Gorilla habituation in Uganda

Gorilla Habituation in Uganda

Gorilla habituation in Uganda is one of the memorable activities in Bwindi Impenetrable National Park, a park famous for having half of the world’s remaining mountain gorillas habituated into Uganda gorilla families. In the park, you can take part in activities like gorilla trekking which is carried out in 4 sectors of the park that is Nkuringo, Ruhija, Buhoma and Rushaga, you can also take part birding, nature walks where you will get to see a number of rewarding attractions like the chimpanzees, different monkey species like the vervet monkey, dent’s monkey, black an d white colobus monkey among other monkey species. You can also take part in the Batwa trail experience which involves visiting the Batwa communities who were originally forest people that depended on forest products for survival. For tourists interested in seeing the gorilla species they can participate in gorilla trekking in Bwindi impenetrable national park where they will track the different  habituated gorilla families in the different sectors of the park namely Rushaga Ruhija, Nkuringo and Buhoma

Gorilla habituation in Uganda will give you the utmost experience as you spend time with gorillas observing how they are trained to get accustomed to human presence and interesting about the activity is the fact that you will also take part in the training process of the gorillas to get them ready for gorilla trekking.

Gorilla habituation in Bwindi Impenetrable National Park is currently carried out in Rushaga sector in the southern part of the park which only allows a group of four visitors to take part in the habituation process this is because the primates are vulnerable species and because there are only four gorilla permits that are issued daily for a particular gorilla group. It should be noted that gorilla trekking in the park takes a period f 2-4 years for the primates to get accustomed to human presence

Price of a gorilla habituation permit

Unlike gorilla trekking in Uganda where a gorilla trekking permit in Bwindi impenetrable national park is only for a fee of 700USD, a gorilla habituation permit in Bwindi Impenetrable National Park can be got at a fee of 1500USD and this can be got from a trusted tour company, or from the Uganda wildlife authority.

Added benefits of gorilla habituation

• Gorilla habituation will not only give you the chance observing the gorilla species being trained for gorilla trekking but also give you the chance to take part in the training process which is quite authentic as you watch the different reactions of the species in the park.
• Gorilla trekking in Uganda only allows tourists to spend one hour with the primates but gorilla habituation in the park will give you the chance to spend four hours with the gorillas in the park observing how they behave, how they respond  to the training, their co-existence with one another and the trackers for a rewarding experience.
• During gorilla habituation as you hike through the Bwindi impenetrable forest, you will see a number of primate species like the chimpanzees.  the red tailed monkeys, black and white colobus monkeys, mona monkey, vervet monkeys among other primate species that will make your activity quite memorable.
• During gorilla habituation in Uganda, you will also get the chance a number of bird species like; shrike fly catcher, brown crowned tchagra, hairy breasted barbet, red faced crimson, white thighed horn bill, black bee eater, green breasted pitta, yellow billed barbet, white bellied crested fly catcher among other bird species that will make your habituation activity in the park quite rewarding therefore you should not miss out on carrying binoculars because the park is a home to over 348 bird species of which you can have a chance to see over 30 bird species as you make your way to the gorilla family under habituation.

Guidelines of gorilla habituation

• You should follow the lead of the trackers and the rangers in order to have a safe activity while in the park because they know the safe routes to take where you will not animal species that can attack you.
• You should avoid smoking in the presence of the primates because exposure of the primates to the smoke can cause a number of diseases like respiratory failure, lung cancer, and pneumonia among other diseases.
• Unnecessary noise in the park during gorilla habituation in Bwindi Impenetrable national park will trigger the mountain gorillas as threats which can lead to attack you and because the primates are really strong, their attacks can be fatal therefore you should limit noise while in the presence of the gorillas.
• Eating in the presence of the gorilla is also not allowed because the primates can attack you just to have a bite of whatever you’re eating and in case you have underlying sickness they can easily contract them.

Packing list during gorilla habituation in Uganda

• A Camera should be packed if you’re interested in capturing beautiful memories while taking part in gorilla habituation in Uganda, you will get to take pictures of the different primate species swinging in the tree branches and when you get to the gorillas you will capture their reactions while taking part in gorilla habituation which will make the activity quite rewarding.
• A Rain coat because the weather in the park is quite unpredictable because even in the dry season, it can rain time in the park.
• Long sleeved shirts and trousers should also be packed to avoid being scratched by tree branches.
• Hiking boots for easy mobility while in the park should also be considered because the park tends to get slippery but with comfortable hiking boots, you will have a comfortable activity in the park.
• Insect repellent should also be carried because the park is a habitat to a number of disease spreading diseases like the mosquitoes, tsetse flies and black flies among other insects that can cause irritation when they bite  and a number of diseases like malaria, sleep sickness and many more.