The symbolic mountain gorillas of Uganda

Two months ago Uganda lost the oldest mountain gorilla silverback Ruhondeza to “advanced age” and now one of the oldest females, Bwiruka, has also gone – and it is clear why conservationists are frustrated by the events.

Mountain gorillas are Uganda’s main tourist attraction, which is understandable; they are teetering on the edge of extinction and Uganda’s dense forests are home to over half of the world’s remaining 750 mountain gorillas.

So, given our emotional and physical connection to these gentle apes that carry up to 99 per cent human-like DNA and the very serious danger they face, it’s just understandable why many humans want to see their close cousins survive.

Uganda Tourism Board executive director Mr Cuthbert Baguma told a tourism symposium at the Museum recently that Uganda’s tourism earnings have doubled in the last five years from $440m (Shs1.1trillion) to $800m (around Shs2trillion) last year and gorilla tracking contributes over 60per cent of that.

Despite the mountain gorillas becoming the face of Uganda’s tourism and their recent population growth, these majestic creatures remain threatened thanks to man’s destruction of their habitat, poaching, armed conflict and disease. In 2010, a Bwindi gorilla was killed after an altercation with men who were illegally hunting in the park. The men were released after paying paltry fines ranging from $19 (Shs47,500) to $38 (around Shs95,000).

Now compare that to the fact that each mountain gorilla can generate up to $1m (Shs2.5b) per year in tourist revenue for the Ugandan economy and you will realise that wildlife crime laws are not strong enough to protect these animals.
The World Wildlife Fund (WWF) African Ape Programme Coordinator Mr David Greer said: “Through our partner the International Gorilla Conservation Programme, we are working closely with rangers and law enforcement investigators to ensure that when a wildlife crime does occur, evidence is handled properly so prosecutors can make a strong case in court.”

A thriving business
Gorilla tourism alone employs over 7,000 people in tours and travel, while Uganda’s tourism accounts for about 18 per cent of available job opportunities countrywide, according to Uganda Tourism Board.

Tourists flock Uganda to see the world’s largest primate do things that points to the theory that humans were apes some million years ago. Very few animals spark the imagination of man as much as the gorilla and people who have gone gorilla tracking will tell you that the first sighting of a gorilla is simply unforgettable.

They play, fight, love and basically live more like humans. Play is vital to human development and our close relatives thrive on it, too. National Geographic presenters have observed that young gorillas, from three to six years old, remind human observers of children as they spend much of their day playing, climbing trees, summersaulting, chasing one another, and swinging from branches – think of a kindergarten.
But when they grow, everything changes and life becomes a bit more competitive on different levels.

Mountain gorillas have a complex political structure and like most African leaders, more so those sharing homeland with gorillas, a coup is almost compulsory to unseat a reigning alpha male, often called a silverback because of the swath of silver hair that adorns his otherwise dark fur.

“As the leader, the silverback organises troop activities like eating, nesting in leaves, and moving about the group’s two-to-40-square-kilometre home range.
His elder son is always his right-hand man and the next in line to the throne.
“Those who challenge this silverback are apt to be cowed by impressive shows of physical power. He may stand upright, throw things, make aggressive charges, and pound his huge chest while barking out powerful hoots or unleashing a frightening roar,” says a Nat Geo Wild presenter. “But mountain gorillas are non-territorial and the silverback generally defends his group rather than his territory.” After all, he could move his family somewhere else the next day.

“But when two mountain gorilla groups meet, the two silverbacks can sometimes engage in a fight to the death, using their canines to cause deep, gaping injuries,” he says.
The winner normally steals a couple of females, if not all, from the loser’s group.

Who are the gorillas?
Silverbacks are about 10 times stronger than the biggest rugby players – such immense raw power and yet despite their intimidating displays and obvious physical power, gorillas are generally calm and nonaggressive to humans. However, incensing one could land you a victim’s role in a real-life King Kong adventure movie of sorts.
That said, these primates are incredibly shy and it is an absolute privilege to watch them feed, play and interact.

They can climb trees, but are usually found on the ground in communities of up to 30 individuals always fond of eating roots, shoots, fruit, wild celery, and tree bark and pulp.

Different scientists concur that gorillas are some of the most intelligent animals in the world, and have learned to use broken bamboo shoots to scoop wild ants from their nests in the undergrowth. They are not fussy eaters though, and feed on up to 100 different types of foliage.

“Female gorillas give birth to one infant after a pregnancy of nearly nine months. Unlike their powerful parents, newborns are tiny—weighing two kilogrammes—and able only to cling to their mothers’ fur,” according to Nat Geo Wild.” “These infants ride on their mothers’ backs from the age of four months through the first two or three years of their lives.”

And this quiet animal will grow up to 1.8 metres tall and can achieve a weight of 220 kilograms. Some gorillas, in habituation, have gone on to live for 50 years but their average age in the wild is 35 years.

In captivity, gorillas have also displayed significant intelligence and have even learned simple human sign language. Many conservation initiatives are meant to aid mountain gorillas, and it is believed that their numbers may be steady or slowly increasing.

Still they continue to face major threats from habitat loss and poaching.
Fortunately, communities around the game parks have taken notice of the plight of gorillas. Uganda Wildlife Authority has also embarked on sensitizing and convincing people that these rare creatures are not a threat, but a valuable asset that should be protected.

The plight of the mountain gorillas was originally championed by Dian Fossey, a zoologist from Kentucky with a passion for conservation. Appalled by the poaching she witnessed in neighbouring Rwanda, she formed and led numerous anti-poaching patrols. Today, her legacy continues throughout Uganda, allowing seven families of over 100 gorilla members to rest and play undisturbed.

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