December 07, 2021 | Bujo Safaris
Gorillas are fascinating creatures that have even been featured in famous documentaries, movies, and books like King Kong and inhabit the tropical rainforests of East and Central Africa. They are grouped into two species western gorilla and eastern gorilla. This is further divided into four subspecies - eastern lowland gorilla, mountain gorilla, western lowland gorilla, and cross river gorilla. The most famous subspecies are the mountain gorillas. All subspecies are listed as endangered on the IUCN Red List. The renowned subspecies “mountain gorillas” are found within a thin strip of volcano ranges known as the Virunga volcanoes. This species can be only found in the countries of Rwanda, the Democratic Republic of Congo, and Uganda. They can be encountered in the closely monitored and protected parks of Virunga National Park of the Democratic Republic of Congo, Mgahinga National Park Bwindi Impenetrable National Park in Uganda, and the Volcanoes National Park in Rwanda.
Mountain gorillas live in groups called families or troops that rarely go above 25 individuals. Families are made up of a single dominant male known as a silverback, a couple of females and other males usually related to the leader plus their offspring. The dominant silverback offers protection and a sense of direction and organization in the group to all of the members. All other males must be subservient to the leading silverback and if they cannot overthrow his leadership after a challenge they are exiled and form provisional all-male bachelor troops until they can create their own families.
In the same line of great apes, mountain gorillas have been studied and found to be among the smartest creatures on earth. Research has shown they can do self-reflection, careful planning, and learn how to use different tools. Further research on captive individuals for example the famous ‘Koko’ has revealed that gorillas can use and understand sign language effectively. They are extremely social creatures that create strong bonds with each other and can laugh when happy or grieve when a member dies or gets hurt. Gorillas are mainly terrestrial animals that prefer to stay on the land but have a restricted skill to climb trees that can support an individual’s weight. However, younger gorillas are fairly skilled tree climbers due to their smaller body frames and size. Gorillas sleep in nests overnight mostly on the ground or the trees made out of branches and leaves. They are also highly active during the daytime and get more sleep at night. Gorillas however can have short irregular naps in the day between foraging for food, playing, and resting. Mountain gorillas just like their close relatives -chimpanzees use knuckle-walking, a special method of movement. This technique involves walking on all four limbs instead of two hind limbs and with their knuckles curled up on the ground. Gorillas also can walk on two legs for a limited distance and time. They are capable of using their forelimbs with precision to grasp, lift, hold, and tear with a strong resemblance to human beings.
Due to their close resemblance in character and skills, a question is usually asked if gorillas can swim. Just like humans and other great apes, gorillas are not natural swimmers. And usually try to avert bigger and deeper bodies of water like rivers. However, gorillas have been recorded to enjoy playing with water on different occasions. During crucial situations like foraging for food or escaping from danger, they can find their way through water by wading on their legs but this water must be only up to their waist or they will be prone to drowning. If gorillas are caught in between an abrupt rain shower, they merely remain stationary and wait for the rain to end. Gorillas can use nearby caves or trees to take cover but they have never been recorded to use large branches or leaves to shelter themselves. This behavior is a common one among their close relatives - orangutans and bonobos.
Gorillas can be visited in the wild in only a few countries that they inhabit - Rwanda, Congo, Uganda, Gabon, Equatorial Guinea, and the Democratic Republic of Congo among others. Bujo Safaris team has carefully developed gorilla trekking safaris and packages that will allow you to meet and interact with these special creatures. This involves gorilla trekking and habituation. Gorilla Habituation is where you help in making gorillas familiar with human presence while trekking just involves enjoying and relishing the presence of already habituated gorilla families.
Bwindi Impenetrable Forest National Park is located in south western part of Uganda and is home to over 400 mountain gorilla individuals. The park is known for its biodiversity that is home to over 75 mammal species, such as elephants, buffaloes, hippos, vervet monkeys, blue monkeys, white and black colobus monkeys, 27 frogs, 104 ferns and over 350 bird species such as Handsome Francolin, African Wood owl, Rwenzori Nightjar, Bar-tailed Trogon, Black Bee-eater, Western Green Tinkerbird, Dwarf Honeyguide, Fine-banded Woodpecker, African Green Broadbill, Grey Cuckoo-shrike, Shelly’s Greenbul, Yellow-streaked Greenbul, Red-throated Alethe, Archer’s Robin-Chat, White-bellied Robin-Chat, Kivu Ground-Thrush, Mountain Yellow Warbler, Dusky Crimsoning, Shelley’s Crimsoning among others. Arrive at the visitor’s information center for a briefing about gorilla trekking from Uganda Wildlife rangers. You shall be briefed and allocated to different gorilla families together with other travelers on a Uganda gorilla trekking safari.
Embark on a guided gorilla trekking through the dense impenetrable forests of Bwindi with beautiful breathtaking views of the lush forests and landscape as you penetrate through in search of mountain gorillas which takes about 6 to 7 hours. Upon meeting them, travelers are granted only one hour to spend with the gorillas as they watch them play and learn their behaviors. Later, return to the base where you shall be awarded gorilla trekking permits that mark your gorilla trekking experience in Uganda.
A visitor wishing to spend more hours with Mountain gorillas gets an extraordinary gorilla habituation experience. The gorilla habituation experience is where visitors are allowed to spend 4 hours with an encounter with the mountain gorillas as they learn more about mountain gorillas and watch them play as well as their feeding lifestyle. Gorilla habituation experience is the best way to conserve mountain gorillas in their natural habitat. However, the gorilla habituation experience seems to be a bit costly compared to the Gorilla trekking experience.
Get a gorilla permit to any of the few destinations to experience a golden tour experience only found in these richly endowed countries. A gorilla trekking permit costs USD 800 (Foreign Non-Residents), USD 700 (Foreign Residents), and UGX 300, 000 for East African citizens whereas a gorilla Habituation permit costs USD 1500 (Foreign Non-Residents), USD 1000 (Foreign Residents), and UGX 700,000 for East African citizens per person.
There are a variety of accommodation options to stay in on your gorilla safari in Uganda ranging from Budget, midrange, Luxury, and High-end depending on the budget of the traveler. Accommodation options include Rushaga Gorilla Havens, Nkuringo Safari Lodge, Icumbi Gorilla Lodge, Bwindi Gorilla Lodge, Gorilla Heights Lodge, Buhoma Lodge, Engagi Lodge, Gorilla Heights Lodge, Volcanoes, Safari Lodge, Mahogany Springs Camp, Sanctuary Forest Camp, and Buhoma community Rest camp including many others.
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