16.02.2021
Bwindi Impenetrable National Park
GORILLA DAY!
Less than 30 min after starting the trek and leaving the trail head, our guide Maddy had good news. Not only had we spotted the fresh Gorilla poop by the trail, he also had mobile contact to the trackers who had been searching the Rushegura Gorilla family since early this morning. And they apparently had located them! Maddy said, they were only 15 min away … Exciting! … but we had to leave the trail now … From now on it was cross-country … and we had not reached the forest line yet … We basically thrashed through the bushes and then across the potato fields of the villagers straight uphill … and it was steep! … VERY steep! … the walking stick came in very handy … my porter was pushing me from the back … another one pulled me up from above … and not only me … each one of us needed a helping hand …
We could spot the trackers up there at the forest line waiting for us. But it was still a fair bit to climb through the fields … distance wise it was not really far – a few hundred meter – but it was steep! None of us lost our determination, though! We still managed to joke, smile and take photos!
Now my slacking over Christmas lockdown and the year of doing not much was catching up with me … I was in no shape or form at all … I was huffing and puffing up this hillside like never before … While I had thought to be in bad form when I was hiking in Madeira last November … now it was even worse! Christmas had definitely been too much food and too many cocktails and the January depression had not helped either … I was ashamed of myself … My only consolation was that some of my fellow travelers were in no better shape than me … and … I did not once have the notion to give up … Sir Edmund Hillary said – It is not the mountain we conquer, but ourselves. … I had a purpose … I could see the bushes shake up ahead at the forest line! There were Gorillas waiting for me! I could do it!
The Gorillas were very close to the village here, they were rummaging just inside the forest line … But before we reached them, our entourage stopped for a break … it was the point where we had to leave our backpacks behind with the porters. Near the Gorillas no eating or drinking, no big bags and no walking sticks were allowed within 100 m. The porters would stay behind and watch our gear. We were lucky, we did not have to track for hours! It had been 45 min since we left the trail head. The 2 ladies that hat joined our group had told us, they had done a Gorilla trek 2 days before and had hiked 5 hours to find them … it had been a different family, though.
The break was a welcome opportunity to catch my breath, take a long sip from my water bottle and let my eyes sweep over the valley below. The vistas were outstanding. The hillside was really really steep … we had really climbed up … It was overcast today, but still the temperatures were rising. Nevertheless I kept the jacket on … the forest ahead was impenetrable and some bushes thorny … By now I had also already put my unruly hair in a pigtail to keep it out of my face and put my everfogging spectacles in my pocket …
Now only the trackers, the guards and our guide stayed with us … and a few of the porters. It was still steep, but we could see the bushes moving ahead quite clearly now! And then there was the first shout … Look look! … Up there in the tree! … Indeed we spotted the first Gorilla climbing in a tree … Where is it? Where? … There … there! … In that tree … LOOK!
The last bit to the forest line was really hard to climb without the walking stick. But we managed with the help of the porters and the guards who all shoved and pushed and pulled us through the thicket. Sometimes I went on my knees to climb over a ledge or just grabbed the bushes to get a stable spot … And no, I had not brought leather gloves as had been advised in our tour paper … I was not squeamish when it came to grabbing the bushes … Some of the others had specially bought gloves … but I am not sure if they were actually wearing them … I think not … but then again … I did not notice because I was transfixed by getting closer to that first Gorilla in the tree! 10 min of climbing and sliding through the bushes we were close to the first of the Gorillas … Now Maddy started the clock … only 1 h was the allowed time with the Gorilla family!
Gorillas are actually ground-dwelling, predominantly herbivorous Great Apes that inhabit the tropical forests of central Sub-Saharan Africa. The genus Gorilla is divided into 2 species – the Eastern Gorillas and the Western Gorillas living in equatorial Africa – separated by approx 1000 km of Congo Basin forest. Each has a lowland and upland subspecies. They are the largest living primates. The DNA of Gorillas is highly similar to that of humans – from 95 to 99% depending on what is included – and they are the next closest living relatives to humans after Chimpanzees and Bonobos. The Mountain Gorilla – Gorilla Beringei Beringei – is one of the 2 subspecies of the Eastern Gorilla. It is listed as endangered by the IUCN as of 2018.
