Gorilla Conservation in Africa – Uganda, Rwanda and Congo

Africa is home to a variety of wildlife species that make the continent one of the leading tourism destinations around the world. However, Africa’s wildlife species are facing extinction with the Mountain gorilla, Ethiopian wolf, Black Rhino, Rothchild`s Giraffe, Chimpanzee, African Penguin, Riverine Rabbit, African Wild Dog and the pickergrill`s Reedfrog among those listed as threatened by the International Union for Conservation of Nature.

Mountain gorillas are one of the four types of gorillas in existence. They can be found in south-western Uganda, the North-Western part of Rwanda and the Eastern part of the Democratic Republic of Congo. The two main species are the lowland gorillas and the mountain gorillas. Lowland gorillas are further grouped into two sub-species – The Eastern and Western Lowland gorillas.  Mountain gorillas are found in Mgahinga Gorilla National Park in Uganda, Bwindi impenetrable National Park (Uganda), Virunga National Park (Congo) and the Volcanoes National park in Rwanda. Being predominantly terrestrial and quadrupedal, mountain gorillas posses longer and thicker fur than all other subspecies of gorillas. The thick fur enables them adapt to more cold temperatures. Adult males have a more pronounced bony crest with gray and silver colored hair on their backs hence the name silverback. Mountain gorillas weigh between 195kg to 200kg which is twice as much as their female counterparts. They have arms stretching longer than their legs and move in a knuckle walking position supporting their weight with the back of their curved fingers.

Mountain Gorilla Conservation – Population and Census

Between 1959 and 1960, the population of Mountain gorillas had been fluctuating. The first Gorilla census carried out by George Schaller estimated between 400 to 500 individuals in the Virunga conservation area. This was then followed by the 1971 and 1973 gorilla censuses carried out by Dian Fossey and her Karisoke Research Center team which showed a dramatic decline in Gorilla numbers to 250. This decline was attributed to increased poaching coupled with the loss of up to 40 percent of volcanoes National park land to agricultural cultivates. The 1978 census by the Karisoke Research center found about 260 gorillas with 42 infants below the age of three years. The number increased to approximately 320 in Bwindi impenetrable forest and 324 in the Virunga conservation area during the 1989 census following the death of Dian Fossey in 1985. The number gradually rose to 380 and 480 in 2003 and 2010 respectively in the Virunga conservation area. This showed a 26.3% increase in gorilla population over a period of seven years.

Unlike in the Virunga volcanoes, the census in Bwindi impenetrable forest were carried out differently. The 1997 gorilla census in Bwindi revealed a total of 300 individuals rising to 320 in 2002. This number however declined to 302 in the 2006 population census. A total of 682 mountain gorillas were found in the 2006 gorilla census in both the Virunga region and Bwindi impenetrable national parks. A further increase of 138 was registered in 2012 from both conservation areas. The last census of 2018 recorded  slightly over 1000 mountain gorillas in Rwanda, Congo and Uganda.

Gorilla Conservation and Protection

Despite these encouraging figures of rising numbers in mountain gorilla population over the past years, these great apes still face several threats resulting from human activities. These human threats can largely be classified into Social, Economic and Political situations.

As the years move on, human populations keep rising by the day. This has seen forests encroached upon for human settlements, agricultural and pastoral activities. The result is loss of  habitat, breeding and feeding grounds for the mountain gorillas. Due to lack of enough food, the mountain gorillas are tempted to forage in plantations and this leads to retaliation from farm owners. Increased human interactions with mountain gorillas in terms of settlements or tourism activities like gorilla trekking increase the chances of spreading infectious diseases like  pneumonia, flu and recently Ebola. Disease has accounted for at least 20% sudden death rates among the gorilla populations.

Increased economic needs by humans have also seen a rise in poaching using traps and snares. Poaching can be lucrative due to the fact that infant gorillas can be sold for up to $5000 in the black market. There is also the great threat to the primates as a result of political unrest or civil wars seen over the past decades – especially in Congo. The Civil and political crisis in Eastern Congo has led to the loss of an estimated four million lives in the last 15 years. This civil and political unrest threatens mountain gorillas because poachers and pet traders cannot be checked when the government has no control of certain national parks. Climate change is also a threat to Mountain gorillas because they have specific productive rates and genetic variations which need stability.

Mountain Gorilla Conservation

Mountain gorilla conservation efforts started as early as the 1970’s with  the arrival of Dian Fossey to Rwanda. Dian Fossey was an American primatologist who devoted her life to mountain gorilla research. She also spent time fighting poaching and pet trade in Virunga National Park. Unfortunately, she was found killed in house by people suspected to be benefiting from poaching. You can pay homage to Dian Fossey by checking out our 3 Days Dian Fossey Hike and Gorilla Trekking.

Mountain gorilla conservation efforts across Africa have been benchmarked to three categories. These categories include Active, Theoretical and Community based activities to help curb the problems concerning mountain gorillas within the region. Governments in collaboration with other gorilla conservation organizations have then been actively involved in conservation efforts by coming up with and Implementing policies driven towards achieving a common goal of increasing the mountain Gorilla population. The main players in mountain gorilla conservation are the African Wildlife Foundation, Fauna and Flora International and the World Wild Fund for Nature. They  jointly established the International Gorilla Conservation Programme (IGCP) in 1991 to become the  forefront programme on mountain gorilla conservation.

Conservation efforts have mainly focused on attaining a balance between meeting the diverse and ever growing needs of communities and preservation of breeding grounds for mountain gorillas. To achieve this, community based and individual analysis has taken the forefront. Strategies have been taken to achieve a sustainable livelihood by empowering these masses economically through alternative revenue generating projects. These economic projects will act as substitutes to deforestation and uncontrolled natural resource access within the protected regions. These efforts has seen communities leasing land to expand on the protected areas. Trust funds generated through gorilla tourism helps develop and bring services to the communities or help support sustainable agriculture. Other efforts include involving communities in decision making and sensitizing them about the importance of conserving wildlife. Other community-based efforts to improve tourism include improved lodging, rehabilitation of park infrastructure and renovation of park headquarters. The government and gorilla conservation Agencies also conduct periodic gorilla census counts, support ranger patrols or disable traps in gorilla habitats. The idea is to have ground law enforcement and safeguarding of protected areas.

In all what we have mentioned, Mountain Gorilla tourism remains perhaps the most important asset to countries where the primates are found. The revenue generated from Tourism gives these three countries the resources and visibility required for effective conservation. However there is need for Rwanda, Uganda, and the Democratic Republic of Congo to harmonize tourism activities and conservation efforts.