January 07, 2022 | Bujo Safaris
Gorillas are recorded as endangered on the IUCN red list. The biggest primates recorded on earth were just removed from critically endangered to endangered status in the last couple of years as their threat to survival was greatly reduced and their population surpassed 1000 individuals in the wilderness. This progress was made possible due to the many international bodies and respective local governments that have strived to achieve this milestone though it is still a long way to go.
Gorillas are subdivided into four subspecies from the main two subspecies - Eastern and Western gorillas. The four subspecies are grouped as eastern lowland gorillas and mountain gorillas falling under the eastern gorillas while Cross River gorillas and western gorillas belong to the Western gorilla sub-species. Gorillas in the wild live in groups called families of about 4 to over 30 members headed by a dominant male known as the “silverback”.
The Western gorilla is differentiated from the Eastern gorilla by a distinctive browner coat of fur as opposed to the darker and thicker coat of the Eastern gorillas. A few other differences can be told apart from the structural forms of different species. Gorillas have a life span of 35 to 40 years in the wild and usually give birth to one baby from 3 to 4 years. Of all the subspecies, the mountain gorillas receive the most attention and countless guests travel to meet one of them before they leave Earth.
It's estimated that there are about 310,000 western gorillas and just above 1,000 eastern gorillas in the wild. Gorillas are listed as endangered by the IUCN which raises many questions about why are gorillas endangered. Some of these questions will be answered to help pinpoint the reasons why gorillas ended up in the “endangered” status.
Gorillas in the wild are only known to inhabit a couple of countries with tropical or subtropical rainforests only found in the Sub-Saharan region. These countries include the Democratic Republic of Congo, Congo–Brazzaville, Uganda, Rwanda, Cameroon, the Central African Republic, and a few other countries. The mountain gorilla resides in a span of habitats located in the Virunga Volcanoes and montane forests of the Albertine Rift. The process of encountering mountain gorillas in their natural habitat is known as gorilla trekking.
Volcanoes National Park is Located in the southern part of Rwanda and is a well-known destination for gorilla trekking in Rwanda. Volcanoes National Park consists of the 5 volcanoes of Muhabura, bespoke, Gahinga, Sabinyo, and Karusimbi. The park consists of about 30% mountain gorillas and a good biodiversity system covering different tree species such as bamboo forests, swamps, and grasslands as well as other wildlife species such as African forest elephants, duikers, bush bucks, giant forest hog, blue monkeys, golden monkeys, Angola colobus.
Gorilla trekking requires a traveler to book a gorilla trekking permit. Later, you will head out to the visitor's information center for a briefing about gorilla trekking from the rangers who will divide you into groups of not more than 8 people per gorilla family. You shall begin your trek with great views of the park’s flora and fauna including different bird species. The minimum required age for gorilla trekking is 15 years and this is because young ones might not follow instructions as ordered by the rangers while trekking through the forests and encountering mountain gorillas.
Gorilla trekking in Uganda is only done in two national parks Bwindi Impenetrable Forest National Park situated in the southwestern part of the country. Uganda alone has almost half of the world’s total population of gorilla individuals which makes it the best gorilla trekking destination for all travelers on a Uganda safari. Bwindi Impenetrable Forest National Park has about 400 mountain gorillas that can be tracked in Bwindi’s four major regions of Nkuringo, Rushaga, Ruhija, and Buhoma. For travelers who would wish to experience gorilla habituation, it is only done in the Rushaga sector of Bwindi Impenetrable Forest National Park and all gorilla destinations in the world.
Gorilla Habituation is the process of introducing human presence to the existing mountain gorillas. The gorilla habituation process involves spending about 4 hours with the mountain gorillas as you learn about their gentle lifestyle, feeding, playing with young ones, and grooming themselves. By exercising gorilla habituation, visitors are contributing to the conservation of gorillas and their natural habitat. However, gorilla habituation experience comes at an extra cost where a gorilla habituation permit costs USD 1500 (Foreign Non-Residents), USD 1000 (Foreign Residents) and UGX 700,000 for East African Citizens.
A gorilla trekking permit in Uganda costs USD 800 (Foreign Non-Residents), USD 700 (Foreign Residents), and UGX 300,000 for East African Citizens whereas a gorilla trekking permit in Rwanda costs USD 1500 (Foreign Non-Residents) and USD 1000 (Foreign Residents)
Various factors are increasingly threatening the existence of mountain gorillas in their natural habitats and such factors include, Human induction and degradation, gorilla predators, gorilla behaviors as well and natural endemics which are below highlighted.
The prime danger to gorillas’ survival is human activity which is either intentional or accidental. The intentional activities involve a well-planned attack on gorillas’ lives, for instance, poaching for wild meat (gorilla meat is so expensive and sold on the black market), forest clearance for farming, and hunting for the pet market in different countries. Gorillas are so protective of their young ones and will never let hunters take them easily without a fight. This leaves hunters with no options but to usually wipe out a whole group of adults just to take a couple of young gorillas. The unintentional or accidental activities include gorillas falling in snares meant for other species like antelopes that leave fatal injuries which in most cases end up leading to untimely death. Also, farming practices like bush burning destroy gorillas’ habitats or get some individuals in the fire during bush burning.
Leopards are the most recorded predator to the gorillas but mostly target juveniles or young gorillas. These cases are rare though as adult gorillas are overprotective of their young and no leopard or other predator is silly or brave enough to take on single-handedly a mature gorilla.
Gorillas pose a threat to their survival in a few ways for example their reproductive behavior. Gorillas have a longer period of gestation of approximately 8 to 9 months and only give birth to one baby every 3 to 4 years making their rate of population increase slower, which implies more deaths than reproduction, automatically endangering these species. Furthermore, gorillas have a lower adaptation rate to new environments which makes most of them taken into captivity die within little time even also slight changes in their environments pose a great threat to their survival which calls for more conservation efforts of their natural habitats.
Since gorillas share almost similar DNA with humans, they can contract most of the diseases that attack human beings. For example, the Ebola epidemic nearly wiped out most gorilla families in D.R. Congo. Some of these factors coupled with their already small population on earth have led to the gorillas being classified as endangered on the IUCN list of threatened species.
Most gorilla conservation organizations (Non-Profit Organizations) have set up several measures to promote gorilla conservation and protection of their natural habitats and briefly, these are;
Tourists on a Uganda gorilla trekking safari are advised to wear face masks to prevent the spread of human diseases such as Flu and cough. The National Forestry Authority is encouraging the locals to keep green by planting more trees to increase the habitat of mountain gorillas. The Uganda Wildlife Authority has deployed more rangers to Bwindi Impenetrable Forest National Park and all game parks to increase on protection of wildlife and stop poaching of these innocent creatures. The Gorilla conservation management encourages the local people to adopt proper hygiene and health that support the health and existence of these magnificent creatures.
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