someone who looks slightly different, she’s got a different coloured shirt ... it could well be that the gorilla had been noticing her before that,” she said.
“It doesn’t appear to be a situation where the gorilla feels threatened in any way.”
Channel 9 reports Mrs Cosgriff was taking photos with the gorillas before the ordeal and she was joking the animals took a “liking to her”.
“I still just cannot believe that it even happened ... a once-in-a-lifetime experience,” she said.
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