Mountain Gorillas in Uganda

 The hidden secret of  Bwindi Impenetrable National Park

Deep in the heart of Uganda’s Bwindi Impenetrable National Park lies a hidden secret of the encounter with the endangered Mountain Gorillas of Uganda in their natural habitat. Bwindi Impenetrable National Park , a UNESCO World Heritage Site is home to half of the world’s remaining mountain gorilla populations making it a must visit destination for  every Gorilla Tracking enthusiasts.

About Uganda’s Mountain Gorillas

How many Mountain Gorillas are there?

The endangered Mountain gorillas  are Just over 1000 gorillas. They are only found in two small populations: in the Virunga Volcanoes of Rwanda, Uganda and the Democratic Republic of Congo and  in Bwindi Impenetrable National Park. In Bwindi they are approximately 459 gorillas and 604 are found in the Virunga Volcanoes.

They monitor changes in the population size by conducting censuses of the park about every 5 years or so. To do this they intensively search throughout the park for signs of of gorillas, then they estimate the group size and composition based on the number of nests per group.

In these censuses they use genetic analysis of gorilla faces to confirm the identity of groups and individuals.

Why Can We See Mountain Gorillas So Well If They Are Wild?

Gorillas are naturally afraid of humans and typically will flee or aggressively charge if people get too close to them. Gorillas that are visited by people have undergone ‘habituation’. This refers to the process, where through daily peaceful contact with humans, gorillas have slowly lost their fear of humans and have learned to view them as neutral beings in their environment. Habituating a group of gorillas usually takes about 2 years. The guidelines established for tourist visits have been developed to respect the special relationship that exists through habituation: the gorillas briefly letting us into their world.

Diet & Ranging

Gorillas are vegetarians. Their diet consists of leaves, stems, and fruits from the wide variety of vegetation found in the forest. Most people are surprised to learn that gorillas don’t eat any meat, with the exception of the occasional ant or termite. How is it possible that gorillas are so big and strong, but do not eat meat? Imagine spending 5–6 hours a day eating only salad or green vegetables – that is how they get enough to eat. Gorillas’ stomachs are so big not because they are fat, but because they are digesting all that vegetation.

The diet of mountain gorillas varies quite a lot, depending on what is available. For example, some plants that are quite common in the low altitude area of Buhoma are rare or absent from the higher altitude areas of the park, such as Ruhija. The gorillas also select foods that are high in proteins and carbohydrates, but relatively low in fiber.

Bwindi gorillas enjoy fruit and they will not hesitate to climb 20 meters or more to eat it, but it is available only at certain times of the year.

Also, as altitude increases, fruit availability declines, so the gorillas in Buhoma have more fruit than those in Ruhija and the mountain gorillas in the Virunga Volcanoes consume almost no fruit at all.

In Bwindi, gorillas travel about 1 km per day. How far they move depends on the availability of food. They typically travel further when they are searching for fruit than when they are eating only vegetation. They may also travel a lot if they have had an encounter with another group – one silverback may be trying to move his group away from the other one. Each group occupies a “home range” of about 10–30 km² and the home range of neighboring groups typically overlap with one another.

Family Life

A typical group of gorillas contains about 10 members: the dominant silverback, several adult females, and then immature offspring of various ages. However, there can be a lot of variation. Group size may range from 2 to 30 or more individuals. The silverbacks in multi male groups are usually related as brothers, half-brothers, or father and son. When gorillas reach maturity they typically, but not always, leave the group in which they were born. Females will transfer directly to another group when they are 6–10 years old. Males follow one of two strategies to become the leader of a group: either remain in the group and attempt a takeover or emigrate to become a solitary male and eventually form a new group. All male gorillas become silverbacks at approximately 14 years of age, but not all males become group leaders.

Females have their first offspring at about age 10. Gestation is 8 ½ months. About 1 in 3 babies born do not survive past age three.

