Why mountain gorilla trekking is a tool for gorilla conservation : For primate lovers mountain gorilla trekking is not an exciting adventure it’s a way to conserve the famous mountain gorillas. By engaging in the activity trekkers get a chance to see the amazing gorillas, enjoy the forested mountain and the many more exciting activities in the mountain gorilla habitat. As the trekkers do that, they are also conserving these great apes.
But how really is mountain gorilla trekking a tool for gorilla conservation. Below we explain how you mountain gorilla trekking safari can go a long way in conserving the mountain gorillas.
Sensitising the community
The money received from mountain gorilla trekking is used to used to sensitise communities on the importance of gorillas to human lives and our environment. This has led to community acceptance of the gorillas which in turn has led to the continuous conservation of the mountain gorillas.
Training Rangers
With the money from mountain gorilla trekking rangers who take care of the gorillas, habituate them, monitor them, follow up on them among other things; are trained and facilitate for their services. Through this the rangers are able to take care of the gorillas and ensure their safety at all times.
Implementing gorilla protection policies
With the money gotten from mountain gorilla tours, certain polices and intervention are implemented that help in the conserving of the mountain gorillas. Interventions like condoning off the gorilla habitats, apprehending the people encroaching on the gorilla habitat, conducting research to benefit the gorillas among others.
Veterinary health care for the gorillas
With the money gotten from the mountain gorilla trekking activities, Uganda Wildlife Authority is able to provide veterinary health care to the gorillas, which betters their health and life at large. This veterinary health care also helps in identifying diseases early in the gorillas and hence find early interventions.
Research
Funds from mountain gorilla trekking experiences have also facilitated research that helps improve the conservation of mountain gorillas and their habitat. Through these different researches great interventions have come out that have greatly bettered the survival of mountain gorillas.
Empowered communities to engage in activities that support gorilla survival
The funds from mountain gorilla trekking activities are used to empower communities to engage in activities that support gorilla survival. These activities include tree planting activities, participating protecting the mountain gorilla habitat among other things. Community efforts a long well in protecting the lives of mountain gorillas.
Mountain gorilla trekking is the activity where people trek the mountain gorilla habitat in search of the mountain gorillas. When they find them they spend an hour in the mountain gorilla’s presence. Usually these experiences happen in 5 to 8 hours of the day, they start in the morning at 7am and go on until afternoon or evening depending on where you are trekking. Trekking in Uganda is harder than trekking in Rwanda, however the Democratic Republic of Congo is the hardest to trek from what trekkers say – trekkers that trek the Congo area usually say so.
For every mountain gorilla trekking experience, trekkers pay a fee for the mountain gorilla trekking experience, they pay between 400 USD to 1500 USD. The permit fees are different for every country. The Democratic Republic of has the lowest fees which are 400 USD followed by Uganda, which is USD 700 and then Rwanda with USD 1500. All the permit prices from the trekkers are used to protect and conserve both the mountain gorillas and their habitats.
So visit a mountain gorilla park today to join hands with other people in conserving the mountain gorillas in the world.
