Five mountain gorilla babies born in Bwindi in six weeks
The recent baby boom in Bwindi Impenetrable National Park over the past few weeks has caused huge excitement among wildlife lovers. Five baby gorillas have been born in Bwindi over the past five weeks and this takes the total to seven that have been born in the park since the year began. Compared the whole of 2019, in which only 3 baby gorillas were born in Bwindi, this year has already become extraordinary among the gorilla community.
The Rushegura gorilla family is the latest to give birth in Bwindi while according to the Uganda Wildlife Service (UWS), all the five previous births belonged to different families not to one as they had earlier reported. UWS admits that this year was unprecedented for gorilla births but the uptick has also equally shocked them like the rest of the public.
Good news for travelers
The news of the baby boom among mountain gorillas in Bwindi will sound sweet in the ears of travelers who are planning to visit the park for gorilla trekking as the preparations to reopen it for gorilla safaris are already underway. Bwindi Impenetrable National Park just like other parks around the country has been closed to tourists since March as a measure to control the spread of Covid-19. The park is now carrying outs test visits to primates’ locations as part of the establishment of safe measures that will guide tourists coming t trek these endangered apes. The park has started by allowing small groups of visitors into protected areas as they observe how new safety procedures like wearing face masks, and social distancing are followed.
Gorillas affected by the Covid-19 lockdown
The closure of Bwindi Impenetrable National Park due to Covid-19 did not only affect its tourism activity but also the gorillas themselves. In June, while in lockdown, famous silverback Rafiki was killed by poachers who had entered the park to hunt small animals and they killed Rafiki in self-defense after he had attacked them according to their statement. In July, the convict was sentenced to 11 years in prison after he was found guilty of entering a protected area illegally and killing a protected wild animal.
Gorilla trekking in Bwindi
Bwindi is the world’s biggest home of mountain gorillas with over 400 individuals and about 15 habituated gorilla families living within the park. Gorilla trekking is the major tourist activity in Bwindi and the experience takes place within four separate sectors of the park which include Nkuringo, Buhoma, Ruhija and Rushaga. Every gorilla trekking permit sold in Bwindi is attached to a specific sector and this is where the visitor or the holder of the permit goes to visit their allocated gorilla group. Due to the conservation regulations which aim at protecting gorillas by giving them a free and safe environment, trekkers are permitted to spend only one hour in the presence of gorillas. Prior to the Covid-19 lockdown, a gorilla permit in Uganda was sold at $600 for all foreign visitors and this is likely to continue though the country had proposed to increase the price to $700 by July 2020. Gorilla Trek Africa is your ultimate guide on your post covid19 gorilla safari in Uganda, Rwanda and Congo
Other mountain gorilla areas
Bwindi is one of the only 2 locations in the world with mountain gorillas with the other being the Virunga Mountains that straddle borders of Uganda, Rwanda and Democratic Republic od Congo (DRC). There are three national parks that protect mountain gorillas within the Virunga Mountains which include Virunga National Park in DRC, Volcanoes National Park in Rwanda and Mgahinga Gorilla National Park in Uganda.
Rising trend for mountain gorilla population
According to the 2018 gorilla census, the global population of mountain gorillas is estimated to be about 1,063 animals. Unlike other gorilla subspecies whose population has greatly declined over the past few decades, the number of mountain gorillas has been steadily increasing over the same period thanks to the great conservation efforts. Due to this, in 2018, mountain gorillas were removed from the category of critically endangered species by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) and they are now categorized as endangered.
