Gorilla Habituation experience has been introduced in Bwindi National Park by the Uganda Wildlife authority for visitors to get to know more about their closest wild relatives. The gorilla habituation adventure gives tourists more time up to 4 hours with a greater chance to get to know more about their closest wild relatives the mountain gorillas.
By nature, gorillas are wild and therefore have to go through a process to be able to be accustomed to man. This is done by researchers who select a family in terms of sex, number and age.
They then begin to visit the wild gorilla’s everyday for period of 2-3 years. They get to learn more about individual gorillas and the way they behave. With time, these gorillas get used to these researchers and in the long run, each individual gorilla is given a name. Once researchers are sure that these mountain gorillas can be trekked, they then introduce a mock exercise where some few people who may include scientists, journalists start visiting it. Once such a gorilla family has passed mock exercise, then it is opened for trekking.
Uganda has over 450 mountain gorillas in Bwindi impenetrable forest that live in the three major sectors of the park has Buhoma sector, Ruhija sector and Rushaga sector.
Bwindi Impenetrable National Park has about eleven habituated gorilla families which include Mubare, Habinyanja and Rushegura in the Northern section of the park called Buhoma, then Bitukura, Oruzogo and Kyaguriro in the Eastern Part of Bwindi in Ruhija, Nshonji, Mishaya, Busingye, Bweza, Kahungye in Rushaga and then Nkuringo Gorilla Family all in the south.
Two gorilla families have been put aside for gorilla habituation experience and are located in the Nkuringo and Rushaga side of Bwindi Impenetrable National Park. Its for this reason that gorilla habituation safaris can only be done in the southern part of Bwindi Impenetrable National Park.
Tourists going for mountain gorilla habituation are expected to report the national park headquarters by 7:30 am in the morning for a briefing about the whole process.
Persons who are 15 years and above are the only ones allowed going for the mountain gorilla habituation experience. While here, they are also told about the major safety procedures to follow while in the forest to ensure a successful jungle expedition and to get the best of the mountain gorilla habituation experience.
After the briefing, tourists are directed to the forest as they follow the mountain gorilla group undergoing habituation. After the hike depending on where you find the gorillas, tourists have four hours to spend with the mountain gorillas in the forested mountains.
The four hours with the gorillas does not include the time taken to hike up the forested mountains to get to the mountain gorillas which makes the mountain gorilla habituation experience a very enjoyable activity way more than just mountain gorilla tracking where tourists only spend an hour with the mountain gorillas making mountain gorilla habituation process is a highly desired activity.
It’s also very wise for one to be in good physical shape because the gorilla habituation is a whole day experience of following a mountain gorilla group through the forested mountains requiring the rangers and the tourists to keep up with the pace of the mountain gorillas.
Time allowed with the Gorillas once you have found them is 4 hours or approximately half a day where you interact and meet them face to face and learn more about the similarities that they have with the humans. There are however porters for hire who can carry luggage or the tourist on a stretcher in case hired.
Gorilla habituation permits are sold by Uganda Wildlife Authority. For proper planning about the purchase and a customized safari, contact or book with Lakato Safaris.
