Mountain Gorilla Safari Tours including Gorilla Tr

The number of mountain gorillas in the Countries of Rwanda, Democratic Republic of Congo and Uganda is steadily increasing due to the increased conservation efforts being put in by the three Countries as well as International Conservation bodies.

The effort by tour operators can not also go unnoticed as they are help raise  awareness about the plight of these beautiful creatures that millions of tourists come to see annually. To visit gorillas in Uganda or Rwanda once has to pay the mandatory $500 dollars as gorilla trekking permit fees. This money is for the park entrance fees, the park ranger fees as well as conserving the mountain gorillas and the communities in which these endangered mountain gorillas are found.

To gauge the success of the conservation efforts of the different bodies and governments, there has been a census of the mountain gorilla families to ascertain their numbers. The last census was carried in 2006 and the number of mountain gorillas then was 720 both wild and habituated. This last census was carried out in the latter part of 2011 and the results are yet to be published by the researchers.

From the projections of the 2006 census the number of mountain gorillas in expected to increase in this recent census. Mountain gorillas are faced with a high number of dangers. For one, they are closely related to humans with 97% DNA similar to that of humans. This makes mountain gorillas very susceptible to human disease from which they have no immediate treatment like humans. It is very easy for a person to quickly recover from a bout of flu with a few shorts from the doctor but with mountain gorillas this would be fatal to the entire family to which the gorilla belongs.

It is therefore incumbent upon us all to ensure that these gentle giants are protected and that encroachment on their habitat as well as poaching are curbed before we lose these great apes.

Mountain gorilla families in all the three Countries have been opened for gorilla tracking to tourists. However due to the political situation in the Democratic Republic of Congo, mountain gorilla safari is carried mainly in Uganda and Rwanda. A gorilla trekking safari in Uganda is done in Bwindi impenetrable forest as well as Mgahinga national park.

A Rwanda gorilla safari is done in Parc Des Volcans in different regions which is part of the Virunga massif. These gorilla safari bookings are important in raising funds for the conservation as well as awareness about the plight of these gentle giants.

The highly endangered Mountain gorillas can only be found in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Rwanda and Uganda. Numbering only about 800 in the wild as per projections from the 2006 population census,  mountain gorillas are highly endangered. In October this year, the three Countries together with International Conservation agencies embarked on a census of these gentles giants. Mountain gorillas in Uganda can be found in Mgahinga gorilla national park as well as in Bwindi impenetrable forest national park. The number of Bwindi gorillas is about half of all the mountain gorillas found in the wild.

In Rwanda gorillas can be found in Parc Des Volcans and offers some of the best mountain gorilla trekking opportunities. The Rwanda government has put a lot of emphasis on tourism with mountain gorilla safari packages as the flagship product of its tourism. It is no wonder that although the Country was once only an added destination for tourists visiting Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda; it has now become a tourism destination in its own right.

In the Democratic Republic of Congo, mountain gorillas are found in the Virunga national park. However due to the insecurity in the region, the tourism potential afforded by the mountain gorillas in the region has not been fully tapped into. However, the virungas offer great tourism potential for tourists.

Mountain gorillas live in family groups with a dorminant male – silverback gorilla as the head of the family. It is only the silverback that mates with all the females in the family. He is also the one responsible for defending the family against attack from wild animals as well as poachers.

In June 2011, a couple of poachers who had entered Bwindi impenetrable forest national park killed Mizano, a black-back (a juvenile male mountain gorilla) mountain gorilla. Mizano was the only black-back in the Habinyanja mountain gorilla family meaning the group has been striped of an heir when the current dominate male passes on.

The culprits Fideli Begumisa, Amos Kazongo and Ronald Byamugisha were caught immediately after the incident. However a judge in Kanungu District after having found them guilty only fined them Shs. 50,000 (approximately $20). This is nothing considering that each tourist going for a mountain gorilla tour pays $500 dollars as the gorilla permit fee per day so as to be able to do a gorilla tracking.

Mountain gorillas safari packages are the greatest contributors to the tourism in Uganda making one of the top 3 foreign exchange earners for the Country.

Mountain gorillas can only be found in the border region of the 3 Countries of Uganda, Democratic Republic of Congo and Rwanda and are listed as highly endangered with a population of approximately 800 only living in the wild mountainous rain forest regions of these border regions.

Poaching especially in Uganda has become such a great threat to Uganda’s wildlife although this is not known. In June during a trip to Murchison falls national park, I was able to interact with the locals in the communities surrounding the most popular national park in Uganda. I was surprised to find out it is every easy to get game meat (bush-meat) from the locals surrounding this park which is the most visited in Uganda. I found out that there are a couple of code-names that one can use to get any type of bush meat. For instance to get hippo meat all one has to do is ask for “Macha” meaning charcoal and you would be available the bush-meat.

