According to the just-released 2011 Census by the Uganda
Wildlife Authority, the critically-endangered mountain gorilla population in
Uganda’s Bwindi Impenetrable National Park is confirmed at 400. The prior
census in 2006 put the number at 302.
Part of the increase is due to improved census methods and conservation
through daily ranger monitoring, but it is also due to actual population growth. Aiding in the rising numbers is veterinary
care provided by Gorilla Doctors.
Their Uganda field team, led by Dr. Fred Nizeyimana, regularly monitors all of
the habituated gorillas in the Park for health problems and performs medical
interventions when it is determined that an individual has a life-threatening
disease or illness.
Those travelers who have placed on their bucket list seeing
the mountain gorillas should plan a trip to Uganda now. The Uganda Wildlife Authority, in celebration
of the country’s 50th anniversary of independence next year, is
cutting gorilla fees in April and May 2013 by $150, thus putting gorilla fees in
Uganda during those two months at $350.
Beyond that, Ugandan gorilla fees, usually $500, are substantially below
those of Rwanda and the Republic of the Congo – now at $750.
There are other reasons to go, too. Marasa
Africa, one of the
largest diversified private-sector investors in Uganda, is offering a special fly-in
three-day package to track the gorillas in the Park at $2,156 per person
sharing. The rain-forest is spectacular
with a heavily vegetated and dense landscape and spending time with the shy and
peaceful gorillas is an unforgettable experience.
Marasa’s fly-in
four-day package at $2,693 per person sharing includes everything on the
three-day package and an additional day on an escorted trek with the Batwa, the
pygmies who live just outside the Bwindi Impenetrable National Park. The Batwa guides will discuss how they hunt
and the medicinal plants they use. They will
also share a traditional meal and relate ancient legends and traditional
songs. It is a cultural experience like no other.
Accommodations
for both packages are in the recently purchased and refurbished Silverback Lodge, part of the Marasa
portfolio of quality tourism products in East Africa. Silverback is situated in the Buhoma section
of Bwindi Impenetrable Forest, a UNESCO site home to almost half of the world’s
mountain gorilla population. In Bwindi
that includes 36 family groups and 16 lone males. Ten family groups totaling 168
gorillas are habituated to human presence for tourism. The 124-square-mile Bwindi
is also inhabited by non-habituated chimpanzees, more than 100 other species of
mammals, 346 species of birds, and 163 species of trees.
The rates
includes accommodation with meals while on safari, domestic scheduled flights
and ground transfers in custom built safari vehicles with English speaking
guides, gorilla permits, all park fees, and government taxes.
There are many other reasons to go to Uganda, including a
safari on the Nile River. More internal
flights are being offered there than ever before. Premier Safaris is ready to
assist. Please contact: operations@premiersafaris.com for itinerary suggestions and
quote.
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