Tag: Gorilla National Parks /Rwanda, Uganda, DR Congo/
National parks protecting mountain gorillas consist of the rainforest of Bwindi Impenetrable National Park, plus three parks in the Virungas, the chain of eight volcanoes straddling the border of Uganda, Rwanda, and the Democratic Republic of Congo.
The home of Grauer’s gorillas is Kahuzi-Biega National Park in eastern DR Congo.
For our main Gorilla National Parks page with travel advice please click here.
Our Stories:
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Were Batwa Really Dangerous to Gorillas?
The sad story of the Batwa “Pygmies” of the Gorilla Highlands reached its dramatic peak when they were kicked out of national parks. This was in line with the traditional view of conservation — nature can only be protected in strict separation from indigenous peoples — but was that actually needed? Were they truly dangerous to gorillas? Dian Fossey,…
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How Do Gorillas Get Habituated (Used to Humans)?
In the national parks of the Gorilla Highlands, many gorilla groups roam. But only some of them can actually receive one-hour visits from tourists. That is because they are habituated or, in other words, used to humans. This is done very selectively and carefully. For example, when in 2017 Rwanda doubled its gorilla tracking fees…
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Nyiragongo Has Finally Erupted
Today’s spectacular volcanic eruption near Goma, DR Congo, profoundly changes one of our region’s biggest attractions, Mt Nyiragongo … Nyiragongo was famous for being a hiking destination with an overnight near the lava lake (our members can watch it in In-Sights: The Region), but it has been closed since the beginning of the Covid pandemic,…
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Batwa “Pygmies”: History and Present
The Batwa “Pygmies” are one of the oldest peoples in Africa and their origin is unknown. They were hunter-gatherers, roaming the forests in bands foraging for honey, wild yams, fruit, stems and tubers, and hunting small game with trained dogs. They were highly skilled bowmen. Today, the Batwa live as a unified group mainly in people’s imagination. In all the three countries of our…
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I Tasted the Brand New 2-Day Muhabura Hike
Dear readers of the Daily Dose, In my first report from Mgahinga Gorilla National Park I told you that we were preparing to make hiking Mt Muhabura (4,127 m/ 13,540 ft) more accessible. The highest of the three volcanic mountains that our park boasts, it is the preferred climb by seasoned climbers who summit and…
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How Human are Gorillas?
Researchers are often struck by gorillas’ apparent humanity. Taking into account our genetic similarities of 95% or above, there has been a long debate about how close humans and gorillas really are. George Schaller — one of the world’s most preeminent field biologists —travelled to the Virunga Volcanoes in the 1960s, at age 26, to…
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Dawn of Gorilla Tracking as a Tourism Activity
While there were sporadic non-scientific expeditions to mountain gorillas before, real tourism began with the arrival of Walter Baumgartel. Baumgartel was a German who had lived in South Africa, helped the British with reconnaissance photography during World War II, and eventually found an enticing ad in London: they were looking for somebody interested in a…
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What Do Gorillas Think of Face Masks?
Hello, my dears? Are you still there? For me, I am still with you, trust me! The reason why you haven’t heard from me for a while is that I was busy busy busy working with two different TV crews. They wanted to capture the best of Volcanoes National Park — and when you work…
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Mountain Misery
24mm, f/5, 1/200s, ISO500 We’re used to seeing happy travel shots, but sometimes honesty can be refreshing. This image is from a Gorilla Highlands media trip in late 2015, from the third and highest peak of Mt Sabyinyo. We’d gotten the Uganda Wildlife Authority to agree to a special boon: camping on the volcano! That…
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