Sharing time with mountain gorillas in the wilds of Africa’s rain forests on your Africa safari is absolutely magical. On your gorilla trekking safari Uganda, you will enjoy their sheer beauty and brawn, the soulful brown eyes, their astonishingly human-like expressions or their extraordinarily gentle character. This special encounter normally lasts just one precious hour, but Uganda offers an extended experience; Uganda gorilla habituation safari that gives you enough time to interact with these gorillas.
There are just about 900 mountain gorillas roaming in the rain forests of western Uganda’s Bwindi Impenetrable National Park, Mgahinga Gorilla National Park and the Virunga Mountains that span the borders of southern Uganda, Rwanda and Democratic Republic of Congo. Mountain gorillas are found nowhere else in the wild on earth apart from these areas. Once on the edge of extinction, their survival is one of Africa’s greatest conservation success stories and Uganda is proudly home to half of the world’s remaining mountain gorillas.
Mountain gorillas generally live in groups of several females with their young and usually one dominant adult male; known as a ‘silverback’ because of the patch of silver hair on his back and hips.
Seeing mountain gorillas in the wild is an incredible experience. Safari Uganda for a Uganda gorilla safari tour and enjoy your one hour granted to see the gorillas watching the infant gorillas play with each other and running down the mountain slopes as they are being watched by the silverback male majestically using a soft grunting noise to keep check on the rest of his group. It is an immensely humbling experience and one that will remind you of your Africa safari tour for the rest of your life.
Why mountain gorillas are so important
Gorillas, like all wild animals, play an important role in their environment. Without these large-scale grazers eating lots of vegetation, the natural balance in the food chain would be disrupted. This could negatively affect other wildlife in the area, and ultimately the people who depend on that environment for food, water and other resources.
Ecotourism; socially and environmentally responsible tourist visits, including carefully guided trips to see gorillas are an important way for local people to gain benefit from living in close proximity to gorillas. It’s estimated that one mountain gorilla can indirectly generate £2.5 million over its lifetime from tourist income.
The main threat to gorillas is people and the associated increasing pressure on the gorilla’s habitat. With so few individuals in the wild the mountain gorilla is listed as critically endangered. The good news is, their numbers have recently been rising. It’s not too late for us to protect our mighty mountain cousins.
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