For your gorilla safari or gorilla tours in Uganda visit www.gorilla-safari.org and another place to do a Rwanda gorilla trekking safari visit www.gorillatrekkingrwanda.com

Mountain Elgon in Eastern Uganda has been faced with a lot of encroachment from the locals living around the region. The mountain and its foothills have been experiencing a lot of landslides due to the increased misuse of the land and deforestation which is removing the trees and plantations that prevent landslides.

The President of Uganda of Uganda has now issued a directive to the Prime Minister Dr. Apollo Nsibambi to de-gazette part of the Mountain Elgon National park – the London portion to resettle some of the Benet families – a total of 400 families in all. There are cracks that are developing along the slopes of the mountain threatening another catastrophe like that of the 2010 in which many people lost their lives. The previous landslide caused a huge number of people to be transferred to Western part of the Country to a completely different region. According to authorities the cracks are now over 30 cm deep and increasing in depth rapidly.

The Benet were a forest dwelling community from the Sabiny tribe and are a minority group faced with the threat of losing their culture and identity. They originally lived in the Mountain forest region of Mountain Elgon, however with the gazzetting of the forest into a central forest reserve and national park in 1938 and between 1993 and 1994 respectively the Benet where driven out of the forest denying the opportunity to carry out their mushroom gathering and hunting in the forest of Mt. Elgon and its Moorland.

On March 5^th President Museveni wrote to the Prime Minister stating how the over 400 Benet families that had been displaced from their cradle land after the allocation of the Mountain Elgon forest into a national park and forest reserve. In the letter the President states how the Benet are living in deplorable conditions in Kisangani in Kween District in Eastern Uganda where they live in rocky regions as well as in Rwanda.

This directive comes at a time  when the Uganda Wildlife Authority the body charged with managing Uganda’s wildlife resources has warned the local encroachers along the slopes of Mountain Elgon in Manafwa district where a long crack about 40km long to relocate from the region.

According to the Area Manager of the Mountain Elgon Area Conservation, Mr. Adonia Bintorwa the destruction of the mountain Elgon Forest cover due to the encroachment as well as poor farming methods has exacerbated the problems on the mountain region as the vegetation which holds the soils together is being depleted. It is was for this same reason that there was a massive landslide in Nametsi in Bududa last year causing massive loss of lives in 2010. Mr. Bintorwa suggests that the government should move the settler to a different area altogether other than allowing them to settle in this region.

In the letter the President directs the NFA – National Forestry Authority to look into the request of the Benet people to graze in the Mountain Elgon park area which the Uganda Wildlife Authority is vehemently opposed. The Uganda Wildlife Authority states that the encroachment of mountain Elgon has and is causing great environmental and catastrophic environmental damage to the whole eastern Uganda region.

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There is a new Island resort that is being developed in Lake Bunyonyi in Kibale district western Uganda which is going to boost the tourism in the West of Uganda. The proprietor Mr. Jim Bitwire of Kyahugye Island resort, who is the director of Bunyonyi Wildlife Island said the resort is projected to cost 1 billion Uganda shillings is going to boost tourism activities in western Uganda. There has already been 600 million shillings invested in the resort which is going to create a good number of jobs thus generating income for the local community as well as create spinoffs like businesses for the people around. This investment comes at a time when Uganda tourism is registering a growth of 6 – 8 per cent annually. The number of tourists have increased from less than 200,000 in 1998 almost 4 times in the last 10 years to 843,864 tourists in 2008. Uganda safari

In December 26 when the first phase of the project is completed there will be over 49 rooms as well as cottages with the rest of the project expected to be complete mid next year.

In an interview with the Daily Monitor newspaper Mr. Bitwire said they are looking at Lake Bunyonyi as the heart of tourism for Uganda and are therefore trying to create something that is unique to the region. Lake Bunyonyi among other things like fishing and boating, is famous for bird watching in Uganda.

Lake Bunyonyi is the second largest lake in the World and is situated close to the tourist circuit that includes the world famous mountain gorillas that are found in Rwanda and Uganda. In order to beef up the tourism potential of the region there’s also going to be a relocation of wildlife from other national parks like Queen Elizabeth national park and Lake Mburo national parks which are close to the Lake. It is argued that this will also help schools in the region to cut back on the budget spent on transport to other region for tourism purposes as the region will act as an Education and Wildlife research center. Queen Elizabeth national park

This is due to the significant number of tourists Uganda is seeing despite the fact that in 2010 the number of tourists due to the global economic crisis falling to 817,000. The Uganda Tourism Board however said that the amount of foreign exchange earned from tourism increase to about $600 Million dollars.

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Uganda has 53% of the world’s mountain gorillas in living the wild. Almost all these can be found in Bwindi impenetrable forest national park or Mgahinga national park.  The rest of the mountain gorillas can be found in Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo.

