Category: Animals
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Rwanda’s Gorilla Fees Double in Epic Surprise to the Business
It was an interesting weekend for anyone working in Rwanda’s tourism. Gorilla permit fees doubled overnight, to eye-popping USD 1,500. Rwanda Development Board has been exemplary so far in terms of selling mountain gorilla tracking to the world. Their press release says that the increase is in line with the country’s high-end tourism strategy and…
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Black Rhinos’ Big Return to Rwanda: What Happened in Uganda?
This week 10 Eastern black rhinos arrive to Akagera National Park, completing their move from South Africa. Beasts from the first batch are already grazing in the savannah on the Tanzanian border. Rwanda’s last indigenous rhinos were spotted exactly 10 years ago. Some decades earlier over 50 black rhinos called Akagera their home, however, relentless…
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Mgahinga Gorillas Get a Baby
Cyizanie, a mountain gorilla belonging to the Nyakagezi group, gave birth yesterday. An American/Palestinian visitor Dina Tamimi had the privilege of witnessing the astonishing event, as you will see in her video below. The sex of the 11th Nyakagezi gorilla is yet to be determined. This news is exactly what Mgahinga Gorilla National Park needs.…
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Keeping Gorillas Healthy, or Not
Concerns that humans may pass on diseases were one of the reasons that farmers and forest inhabitants were evicted from the parks. However, the chance of people passing on disease to primates is higher with non-locals who wouldn’t share the same immunities. The main gorilla health organisation is the Gorilla Doctors, previously presented through an interview…
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Backpacker on a Wheelchair Tracks Gorillas
Despite the anything-but-insignificant cost and physical strain of tracking mountain gorillas, this is an encounter many people feel they definitely have to experience. Even the disabled. Sunday Ndayakunze, the tourism warden of Bwindi Impenetrable National Park, says that on average once a month they get a gorilla tracker who needs assistance. A visitor with disabilities…
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First Lion Cubs Spotted in Akagera
The Gorilla Highlands region is beautifully complemented by two savannah national parks, Queen Elizabeth in Uganda and Akagera in Rwanda. Both parks were severely disturbed due to armed conflicts that took place decades ago and their animal populations are still rebuilding. Queen Elizabeth NP has risen close to its former glory – in the colonial days…
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35 Days of Backpacking with a Donkey
Ever thought of travelling with a donkey? Marc Ethienne Cuendet, 26, once briefly tried it in Morocco and liked it so much that he bought Rafiki in Mubende and walked with her to Lake Bunyonyi! Their 35-day route went through Fort Portal, Kibale Forest and Ibanda; they avoided Queen Elizabeth National Park not to tempt…
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Golden Monkey Lady
Of the two ways to track golden monkeys in Mgahinga Gorilla National Park, the longer and deeper one exists because of the efforts of Sandra Gray. This former British nurse, now a primatologist, is so passionately committed to her monkeys that she cannot find peace in Europe anymore. Sandra and her team monitor golden monkeys…
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April Fools’ Day is Over
This fictional “news item” was posted on 1 April 2016. It is a satire that touches on many topics but, above all, our preoccupation with tourists’ well-being while too many local lives are lost routinely. There is no monster, only a scary lack of swimming skills. If you want to change this, become a Gorilla…
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