Tour Guide, Kampala, Uganda
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Gorilla Habituation – Uganda Gorilla trekking as an activity is done in different national parks in Uganda like Bwindi Impenetrable, Mgahinga National Park in southwestern Uganda and others though habituation is not done in all parks. Bwindi Impenetrable National Park harbours 1000 of these endangered apes and only 13 families are habituated. These families include Mubare, Habinyanja and Rushegura in the northern sector of the park (Buhoma), Bitukura, Oruzogo and Kyaguriro in the eastern part of Bwindi (Ruhija), Nshongi, Bweza, Mishaya, Busingye and Kahungye in Rushaga and then the Nkuringo gorilla families in the south.
According to the Uganda Wildlife Authority, two gorilla families (Bushaho and Bikingi gorilla families) in the Nkuringo and Rushaga regions respectively of Bwindi have been trained to be friendly to humans. The first group was introduced for habituation on the 1st January 2014. These gorilla families can be visited on a daily basis at a cost of USD 1500.00 per person per experience.
Gorilla habituation experience has no actual definition but it can simply be known as the act of training the wild mountain gorillas to get used to human sight. Gorilla habituation experience was designed to allow visitors to spend more time with the gorillas, unlike gorilla trekking which is restricted to one hour. The reality is that gorilla trekking can even take eight hours just to locate the gorillas but when you are already with them, you are limited to only one hour for photography and observation.
Habituating a group of gorillas usually takes about two to three years and they must be trekked and monitored on a daily basis so as to fully get used to human presence. Initially, the gorillas are fearful of humans and will run away. In the next phase, the gorillas may not run but they may respond to human presence aggressively, and finally, the gorillas will react normally and freely to human presence. Therefore, through habituation, gorillas are able to create a strong trust with humans and they are so calm and lovely to stay with.
Gorilla Habituation – In this Uganda experience, you are grouped with other three visitors and given four hours with the company of researchers/ those who habituate gorillas. Spend more time and observe how these apes are habituated. But visitors who are interested in this experience should expect to meet semi habituated gorilla families as they hide away from the visitors and behave in a manner which is not usual therefore the experience may be stopped by the researcher for your safety.
How to do the booking:
Gorilla habituation experience is limited to few people per day so bookings for the permits should be done well in advance. For your convenience, we will book your gorilla habituation experience permit through the Uganda Wildlife Authority as long as you are 15 years and above.