GORILLAS BENEFIT THE MOST FROM YOUR RWANDAN VISITS

Wildlife enthusiasts consider an encounter with the Mountain Gorillas, which are only found in the Virunga Range of Central and East Africa, as the most exhilarating and unique experience possible.  The closeness of the Gorillas to humans, definitely must be a contributing factor in this, the Gorillas being 98% the same as humans in terms of their DNA.  It is believed that psychologically, they are equally as similar; exhibiting the same behaviors as humans in their interactions.  Gorillas express grief, happiness, sadness.  They are manipulative and extremely resourceful; they even have been known to play jokes on one another.  Studies have shown how they use tools, just like humans to perform tasks.  Their social structure is similar to humans, creating a hierarchy within the family and delegating responsibilities to each and every family member.

Dian Fossey the American Zoologist that studied Gorilla behavior and did her advocacy work in Rwanda, was later killed and buried at the Karisoke Research Center that she developed.  Today the Center is thriving, with over 100 employees; now the foremost source of information on Mountain Gorillas and other primate species.  The poaching of Gorillas has been curbed significantly and the Rwandan government has made strides to ensuring that the human inhabitants in and around the forest habitat where the Gorillas live, stop encroaching on the protected area that is designated for the wildlife.  Tree cutting is a huge concern, as the environmental disruption of removing trees in these forests has a huge negative impact on the Gorillas.

All of these conservation projects cost a lot of money and policing the Gorilla habitat is labour intensive and as such, very costly.   The permit fees to go Gorilla Trekking runs in the hundreds of dollars; the good news is that most of this money is used to sustain the environment and good health of the Gorillas.  The park rangers are many, and it is costing the Rwandan government a lot of money to employ these people.  In addition, the veterinary bills for the Gorillas are high.  Gorillas are susceptible to all human diseases, but unfortunately, they do not have the resistance to infection that we humans do; this makes exposure to humans a very dangerous and fragile activity.  On the other hand, the more humans that come to see the Gorillas, the more money is raised for their upkeep.  Maintaining the balance between these two forces is crucial in the Gorillas’ survival.  Each family of Gorillas are allowed a maximum of 8 visitors a day; on this there is no compromise.  Each group of visitors is allowed a maximum of one hour to observe and photograph their activities; again, there is no compromise on this either.  Both of these restrictions help maintain this balance between helping to maintain the Gorillas and human overexposure.

With the reduction of Gorilla poaching, forest land acquisition, and health maintenance of the Gorillas, there has been a positive population change recently; there are more Gorillas being born than dying.  It is a huge move in the right direction.  The total number of Mountain Gorillas in the world is just under 900; this is a 25% increase in numbers from a few years ago.  The Gorillas are highly sought after as a tourist attraction, some visitors come thousands of miles, fly in and out of Kigali the same day….spending thousands of dollars for that one-hour encounter.  Other tourists, will combine the Gorilla Tracking with a few days of other wildlife activities, cultural immersion or physically-centered tourist endeavors such as hiking or mountain climbing.  It is all good, and the greatest benefactor appears to be the Gorillas themselves.