When the name Rwanda
comes up, at least in tourism circles, gorilla tracking comes to mind, first
and foremost, as the Land of a Thousand Hills is indeed best known for offering
well organized Eco
tours Rwanda to see the prized animals in their
natural habitat. The Rwanda Development Board’s Tourism and Conservation
Department in fact acknowledges that in spite of concerted efforts over the
past years to diversify the tourism products and introduce new attractions, inside
and outside of the three national parks, gorilla tracking remains the highest
profile activity for now, though birding and hiking, especially in Nyungwe
Forest National Park, have started to make an impact in the statistics. Culture
is also growing tourism product in Rwanda and the Rwanda tourism board has
launched the Musanze cave for cultural tourism which you can visit on your
Rwanda tour, Eco tours Rwanda.
The Virunga massif, a trans-boundary ecosystem
located in Rwanda, Uganda and neighboring Congo DR, is home of – going by the
latest figures available – some 400 mountain gorillas and has been described as
the world’s only stable great apes population. It is here, that on the Rwandan
side some 11 habituated gorilla groups are available for tourism purposes, the
11th only named 10 days ago during the annual Kwita Izina naming ceremony, when
a “breakaway group” gained their own recognition, name and status. Additionally
there are 10 other habituated groups which are strictly reserved for research
and monitoring, outpacing the other two gorilla range countries. The gorilla
groups in Rwanda include: Susa—the
largest group with 41 gorillas. This family is the hardest to trek as it tends
to range high into the mountains but RDB Tourism & Conservation
trackers will know well in advance where the group is located. The group
is also well known for having rare 5 year old twins named Byishimo and Impano. Sabyinyo—Sabyinyo is an easily
accessible group led by the powerful silverback Guhonda. There are fewer
members within this family than in the other groups however they are equally
impressive as a family. Amahoro—led by the calm and easy going Ubumwe, Amahoro is made up of 17 members and
means “peaceful”. To reach Amahoro one must endure a fairly steep climb however
the climb is well worth it once in contact with this tranquil group. Group 13—when first habituated this
group had only 13 members hence its name. Now the group has approximately 25
members, a very positive sign for conservation and the efforts put forward by
RDB Tourism & Conservation to protect the gorillas’ habitat. Kwitonda—this 18-member group is led by
Kwitonda which means “humble one” and has two silverbacks and one black back.
Having migrated from DRC, this group tends to range far making it a moderately
difficult trek. Umubano—a family of
11, Umubano were originally Amahoro members but broke off after the dominant
silverback was challenged by Charles, now the leader of Umubano. When a young
silverback challenges the dominant silverback he must steal some females from
the existing group in order to form his own family; thus Umubano was formed. Hirwa—this group emerged recently and
was formed from different existing families, namely from Group 13 and Sabyinyo.
Eventually more gorillas joined. Come witness this family continue to grow and Karisimbi– a family of 15, a new group.
The Ruhengeri
province in Rwanda is a city where all gorilla trekkers have their overnight
before and after budget
gorilla trekking. At this area you can stay at luxury, mid-range and budget
lodges Sabyinyo silverback Lodge/Virunga safari lodge/ Mountain Gorilla View
Lodge/ Mountain Gorilla Nest Camp/Lebombou Lodge/Laplame Hotel/Muhabura Guest
House/Kinigi Guest House respectively. The Rwanda Development Board and conservation
NGOs are working hand in hand towards a common goal, protecting the mountain
gorillas while at the same time ensuring that tourism pays many of the bills
this mammoth task incur month after month.
The Greater Virunga
Trans-boundary Cooperation, in short GVTC, is a trilateral body, based in
Kigali, comprising RDB, UWA and ICCN, which coordinates conservation and
management matters, shares research results and coordinates security measures
put into place along the national frontiers between Rwanda, Uganda and the
Congo DR.
There is GRASP, the
Great Apes Survival Partnership, which falls under the UNESCO/UNDP framework of
conservation partnerships under which all institutional bodies come together to
share information and rally to preserve the ever shrinking habitat of great
apes around the globe.
Gorilla Doctors bring
veterinary doctors together who volunteer their time to assist, largely free of
cost for their professional services, to rush to the scene should the trackers,
who spend much of the day with their charges up the volcanic mountains, call
for medical support.
The International
Gorilla Conservation Program, in short IGCP, is a partnership devoted to the
conservation of the mountain gorillas by the African Wildlife Foundation, Flora
and Fauna International and the World Wildlife Fund for Nature, best known as
WWF.
And then there is the
Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund International, the local headquarters based in
Musanze, which is arguably the highest profile organization of them all, the
offices in white and green highly visible for everyone who drives through what
used to be Ruhengeri. The fund emerged from Dian Fossey’s DIGIT Fund, renamed
in Dian’s honor in 1992 as the DFGFI.
Dian Fossey,
immortalized through the film "Gorillas in the Mist," which portrayed
her life’s work and dedication to the cause of protecting the mountain
gorillas of Rwanda and Congo, back then still known as Zaire, was killed on
the 27th December 1985, but left behind a legacy which lives on and has grown
from strength to strength. Controversial as she may have been in life, she was
an outspoken opponent of using habituated gorillas for tourism purposes and had
reported run ins’ with fellow researchers, too, in death she became a uniting
factor for gorilla conservation and her name, and that of the fund, continue to
be magnets to raise money, material contributions and attention around the
world. Today, the gorilla population, which was seriously endangered when Dian
was still alive and working in the field, has significantly increased in size,
to now around 480 overall, but with an estimated carrying capacity of around
800 gorillas, some in fact say up to 1,000 while others put the capacity of the
Virunga massif to lesser numbers.
The fund operates the
Karisoke Research Centre, headed by Felix Ndagijimana with over 150 staff in
Rwanda and across the border in the Congo DR, plus a number of volunteers and
collaborating scientists. The main thrust of activities is, as previously
mentioned, research and monitoring of the gorillas, conservation education
among school children but also the adult population living around the national
parks and last but not least community outreach programs include health and
education interventions.
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