Africa’s major conservation success
A few weeks ago, Uganda welcomed the news of the birth of a new baby mountain gorilla in Bwindi Impenetrable National Park in Uganda. What great sparkling news! About two weeks later, as news of the birth of this baby gorilla was sinking in, Uganda Wildlife Authority (UWA) again announced the birth of another baby gorilla again in the Mubare Gorilla group in the Bwindi park.
“Karungi gave birth. Mother & baby are healthy. 2 babies in 3 weeks,” a tweet from UWA read.
The birth of a baby brings much joy to humans and the entire animal kingdom. But for Uganda, and especially the conservation society, the joy is more than double because compared to other species, the mountain gorillas are few in number and a few decades ago faced extinction. The gorilla remains Uganda’s most prized tourism asset, both in attraction and monetary value (revenue generation) for the entire tourism industry.
Gorilla tracking as a tourism experience started in 1993, several decades after more established products like game drives in national parks and water tourism were already thriving. But their impact (revenue and attraction) 26 years later, is several times more than all these older tourism products- a testament to what a jewel these awe inspiring giants have become for their country. And the fact that these apes are found nowhere else in the wild on earth is great reason to celebrate and conserve and not take their presence for granted.
Lonely Planet has described the preservation of the gorillas, which were once on the verge of extinction, as one of Africa’s greatest conservation success stories. And at Fahari Uganda Safaris we want to salute the tireless men and women who risk their lives, spend long dangerous hours in trying to ensure these giants of the wild are not extinguished from the face of the earth like it happened with the dinosaur.
And thanks to their efforts, the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) last year (2018) updated its Red List of Threatened Species and brought new hope for the gorillas, which have seen their numbers increase thanks to “collaborative conservation efforts across country boundaries and positive engagement from communities living around the mountain gorilla habitat”.
A lot has been done, a lot more needs to be done. Nonetheless, mountain gorillas, which are a subspecies of the eastern gorilla, remains critically endangered. Estimates by IUCN in 2008 put gorilla numbers at about 680 only. Today, the total population is more than 1,000 across Uganda, DR Congo and Rwanda. Thus in 10 years, the number has risen by more than 30 per cent, which is commendable, but when you look at the total population of other species such as buffaloes or elephants, it means there is still a lot to do.
Fierce protection
Among some species, the protection of a new born is so fierce that mothers can kill intruders to protect their young one. And this is what we should do to our gorillas, continue with the fierce protection of this gentle giants and all other species.
Much credit should also go to the gorilla communities who have embraced other forms of economic activity.
Alice Akite,
Fahari Uganda Safaris
