I Thought Gorillas Stayed Grounded. I Was Wrong.

I spent months in the field, counting minutes, logging every movement. I thought I knew what I was looking for: gorillas on the ground, big bodies, eating leaves. The textbooks said so. My advisor said so. I said so, in every proposal I wrote. But every day, I watched them climb. Not just the little ones—everyone. Silverbacks, too heavy for branches, balancing like it was nothing. The data kept coming, and I kept doubting myself. Was I missing something? Was I just bad at this? Turns out, the data was right. The old numbers were wrong. But I still feel like I’m the one who doesn’t belong here, like every observation is a fluke. I wish I could say this changed how I see myself. Mostly, it just made me tired. But I keep watching. I keep writing it down. Because the trees don’t care what I expected. #Science #ScienceFatigue #FieldworkTruths