Gorillas may live into their early 40s. Because females have babies only every 4–5 years, each female may have only 4 offspring that survive to adulthood. Silverbacks may be dominant for 10 or more years and sire 5, 10, or more offspring. Through genetic analysis, we know that subordinate silverbacks in multimale groups do sometimes sire offspring.

Social Interactions

Gorillas are very social, with all group members cohesively coordinating their daily activities. A typical day consists of alternating between several hours feeding and moving through the forest and then resting for a few hours. Usually, interactions among individuals are peaceful, but occasionally conflicts may arise over feeding spots, with individuals giving aggressive ‘cough grunt’ vocalizations, screaming, or even fighting.

Silverbacks are dominant over all other group members. Dominance hierarchies exist among adult females and among silverbacks in multi-male groups. Males may compete intensely between groups. Inter group encounters occur about once a month; this is the only opportunity for females to transfer between social units and hence the time for males to out compete their opponents and appear the most impressive to attract females.

Friendly interactions among gorillas consist of resting together and grooming. Infants and juveniles have endless energy for playing.

Mountain Gorilla families in Bwindi Impenetrable National Park

Bwindi Impenetrable National park is home to 23 habituated groups of Mountain Gorillas which can be tracked in any of the four sectors.

Buhoma sector: Muyambi, Mubare, Katwe, Rushegura, Binyindo & Habinyanja

Rushaga sector: Bikigi, Busingye, Kahungye, Mucunguzi,Kutu, Bweza, Posho, Nshongi, Mishaya

Ruhija sector: Oruzogo, Mukiza, Kyagulira, Happy, Bitukura

Nkuringo sector: Nkuringo, Christmas,Bushaho

We have one family in Mgahinga Gorilla National Park called Nyakigezi

Best Time for Uganda Mountain Gorilla Tracking

The best time to visit Bwindi Impenetrable National park for Uganda Gorilla Tracking safaris are the two peak season months of June-September and December-February. This is because they align with Uganda’s dry seasons. It offers the best opportunity to track the Mountain Gorillas and spot other wildlife in other parts on Uganda.

March-May and October- November are wet season months that make the trails slippery and challenging to navigate thus requiring extra preparations for the muddy conditions.

Uganda Gorilla Permit Booking

Uganda Gorilla permit are only purchased from Uganda Wildlife Authority Headquarters. You can contact Exclusive Gorilla Vacation to book and purchase the Uganda Gorilla Permit which are on high demand and require early booking on info@exclusivegorillavacations.com . Each permit costs USD 800 per person for Foreign Non Residents, USD 500 for Rest of Africa, USD 700 for foreign residents and Ugx 300,000 for East African Citizens.

The Mountain Gorilla Habituation Experience

Gorilla habituation experience is a more rewarding experience that enables you to stay with the gorillas for 4 hours. This refers to the process, where through daily peaceful contact with humans, gorillas have slowly lost their fear of humans and have learned to view them as neutral beings in their environment. Habituating a group of gorillas usually takes about 2 years.

You have the behind the scenes experience of how the process takes place and you also take part in the process. It costs USD 1500 per person. If you want to experience it, contact us info@exclusivegorillavacations.com  to book in time.

Porter services during the Uganda Gorilla Tacking Safari

You can hire porters to help you carry your bags while you trek to see the Mountain Gorillas at a cheap price of USD 20 . These are people from the community who help tourists carry their bags, give a pull and push when the terrain is tough.  So you don’t have to worry on how to manage the tracking with the heavy bags. The money you pay them is used to support their family’s livelihood. When you take a porter , you are supporting the community.

African Helicopter services on Uganda  Gorilla Tracking

The Surrounding communities and Uganda Wildlife Authority came up with an initiative to help those visitors that are not physically fit to hike through the terrain of Bwindi Forest to achieve their childhood dream to encounter Mountain Gorillas with African Helicopter.

