The History of Gorilla Tourism in Africa

The History of Gorilla Tourism in Africa

Primates

The History of Gorilla Tourism in Africa. Over the past 100 years, mountain gorillas have had a quiet history, with numerous people and groups working together to ensure their survival in Africa’s jungle forests. Their history dates back to 1902 when Robert Von Beringe, a German captain and the first European. Observed the Mountain gorilla on the Sabinyo Volcano, which Matschie later (in 1903) named Gorilla gorilla Beringei.

In 1925, an American naturalist named Carl Akeley convinced his Majesty Albert, the king of Belgium, to create Albert National Park. The first National Park in Africa. The government later widened its boundary in 1929. In 1959, George Schaller. An American zoologist, undertook a basic study of the Mountain Gorillas of Albert National Park.

Little was known about the life of gorillas in the wild until George Schaller publicized The Mountain Gorilla: Ecology and Behavior in 1963. Which first conveyed to the general public just how profoundly intelligent and gentle gorillas are, contrary to then-common beliefs. Schaller also, in 1964, recounted this epic two-year study in. The Year of the Gorilla, which also provides a broader historical perspective on the efforts to save one of humankind’s nearest relatives from the brink of extinction.

With assistance from the National Geographic Society and Louis Leakey, the American zoologist Dian Fossey followed Schaller’s ground-breaking field research on mountain gorillas in the Virungas. Schaller and Fossey were instrumental in dispelling gorillas’ public perception as brutes by demonstrably establishing the deep compassion and social intelligence evident among gorillas and how closely their behavior parallels that of humans. Everything after that is the history of mountain gorillas and gorilla trekking.

The History of Mountain Gorillas: Discovery, Research, and Conservation

The History of Gorilla Tourism in Africa.  Over the past 100 years, mountain gorillas have had a quiet history, with numerous people and groups working together to ensure their survival in Africa’s jungle forests. Their history dates back to 1902 when Robert Von Beringe, a German captain and the first European, observed the Mountain gorilla on the Sabinyo Volcano, which Matschie later (in 1903) named Gorilla gorilla Beringei.

In 1925, an American naturalist named Carl Akeley convinced his Majesty Albert, the king of Belgium, to create Albert National Park, the first National Park in Africa. The government later widened its boundary in 1929. In 1959, George Schaller, an American zoologist, undertook a basic study of the Mountain Gorillas of Albert National Park.

The History of Gorilla Tourism in Africa.  Little was known about the life of gorillas in the wild until George Schaller publicized The Mountain Gorilla: Ecology and Behavior in 1963, which first conveyed to the general public just how profoundly intelligent and gentle gorillas are, contrary to then-common beliefs. Schaller also, in 1964, recounted this epic two-year study in The Year of the Gorilla, which also provides a broader historical perspective on the efforts to save one of humankind’s nearest relatives from the brink of extinction.

With assistance from the National Geographic Society and Louis Leakey, the American zoologist Dian Fossey followed Schaller’s ground-breaking field research on mountain gorillas in the Virungas. Schaller and Fossey were instrumental in dispelling gorillas’ public perception as brutes by demonstrably establishing the deep compassion and social intelligence evident among gorillas and how closely their behavior parallels that of humans. Everything after that is the history of mountain gorillas and gorilla trekking.

 A Detailed History of Gorilla Tourism

The 60’s

The History of Gorilla Tourism in Africa.  After the Belgian Congo gained independence in 1960 (later becoming Zaire), authorities divided Volcanoes National Park into two parts: Volcanoes National Park in Rwanda and Virunga National Park in Congo.

In 1967, American zoologist Dian Fossey began her first long-term study of the wild gorillas in Volcanoes National Park. Her work successfully initiated the habituation of gorillas to human presence.

In 1973, the Rwandan government created the Rwanda Office of Tourism and National Park Development, which introduced new laws regulating the national parks and wildlife hunting.

The 70’s

During the 1970-80 decade, the history of mountain gorillas mainly was about controlling poaching and counting the number of gorillas. The killing in Volcanoes National Park of silverback Digit in 1978 and the other five gorillas within a short period marked the worst moment ever. However, it helped raise an international concern about the survival of gorillas. Visitors can still find Digit’s Tomb at the old Karisoke Centre near Dian Fossey’s tomb.

The first attempt to link gorilla conservation and tourism took place in D.R. Congo (then Zaire) at Kahuzi Biega National Park in 1973.

The park was first gazetted in 1970 and in 1975 was further expanded to up to 6,000 square kilometers. In 1973 the first gorilla trekking experience was introduced. Later, there were not enough studies and experience over the human–gorilla contact implications, and the “gorilla rules” were not yet clear.

The Mountain Gorilla Project in 1979

The Mountain Gorilla Project in 1979 was a turning point in the history of gorilla conservation. It follows a convention between Rwanda Government and a consortium formed by several private organizations interested in Nature conservation, such as the AWLF (African Wildlife Leadership Foundation, today African Wildlife Foundation), WWF, and FFPS (Fauna and Flora Preservation Society).

The idea was to introduce gorilla tourism and education on top of anti-poaching efforts as a vehicle to achieve better gorilla conservation. The ability to generate tourism-based jobs and revenues would turn local and national political attitudes in favor of gorillas.

