By Matthew Hattingh and Siziwe Hlongwa
Maybe Hollywood or King Kong were to blame, says Gladys Kalema-Zikusoka of her otherwise supportive mothers dread at her daughter working with gorillas.
She thought they would maul me or kill me, says Kalema-Zikusoka, recalling the fieldwork she first did with the great apes while a student vet.
She was someone who always encouraged me to do things, but she was a little concerned about that particular species of animal.
Years later however, when Kalema-Zikusokas mother (the trail-blazing Ugandan politician, Rhoda Kalema) finally joined her to see gorillas for herself in the wild, she changed her tune. Oh, they are just gentle, vegetarian giants, said the older woman.
