Bwindi Impenetrable National Park
Bwindi means ‘darkness’ and walking through this impenetrable park gives a good indication why this name was selected. Home to the endangered mountain gorillas, a visit to this fascinating forest will bring you close to man’s closest cousin.
During your one hour visit to the park, you will come across gorilla families which range from 5 to 10 gorillas or up to 50 gorillas which are led by an adult male, also known as a silverback.
Over the last few decades, the gorilla population has been declining and less than 20 percent of the population live in protected areas. A female gorilla gives birth to only one baby every four to six years and will have only 3 to 4 babies in her entire lifetime. As a result of this low reproduction rate, it becomes difficult for gorillas to recover from the dwindling numbers.
Gorilla Trekking
Gorilla trekking is the highlight of any visit to Uganda. This trek through the tropical forest to see mountain gorillas in their natural habitat will bring you to man’s closest cousins after the chimpanzees and the bonobos. Unlike the chimpanzees, gorillas have a 98.3 percent genetic code match with humans.
The gentle giants who display almost human like emotions and behaviour are stocky animals with broad shoulders, chests and have hairless faces, small eyes and human like hands. Just like humans, gorillas like to live in families. Usually, a family comprises of about five to ten gorillas and can sometimes be a large family of upto 50 gorillas led by a dominant adult male known as a silverback.
As you walk through the forest during your gorilla trekking safari, keep your eyes open for the tell-tale signs of gorilla inhabitation which include faint footprints in the soil, overturned logs and discarded stems.
Sadly, only less that 20 percent of gorillas live in protected areas. With a low reproduction rate, gorilla species have a difficult time recovering from population decline. 75 percent of the money raised from your visit helps conserve the remaining gorilla population.