Officials selected two gorilla groups near Karisoke (Groups 11 and 13) to begin a “habituation” program in preparation for future tourist visits. They excluded other families because some gorillas displayed aggressive behavior toward humans or lived too far from the trekking starting point.

Particularly Group 11 had a very calm silverback, called Stilgar, and at the time with four infants. Experimental trekking started in October 1979 with some residents from Kigali. Those that were the first non-resident’ tourists to visit the gorillas were the Europeans from TransAfrica overlanders in November 1979.

The first gorilla trekking expedition

The first gorilla trekking expedition was limited to six people per gorilla family and allowed to stay with them for only one hour. Prolonging the visit would turn the attitude of the silverback against humans. The first gorilla trekkers paid USD 20 for a permit.

Gorilla trekking paved the foundations for ethical gorilla trekking and regulations that were later streamlined. In other words, the regulations restrict what humans should do or not do when encountering the gorillas in their habitat. And they are a reflection of the reactions of the gorillas themselves to human visits.

The flow of visitors to Volcanoes National Park soon contributed to the improvement in the accommodation in Ruhengeri. Gorilla trekking created jobs like patrolling guards, tracking, rangers, and trekking guides to employ the same locals who would be killing the mountain gorillas.

The 80’s

On December 27th, 1987, unknown assailants killed Dian Fossey in her cabin at the Karisoke Research Center, and her death remains a mystery.

She buried herself at Karisoke in a cemetery she created for the gorillas, next to her beloved Digit silverback. After her death, conservationists conducted a census of the mountain gorilla population in 1989 and found approximately 324 gorillas in the Virunga Conservation Area and 320 in Bwindi Impenetrable Forest, for a total of 644.

The 90’s

Bwindi Impenetrable National Park was gazetted by the Government of Uganda and placed under the management of the Uganda Wildlife Authority in 1991. However, due to civil wars, wildlife tourism was halted for an extended period. It wasn’t until later that Uganda reopened its jungles to the world.

The first task of the Uganda Wildlife Authority was to take the Mubare Gorilla Group (Buhoma) through a 3-year gorilla habituation process. The lead silverback, Ruhondeza, proved to be exceptional at interacting with humans, paving the way for gorilla tourism. The Mubare family was first opened for gorilla tourism in 1993.

Unfortunately, in 1992, poachers killed a male silverback gorilla named Mrithi from “Group 13”, one of the habituated gorilla families.

In 1994, the Rwanda civil war broke out, and militias and poachers killed approximately 18 to 22 mountain gorillas during the unrest. Alongside the tragic genocide, another silent genocide unfolded in the Virunga jungles. These events severely affected gorilla tourism, and authorities closed Volcanoes National Park to visitors.

In 1999, the Rwandan Office of Tourism and National Parks (ORTPN) reopened Volcanoes National Park for gorilla tourism. They initially set the gorilla trekking fee at USD 250, later raised it to USD 360, and increased it again to USD 500 in 2006/2007.

The 2000’s

On October 17th, 2002, Mountain Gorillas Conservation Fund hosted the 100th anniversary of the identification discovery of the mountain gorillas in Rwanda. And in 2004, Keesling won a lifetime achievement award from British Airways for worldwide conservation efforts for gorilla protection.

In 2012 Rwanda’s Volcanoes National Park had nine gorilla families open for gorilla tourism and charged USD 750 per person for a gorilla permit. Definitely, this considerable revenue from gorilla tourism is something that only a decade ago was not even expected. Moreover, there is much more potential from the investment in gorilla tourism to the conservation of the gorillas.

By 2004, there were already four gorilla families open for gorilla tourism in Uganda, including the Mubare family, the Rushagura family, the Habinianja family, and the Nkuringo family that opened for gorilla trekking in Uganda the same year, heightening the Uganda safari experience.

By 2012, Bwindi Impenetrable National Park had nine gorilla families habituated for gorilla tourism. In the same years, UWA opened up two new trailheads in Ruhija (Eastern Bwindi) and Rushaga (South-Eastern Bwindi), totaling four trailheads.

Gorilla Tourism Today

Today, the Rwanda Development Board issues fewer than 100 gorilla permits per day to trekkers. Rangers guide only eight people per gorilla family. Rwanda offers 12 gorilla groups for tourism, while it reserves six other groups for research.

As of 2021, Uganda has 19 habituated gorilla groups available for tourism in Bwindi Impenetrable National Park and Mgahinga National Park. Officials reserve three gorilla families for research, while they offer two families in the Rushaga Sector for the gorilla habituation experience.

Uganda issues 152 gorilla permits per day, with each permit costing USD 700 per person. UWA allows only eight people to trek a single gorilla family and enforces strict guidelines to protect the gorillas from human infections. Trekkers may spend only one hour with the mountain gorillas.

For a more profound experience, Uganda offers the gorilla habituation experience to trekkers that want to spend more time with gorillas at a higher cost of USD 1,500 per person. The experience allows you at least four hours in the company of researchers, rangers, primatologists, and other 3 trekkers. UWA per day issues only 8 gorilla habituation permits in Bwindi Impenetrable Forest.