You are carried in a special chair by the porters which costs only USD 300. This money also supports the families of these porters with paying school fees among others.

What to pack for a gorilla trek

1. Long sleeved shirts and trousers
2. Walking sticks
3. Rain jacket or poncho
4. Waterproof hiking boots
5. Reusable water bottle
6. Insect repellants
7. Face mask

Trekking Rules and Guidelines

Before You Set Out:

• Ensure to carry with you payment receipts and permits
• Do not visit the gorillas if you have a cold or other infectious illness
• Minimum age for tracking is 15 years
• Human waste should be buried 30cm (12 inches ) deep
• Maximum number of visitors is eight persons per gorilla group

When you are with the gorillas:

• Maintain a 10m (32.8ft) distance from the gorilla
• Smoking, eating and drinking are not permitted during the tracking
• If you must sneeze or cough cover your face and turn away from the

gorillas, as they can catch coughs and colds from humans

• Visits are limited to one hour per gorilla group per day
• Do not use flash photography.
• Do not leave litter in the forest

Uganda Gorilla tracking Age limit

The minimum age for tracking Uganda Mountain Gorillas is 15 years. Children below 15 years may not be allowed to track gorillas. In some cases they can allow some track especially with written authorization from Uganda Wildlife Authority especially if

they track with their families. Uganda is not very strict like Rwanda where they are prohibited from tracking completely.

Why Uganda Gorilla Trekking Age at 15 years?

The age limit for tracking Uganda Mountain Gorillas in Bwindi and Mgahinga Gorilla National Park is 15 years and above. People below 15 years are considered minors  hence unfit to track the gorillas. This is because the children’s behavior is unpredictable and in case of encounter with the Mountain Gorillas. They may end up screaming or running which can result into Mountain Gorillas attacking you.

Children below 15 years also tend to have communicable diseases like Flu, cough which can be transmitted to Mountain Gorillas in Bwindi Impenetrable and Mgahinga National Park.

The park management wants to minimize the transfer of these diseases to the Mountain Gorillas.

When are children below 15 years allowed to track Mountain Gorillas.

Sometimes your child can be 13, 14 years and you wish they could track the Mountain Gorillas. Yes they can allow them only after the parents can prove that their children are physically fit to move through the terrain of Bwindi Impenetrable and Mgahinga Gorilla National Park.

The parents will have to sign liability forms and consent that they are liable to any thing that happens to their children while on the trek. Exclusive Gorilla Vacations  will help you pick the forms, scan and send to you. After signing send them back and after being approved, you will be requested to make the payment for the Uganda Gorilla Permit.

Choosing the right Gorilla Group

Tracking Mountain Gorillas can be possible in Volcanoes National Park (Rwanda) which cost USD 1500 per person and in Bwindi Impenetrable and Mgahinga Gorilla National Park (Uganda) which costs USD 800 per person. The Uganda Gorilla Tracking is cheaper compared to Rwanda Gorilla Tracking.

The question of “what is the easiest Mountain Gorilla Family to track?” depends on your budget, fitness and nature.

Some families are easy to track as it takes little time while some are tough and take many hours to be located.

Uganda Wildlife Authority makes it easy for you to make request for the family based on your fitness, age such that you can achieve your dream to track Mountain Gorillas in Bwindi . So all you need to do is to tell your tourist guide before such that he can inform the Rangers to allocate you a group based on your interests.

A gorilla tracking in Bwindi Impenetrable National Park is not just a journey in the forest but a life changing opportunity due the encounter with the Mountain Gorillas a hidden secret of Uganda and Rwanda awaiting discovery.

Whether you opt for the standard trek or an extended habituation experience, Bwindi Impenetrable National Park has it all.

With Exclusive Gorilla Vacations, planning your Uganda Gorilla safari is simple and hustle free. Are you ready to start your Journey. Let us help you make your dream Gorilla Tracking Safari a reality. Book Now and create memories that will last a lifetime.