Mountain Gorilla Baby Boom In Bwindi Impenetrable National Park – The Number of Juvenile Gorillas has Soared during this Covid-19 Period
Gorilla habitat never ceases to excite the world regardless of covid-19 pandemic that has brought the world nearly to a standstill. There has been a rare gorilla baby boom in Bwindi Impenetrable National Park, one of the best national parks in Africa to see mountain gorillas in the wild.
Bwindi Impenetrable National Park, Africa’s leading gorilla trekking destination has welcomed 5 gorilla babies in a period of 1 month and half accounting for 7 babies that have been registered for 2020 alone compared to 2019 when only 3 baby gorillas were recorded. The 331sq.kms UNESCO World Heritage Site recorded its latest gorilla boom at the end of August in Rushegura group of Buhoma the Northern gorilla tracking region. Thanks to Kibande mother gorilla!
Another gorilla baby was recorded from Ruterana adult female and this accounts for Rushegura gorilla family 18 mountain gorillas. Ruterana now records her third birth as she makes 18 years since she was born in 2002. In July alone, Bwindi Impenetrable National Park recorded gorilla births from Oruzongo group (July 25th 2020 from Katoto mother gorilla) and Mubare family (on 22nd July 2020 from Nyampazi adult female gorilla).
Tourism is one of the major sources of revenue with majority of Uganda safari tourists traveling mainly to explore the country’s scenic parks to see diversity of wildlife such as buffaloes, elephants, lions including tree climbing lions at Ishasha area of Queen Elizabeth National Park, birds, Rothschild giraffes, zebras, rhinos, antelopes, primates like mountain gorillas, chimpanzees, golden monkeys and others.
Gorilla tourism in Uganda involves tracking mountain gorillas in the wild and this requires visitors to have a valid gorilla permits that cost $700 for foreign residents, $600 for foreign residents and Ugx 250000 for East Africa community citizens.
Bwindi Impenetrable National Park lies in Southwestern Uganda and extends to cover 331sq.kms, an area largely occupied by a thick tropical rainforest. This park alone hosts 459 of the 1063 world’s mountain gorillas. The gorilla baby boom experienced recently has been attributed to continued conservation efforts regardless of the poaching and other threats that still affect survival of these rare species and other wildlife.
Earlier in July, a man was sentenced to 11 years in prison for killing Rafiki silverback gorilla that led Nkuringo gorilla family, Nkuringo region the southern gorilla trekking area of Bwindi Impenetrable National Park. It should be noted that mountain gorillas are our closest relatives sharing 95% of the DNA with humans.
Read More about mountain gorilla baby boom here.