“Who really needs Messi, Rooney or other football stars when we have gorillas?” This question, asked by Bart Dorrestein, the chairman of Legacy Group Holdings, elicited a thunderous applause.

It was at a business leaders’ friend-a-gorilla dinner organised by the Uganda Wildlife Authority. African gorilla tours

In essence, the dinner was to encourage Ugandans, especially the corporate, to befriend gorillas by funding projects that conserve the animals, whose main habitat here is the Bwindi impenetrable forest. Rwanda  gorilla trekking

Companies like Vision Group and USAID paid exorbitant prices for the dinner tables.

True to the dinner’s cause, it was nature-themed, as portrayed by the green plants that decked the corridors and the stage.  about mountain gorillas

Even the ushers wore green.

Guests were first treated to a cocktail where they interacted with one another. The guest-of-honour was Gen. Kahinda Otafiire, the trade and tourism minister. He arrived during the cocktail before the guests were ushered into the hall, to lovely entertainment by the Percussions Discussions Band and the CEC choir.

There were several speeches about gorillas. But it was Otafiire who cracked guests’ ribs while narrating his experience tracking gorillas in Bwindi.

“My guide told me there was a Silver Buck behind me and on turning, I saw this monstrous animal. Had it told me to trade my General’s pips for a Corporal’s, I would have done so in a rush,” he said as guests roared with laughter.

By the end of the dinner, almost every guest had sworn to get a gorilla pal.

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In a bid to protect mountain gorillas, Uganda launched an online campaign, Friend-A-Gorilla, on Saturday to save the endangered mountain gorilla species.
The event attracted a number of local and international guests from Rwanda, DR Congo, South Africa and movie celebrities from Hollywood.

Speaking at the celebrations, Mr Moses Mapesa the Executive Director of Uganda Wild life Authority (UWA), said they decided to use the mountain gorilla as the anchor to the campaign because of its closeness to mankind and the fact that it is endangered.

Gorillas share a 98.4 per cent DNA resemblance with human beings. They enjoy white ants, they are emotional, intelligent and they have an elaborate family hierarchy with the Silver back as the head of each family. gorilla trekking trips

“We have also decided to use modern information technology because of its wide global coverage and popularity of the social networking websites like Face book, Twitter and My Space, especially among the young people,” Mr Mapesa said.

He excited guests when he said gorilla is a Greek word which refers to a hairy woman. He said there are many people in Uganda who use computers and have accounts with Facebook, and by using these websites, the campaign will be able to reach as many people as possible. gorilla tours in Rwanda

Hollywood stars Jason Biggs, Simon Curtis, Nicholas Brendon, Eddie Kay Thomas, Kristy Wu and South Africa’s Rose Mutene, who had just returned from trekking the gorillas in Bwindi Impenetrable Forest National Park – gorilla tours in Uganda, were handed certificates by the guest of honour Prime Minister Apollo Nsibambi.

With the campaign now underway, Ugandans who cannot make it to the National Parks can trek gorillas using their mobile phones or computers by visiting www.friendagorilla.org.

The event saw guests like Ethics Minister Nsaba Buturo, Principal Judge James Ogoola, Prince David Wassajja, Amos Wekesa and David Rwot Achana, the king of Acholi among others befriend a gorilla.

They placed sachets around the humans who were disguised as gorillas.
Mr Mapesa said gorillas were estimated at 400 in the 1950s, 150 in 1985 and since then the population has grown to 380 for which he thanked the government for having put emphasis on conservation.

The campaign targets over 400 million users of Facebook and expects to raise at least $100 million (about Shs193 billion) in the next three years. Overall statistics indicate that Uganda gets 600,000 visitors each year and only 8,000 of these visit the wildlife.

Gorilla tourism in 2008 fetched US$8 million (Shs6 billion) for UWA in direct revenue. Ugandans will contribute $1 or Shs2,000 to befriend a gorilla. “Globally we are targeting the 400 million users of Facebook, if only 100 million of these befriended a gorilla for $1, we would make $100 million,” Mr Mapesa said.

Prof. Nsibambi said Uganda has greater advantage over other African countries to become wealthy because of her bio-diversity.
“Uganda has 11 per cent of the global biodiversity. One of our historical guests, former UK prime minister Winston Churchill, advised the government that with all the natural resources the country has, Uganda ought to be the most prosperous country in Africa,” he said.

He added that conservation has made a significant contribution to the country’s economy. Prof. Nsibambi pledged government support to the tourism sector.

Tourism Minister Kahinda Otafiire noted that whereas there might be gorillas in Rwanda and DR Congo, Uganda has a special group of them. He said Uganda has a world heritage and it is the responsibility of every citizen in the world to protect it.
“There are 780 individuals of gorillas in the world therefore it is imperative that everything be done to preserve them because they have a significant contribution to our ecotourism,” Maj. Gen. Otafiire said.

