Mountain Gorilla

Description:

Another fabulous story is connected to this spotting. I was really blessed on this trip to Africa! Friends told me that when they went Gorilla trekking, they were up and down extremely steep muddy hills for 11 hours there and back, and that I wouldn't be able to do it with my ankle. So I didn't book. The internet said places were booked up 6 -12 months in advance as only 3 groups of 12 people can go per day. When I arrived in Bwindi, I decided I wanted to try anyway, and if I could get a ticket, I would go. My wonderful driver somehow found me a ticket and I was all set to go the following morning. Painkillers taken, mosquito repellant applied and walking stick at hand, I was ready! We started off - the group of "oldies" - and 10 minutes into the walk, there they were. A whole family of gorillas, coming towards us over the bridge, and going to an open area to eat their favourite plants. So not only were they close, they were out in the open so we could take photos! Truly blessed!

Habitat:

Rushegura family group is located in Buhoma part of Bwindi Impenetrable National Park. Uganda. See link for information about the family.

Notes:

This is my 4000th spotting... The mountain gorilla (Gorilla beringei beringei) is one of the two subspecies of the eastern gorilla. Bwindi Impenetrable Forest is inhabited by a population of about 340 individual mountain gorillas, known as the Bwindi population, which makes up almost half of all the mountain gorillas in the world. The mountain gorilla is highly social, and lives in relatively stable, cohesive groups held together by long-term bonds between adult males and females. The fur of the mountain gorilla, often thicker and longer than that of other gorilla species, enables them to live in the colder temperatures. There are two populations. One is found in the Virunga volcanic mountains of Central Africa, within three National Parks: Mgahinga, in south-west Uganda; Volcanoes, in north-west Rwanda; and Virunga in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). The other is found in Uganda's Bwindi Impenetrable National Park. Some primatologists consider the Bwindi population in Uganda may be a separate subspecies, though no description has been finished. As of November 2012, the estimated total number of mountain gorillas is around 880. Bwindi Impenetrable National Park is located in the southwestern part of Uganda on the rim of the Rift Valley. The hillsides which are mist-covered are sheltered by one of the ancient and very biologically varied rainforests in Uganda that dates back to more than 25,000 years, comprising of about 400 varied plant species. More notably, this “impenetrable forest” in addition protects an predictable 320 population of mountain gorillas – approximately half of the population in the world, among which are a number of habituated groups, that can be tracked by visitors.Bwindi is habitat to more than half the world’s population of Mountain Gorillas. actually there are over 300 mountain gorillas living here. In addition to the endangered impressive mountain gorillas there are also 346 bird species and more than 200 butterfly species, about 324 species of trees, ten of which are only found in this areas in the whole of Uganda.