Is Gorilla Trekking Difficult or Easy?
February 25, 2023Gorilla Families in Rwanda
June 30, 2023Gorilla habituation in Uganda’s Bwindi impenetrable forest is the only unique and authentic way to experience the life of the gentle giants.
Watching gorillas in the wild can be a captivating experience that can take your breath away and leave you feeling in awe of nature. As majestic primates, gorillas have a certain grace that can be mesmerizing to watch.
On a gorilla habituation experience in Bwindi impenetrable national park.
Gorillas are often seen in their social groups, engaging in various behaviors like eating, resting, grooming, playing and even defending their territory. There can be many males in a group, and they usually take the lead in the formation of their family units. Some of their members may even form strong bonds with one another, having regular interactions and interactions with other groups of gorillas in their area. As you watch them on your trek, you may also be lucky enough to witness some of their wild antics, such as chest-beating, displaying of teeth and maybe even alarm calls.
The standard or normal gorilla treks give you the chance to spend up to one hour in the company of the gorillas in their natural habitat. This has been made possible by gently introducing the gorillas to human presence, a process that takes between 2 and 4 years. This is essential for the continued research, care and conservation of the gorillas.
Gorillas aren’t always so placid in the presence of people: it takes time and effort to achieve this relaxed, almost nonchalant attitude in a process known as habituation. Bwindi’s exciting new gorilla experience allows you to be part of this process by tracking a group that is only semi-habituated. During habituation, trackers visit wild gorilla groups every day for around three years, gradually getting closer and spending longer in their company. At the semi-habituated stage, the primates are familiar with trackers but not strangers, so this new experience can now help them get used to seeing different people.
Why Gorilla Habituation?
Gorilla habituation is an experience that can only be enjoyed in Bwindi Impenetrable National Park which is the only park in the world that permits habituation visits by tourists. During a gorilla habituation experience, visitors will follow a research team that is observing the group of wild gorillas and helping them become comfortable with human presence. Visitors will learn a great deal about the gorillas, including research facts, behavior, and ecology. The experience typically begins by meeting the trackers at 6am before setting out to find the gorillas. This experience is often described as intimate and awe-inspiring, with visitors feeling a strong connection to the family of gorillas.
Trackers collecting samples on a gorilla habituation experience
During a habituation trek, you can spend up to 4 magical hours with these highly intelligent and emotional creatures! It is an incredibly humbling experience, and the habituation process is fundamental to the continued protection of the gorillas.
In traditional encounters, trackers have already found your gorillas and they take you directly to them. Instead, this four-hour experience on a gorilla habituation starts from where the gorillas were last seen the previous evening. You walk with the trackers, learning the tell-tale signs that eventually lead to the primates’ nests; such as knuckle prints in the mud, bent and broken vegetation and discarded food. Gorillas build new nests each night then move on looking for food: what they leave behind is vital for checking their health and numbers. At the nests, the team collects samples of hair and dung before continuing their search.
A gorilla nest with discarded food
It’s only when you find the gorillas that the real challenge begins. The point of habituation is to follow the group and stay in their vision as they move, eventually getting closer to reach that magical 7m cut-off point. But unlike fully habituated groups who mooch around patiently during your permitted hour, these gorillas move fast to feed, dashing through dense rainforest, storming up and down slippery slopes and crawling on knuckles through bushes, with you and the tracker team in hot pursuit. It’s like a rainforest boot camp, and it’s not for the unfit or fainthearted!
The gorillas observed during the habituation experience are less used to humans than those seen on the standard gorilla treks (they are still being ‘habituated’). The experience is still completely safe, and the benefit of spending more time with gorillas is that you can better understand their behaviors and social dynamics, as well as get incredible photographs, without being rushed.
Tourist on a gorilla habituation experience
If you are willing to take a more active role in the protection and understanding of these gentle giants, you can book to join the rangers and conservationists in the habituation process of two more gorilla families in the Bwindi impenetrable forest. It is important to note that gorilla habituation requires a special permit and they are very limited, so its advisable to contact us in time to take advantage of this unique opportunity.