He wondered why Ugandans go to Europe for holidays, yet there is a lot to go for here in their own country. Uganda tours

While natural resources conservation has not ranked high on governments’ priorities, financial resources, corruption, wars, weak and incapacitated institutions, among others, have made it difficult for institutions and organisations to adequately address emerging environmental challenges – Kenya travel blog

Faced with current global challenges such as the economic crisis, climate change, pollution, poverty and food insecurity, there is need for East Africans to search for implementable solutions. The time is ripe for integrated science-based policies and natural resources and environment conservation plans and programmes in the East African region.

Throughout much of eastern Africa, and particularly in Uganda, unregulated and inappropriate natural resource exploitation have been major causes of environmental degradation in recent decades. Although increase in demand for natural resources utilisation is mostly due to the rapid rate of human population growth, poor resource management has also contributed. As a result, there are major threats to natural resources and the environment such as desertification, pollution, soil erosion, climate change and overgrazing.

Consequently, ecological tragedies and human tragedies have overlapped in some parts of eastern African. Landslides, floods, droughts, and associated diseases and pests that affect humans, livestock, crops as well as wildlife are not uncommon. Tragedies not only threaten the security and sustainable development of the region but also serve as reminder that natural hazards know no political borders – Uganda national parks

Most of eastern African economies are natural resource based – relying on agriculture and tourism which together contribute close to 50 per cent of the gross domestic product and tourism being the main foreign exchange earner in most of the countries in the region. This calls for concerted effort to conserve borderless natural resources.

Unless we exchange experiences, it is unlikely that eastern Africa will meet the Millennium Development Goals. Bringing together scientists, developers and natural resource managers, researchers, policy makers, NGOs and government agencies to deliberate on environmental issues could pave the way towards reducing environment problems in the region.

Although a number of organisations in eastern Africa are involved in conservation of natural resources and environment, there is need for them to coordinate their actions through joining forces, networking and associating, and sharing experiences as way of addressing environmental issues, advocating and promoting new approaches – Kenya safari

That is why the Ecological Society for Eastern Africa (ESEA) will be holding a Regional Scientific Conference at Makerere University on June 18-19. This annual event arose from the growing concern of the significant role natural resources and environment contribute to sustaining national economies and peoples’ livelihoods in the region.

The aim is to bridge the gap created by limited public awareness and insufficient dissemination on environmental issues by facilitating exchange of information; contribute to the strengthening of national environmental plans, policies and programmes and contribute to ecological research. It is important that Uganda and the entire eastern African region address sustainable natural resource management issues, enhance technological skills and contributed to building partnerships and networks with other relevant organisations and associations – Uganda wildlife safaris

Mountain gorilla trekking in Bwindi national park is one of the most sought after Uganda tour packages. Numbering about 720 in the wild, mountain gorillas are an endangered species of primates and can only be found in the jungles around the border region of Uganda, Rwanda and Congo. Half this population of mountain gorillas can be found in Uganda’s Bwindi national park and have contributed greatly to Uganda’s foreign exchange earnings.

Mountain gorilla trekking has been enabled by the conservation efforts of the respective Governments in the three Great Lakes Countries.  This has been made sustainable by levying $500 USD per gorilla tracking permit.  However, although Uganda has the highest number of gorillas, Rwanda sees the greatest number of tourists wishing to track gorillas. This is due to the high marketing efforts the Rwandese government has placed in trying to sell this tour attraction.

when tracking mountain gorillas, there are a couple of rules and regulations that one must adhere to. Here is a sample of the rules and regulations;

1. Maintaining a distance of about 10 meters from the gorillas
2. When tracking you are advised to avoid making noise which would spook these primates.
3. Using of flash cameras is strictly prohibited
4. Avoid littering the national parks
5. When easing oneself you are advised to dig a hole and cover it up with dirt later
6. No one who is suffering from flu or cough is advised to track gorilla

Click here if you would like to know more about mountain gorillas or gorilla facts

Africa has many tour attractions to offer the world, however, the cost of flights and the high fuel costs in many of these countries adds a lot to the cost of safari to Africa. North Africa is mainly know for its archeological and historical tour sites however, East African Safari packages have a lot more diversity including the annual Wildebeest migration in the Masai Mara and Serengeti, wildlife tours as well as birding tours in the Albertine region.

However, with a lot of conservation efforts mountain gorilla safari has become a leading tour attraction to Uganda and Rwanda with many tourists who come to do wildlife safaris in Kenya and Tanzania coming to Uganda and Rwanda to do gorilla tracking. For those who would like to do trips to see mountain gorillas in Rwanda there are a number of companies offering these packages online as booking a gorilla tracking permit is of utmost importance requiring one to book several months in advance.