Silverback Gorilla Halts Traffic to Protect His Family

It's only the first week of January, but we already have an early contender for 2018's Father Of The Year.

Meet Chimanuka, a silverback gorilla who lives in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DROC). He's the patriarch of his clan, and one of the stars of the BBC's extremely bingeable Gorilla Family & Me.

In a stunning new scene caught on video by wildlife filmmaker Gordon Buchanan, we see Chimanuka lead his 23-strong contingent, including some infants, across an unpaved road used by truckers to transport raw materials like timber and charcoal.

According to Buchanan, it was only after the 30-year-old gentle giant posted up in the middle of the dirt thoroughfare and assessed there was no danger that the rest of his crew "broke cover" and scampered over to the sanctuary of the jungle on the far side.

Once he's satisfied that the fam is safe, the big fella himself deliberately saunters off into the bush as if to remind everyone that he's still the alpha in these parts.

Watch Chimanuka bring traffic to a standstill in the video embedded below!

h/t Tastefully Offensive