Gorilla habituation experience gives trekkers a more lively trekking experience as they spend more hours with the apes. It’s an experience of limited openings to engage but it’s the most amazing encounter every ape enthusiast would wish to consider taking. Not like the famous gorillas trekking which last for just an hour but gorilla habituation experience is an amazing daily undertaking where trekker spend almost a full day with the mountain gorillas.
Gorilla habituation doesn’t have a clear definition but it simply means training the gorillas that they become used to human presence. The process of gorillas habituation was started by Dian Fossey an American primatologist who surrender the rest of her life to live and conserve the gorillas in hilly northern of Rwanda’s Volcanoes Park. Dian Fossey is took enough time studying the apes and realized that gorillas are shy apes which would shy away on saying human and this prompted her getting alternatives of having getting close to the gorillas. Dian could follow the gorillas on a daily basis until she could have a close-up encounter which confirmed the habituation process.
The habituation proceeds from the place where a certain group is first seen and continues following the gorillas for a period of less than 3 years. Gorillas are known to be endangered species mentioned on the IUNC red list of endangered species endemic to only the volcanic rainforest of Bwindi Impenetrable National Park and the great Virunga Conservation Area which extends to three countries of Uganda, Rwanda and DR Congo. However, though gorilla trekking is commonly done it all the gorilla parks, gorilla habituation experience is limited.
The exercise of gorilla habituation is done by trained primatologists, researchers and rangers to ensure that they get used to human presence before the families are set and ready for trekking experience.
Where to do gorilla habituation experience
Mountain gorilla trekking is done famously done from the 4 known gorilla parks of Bwindi Impenetrable National Park and Mgahinga Gorilla National Park in Uganda, Volcanoes National Park of Rwanda and Virunga National Park of DR Congo. However, for the gorilla habituation experience it remained only in Uganda’s Bwindi Impenetrable National Park where trekkers get chance to spend almost a full day with the gorillas.
Bwindi Impenetrable National Park the world’s capital of mountain gorillas accommodating over half of the population referencing to the last gorilla census of 2019 which indicated that Bwindi hosted 459 and showed by then there was 1063 mountain gorillas in the wild. Bwindi Impenetrable hosts the highest number of habituated families with over 18 families available for trekking. Yes, at the park there is one family available for gorilla habituation experience in Rushaga trekking sector.
Bwindi forest has four trekking sectors among which are Nkuringo sector the most hectic and adventurous trekking sector in the southwestern of Bwindi, Ruhija sector, Rushaga and Buhoma sector in the north of Bwindi which also hosts the headquarters of the park. However, among the four sectors Rushage has stood to be the only sector that offer Gorilla Habituation Experience around the world. So, Rushaga sector of Bwindi Impenetrable National Park is the only adventure spot to do gorilla habituation experience.