Tag: "Rwanda gorillas"

Africa’s Gentle Giants – Rwanda’s Gorillas [PICS]

When you think of Rwanda, what is the first thing that comes to mind?  I bet it’s gorillas, and hardly surprising as these are very special creatures that have become synonymous with the fight to protect endangered wildlife. I have just returned from a trip to experience meeting the gorillas for myself and I was completely blown away.

Rwanda’s mountain gorillas inhabit the spectacular Virunga Mountains within The Parc National des Volcanoes (PNV), an area covering more than 125 sq km. The PNV is home to five volcanoes, all extinct and covered with dense vegetation that includes significant amounts of bamboo forest. Bamboo is hard to trek through but it’s the Mountain gorillas favourite food so it has to be done in order to reach the goal of a sighting.

On the morning of my gorilla track, everybody congregated in the park headquarters at 7am. Here we were warmed up by a ‘blow-your-socks-off’ cup of Rwandan coffee, as a traditional Rwandan dance group entertained us. Once everybody had assembled, we were allocated into one of eight groups, introduced to our guide and given a briefing on how to behave when close to the gorillas – a sort of ‘gorilla etiquette’! We then set off on our hike up the mountain. One of the most enjoyable things about all of this preparation is that you don’t know quite where the gorillas are going to be. The tracking might involve clambering for two hours up 45 degree slopes, avoiding biting ants and low hanging branches, or you may take a gentle stroll for a mere seven minutes across open farmland before suddenly stumbling upon them, as one of the groups in our party did!

Our guides in Rwanda

On finding the group your trekking struggles are instantly forgotten and nothing quite prepares you for the humbling feeling that washes over you. In our group, the Hirwa, meaning ‘lucky’, there were 17 members, including a silverback and twin babies. Looking into their eyes, you feel you are actually being understood – in fact this is evidenced through the guide/gorilla vocal communication that is essentially a series of grunts, but they did seem to be understanding each other! The gorillas’ playful nature and the twins’ keenness to be the centre of attention for the entire hour (bouncing on trees as if they were trampolines and playing roly-poly down the hill) was an absolute delight to see and made the gap between primates and humans seem very narrow.

The way each gorilla has its own personal name is also very significant. A naming ceremony is held in the village each year where all members of the community can put forward name suggestions which helps to reinforce the relationship between the local community and the gorillas, helping to enshrine community ownership and the protection that results. In fact, the conservation of the Mountain gorilla in Rwanda has been a huge success in recent years, as the local community have become local ambassadors for their protection.

Jobs created from gorilla tourism have been a pivotal step in conserving these animals – many of the trackers and guides are ex-poachers who through education and opportunity have been steered away from their past lives. It’s clear when you speak to them that they now have such a warm genuine desire to protect the Mountain gorilla and more specifically the individual families with whom they spend so much time.

However, the conservation of the gorillas still has many hurdles to overcome and the groups require constant monitoring, in particular their health. Any gorilla with a health problem (including respiratory infections transmitted from humans) must be treated in situ and not removed from the group as individuals will be rejected on their return. Similarly, any rescued orphans cannot be introduced into a new family and are destined to live under the care of humans for the rest of their life. One opportunity the guides discussed was the option of introducing several orphans so that they could form their own group, but there would be many obstacles along the way if this is tried. An exciting idea none the less.

For now, you can personally help by going on a Rwanda holiday and tracking these fantastic creatures. In doing so you are directly contributing to gorilla based tourism and giving local communities a reason to protect and conserve them. After my wonderful experiences I am hopeful that this will continue for many years to come.

Gorillas, not lost in the mist

When I went gorilla trekking in Rwanda in June 2007, there were only around 700 Mountain gorillas alive in the world. It was an exhausting trek, most of the way up Karisimbi Volcano (4507m) in Rwanda’s Volcanoes National Park. At that time, the Susa group was the biggest family, but they have since split into two smaller groups. It was one of the most emotional and challenging experiences of my life. But most importantly, it made me realise how privileged I was to see them, and the danger our closest relatives were still in.

Almost human
Mountain gorillas do not survive in captivity and are very susceptible to human diseases, so you will not see one in any zoo. With 98.5% of their genes similar to us humans, just looking into one’s eyes will tell you there is a lot of human-like intelligence there. But this similarity is also very dangerous. In 2009, two gorillas from the Hirwa group in Rwanda died from what is now believed to have been a human pneumonia virus infection. Gorillas have been hunted, as recently as in the last couple of years, and their mountainous home forest is shrinking at an alarming pace under the pressures of overpopulation and the need for farming land.

Mountain gorilla infant in Bwindi

The future
Luckily, through research, most famously Diane Fossey’s work in the 1960’s and 70’s, education and especially carefully controlled tourism, the Mountain gorilla population have now increased to an estimated 786. A permit is expensive, but for a precious hour, you get one of the most memorable wildlife experiences on earth, and the money is used to fund research and conservation. Thankfully the governments of Rwanda and Uganda have realised that live gorillas are much more valuable than the unspeakable alternative.

Help save the gorillas
The best ways to help save the gorillas are through tourism, but make sure you book your permit through a reputable operator, and do not go on a trek if you are ill. Also stay well away from the gorillas when you are with them, although this is not always possible, sometimes curiosity gets the better of them too.

Touched by a gorilla
One visitor to Sanctuary Gorilla Forest Camp in Bwindi, Uganda discovered just how unpredictable and curious gorillas can be in December 2011. The local gorilla family simply walked through the camp, and under the watchful eye of the silverback, some of the younger family members started grooming his hair. You can see the amazing video “Touched by a Mountain gorilla” below. When I saw the silverback of the Susa group, I was terrified; he moved a lot faster than his huge almost 300kg hulk suggested, I can only imagine the adrenaline pumping through him at that moment!

Gorilla trekking tips

• Take lots of water and some snacks. Some groups can be close to base camp, but some can be a couple of hours hiking up some very steep paths, as I discovered on my trek.
• Wear good hiking books, long light-weight trousers and gloves (like gardening gloves) are great as protection against nettles.
• Take a few days to acclimatise to the altitude before you attempt the trek. Learn more about the history and culture and go shopping shop for beautiful local wood carvings and delicate baskets.
• Take a spare camera memory card and make sure your camera is fully charged, but leave your heavy flash behind; you are not allowed to use it as it might scare the gorillas.
• Most of all, enjoy it! It truly is a once in a lifetime experience.

See them for yourself
You can still get a gorilla permit for trekking in Rwanda for US$500, if you book and pay before the end of May 2012 – permits will increase to US$750 from 1 June 2012. In Uganda, the permits are still around US$500, and Sanctuary Gorilla Forest Camp have some discounted gorilla permits on offer until October 2012.