There are 2 populations of Mountain Gorillas – One is found in the Virunga Volcanic Mountains of Central Africa ranging in altitude from 2200 to 4300 m within the 3 National Parks – Mgahinga Gorilla National Park Uganda, Volcanoes National Park Rwanda and Virunga Nationla Park Congo. The other population is found here in Uganda’s Bwindi Impenetrable National Park – called the Bwindi Population. Some primatologists speculate the Bwindi population is a separate subspecies – though no description has been finalized.
Research on the Bwindi population lags behind that of the Virunga population, but some preliminary research on the Bwindi Gorilla population has been carried out by Craig Stanford – a Professor of Biological Sciences and Anthropology from California best known for his long term field study of the behavior and ecology of Chimpanzees and Mountain Gorillas in BINP. This research has shown that the Bwindi Gorilla’s diet is markedly higher in fruit than that of the Virunga population and that the Bwindi Gorillas – even Silverbacks – are more likely to climb trees to feed on foliage, fruits and epiphytes. It was also found that Bwindi Gorillas travel farther per day than Virunga Gorillas.
The Bwindi Impenetrable Forest is an old, complex and biologically rich montane cloud forest. Diverse species are a feature of the park and it became an UNESCO World Heritage Site because of its ecological importance. Among East African forests, Bwindi has some of the richest populations of trees, small mammals, birds, reptiles, butterflies and moths. The park’s diverse species are partly a result of the large variations of elevation and habitat types in the park. The park’s forest is afromontane – which is a rare vegetation type on the African continent. Located where plain and mountain forests meet, there is a continuum of low-altitude to high altitude primary forests in the park, one of the few large tracts of East African forest where this occurs. The park has more than 220 tree species. Bwindi Impenetrable National Park is important for the conservation of the afromontane fauna, especially species endemic to the Western Rift Valley’s mountains. It is thought to have one of the richest faunal communities in East Africa, including more than 350 bird species and more than 200 butterfly species. There are an estimated 120 mammal species in the park – of which 10 are primates – and more than 45 are small mammals. We only came here to see the Gorillas and I have to admit … I never looked for or saw anythingelse … I was totally focused on the Gorillas and that first one now started to climb down the tree …
The park is only accessible on foot – there are absolutely no game drive tracks or roads into the interior of the forest – just a few hiking trails mostly following abandoned logging roads. Therefore it seems to be truly impenetrable … Looking at the map it is apparent, that only the mere fringes of the park are ever accessed by tourists for Gorilla tracking …
That first Gorilla seemed to be curious and when it had climbed down the tree it moved through the undergrowth closer to us … We had the 10 m rule in our heads … but there was nowhere to go … the hill was steep to either side of where we were standing …
That Gorilla sure had not received the memo about the 10 m distance rule … But it was clear it was fully habituated. Gorilla habituation is the slow and gentle introduction of a family of wild Gorillas to the presence of humans. Wild Gorillas are habituated so researchers can study the species, treat them for sickness and injuries, protect them from poachers and boost conservation efforts with sustainable tourism.
In order to become accustomed to the presence of humans, each Gorilla family visited by tourists has undergone a lengthy habituation process of 3-5 years managed by a team of expert researchers, conservationists, trackers and rangers. Park rangers start the habituation process by spending a short period of time with the Gorillas each day, maintaining a specific distance at the limit of the Gorillas’ comfort zone. Every few months they gradually increase the time and reduce the distance until they are certain that the Gorillas have become fully comfortable in the company of humans and are ready for tourists to visit them. Only then is a Gorilla family opened for tourist visits.
We were all totally perplexed … I could not even focus the camera … I was so excited … one of the porters or trackers was standing between Dr D and me and he kept wispering … Do not move! Be quiete! Stay! Do not move! … But that Gorilla just walked past us and looked at us as if to say – What the heck are you doing in my forest and in my way! … Or maybe he was the scout and checking us out to report to the boss that we were arriving earlier than usual …
The Gorilla was not bothered at all by our presence and … had never heard of the new social distancing rules … it brushed right past our trouser legs … It was … breathtaking … Where was my brandnew GoPro if I needed it? … It was in my bag … good place for it to be … Why had I invested in it especially for the purpose of filming the Gorillas when I left it in the bag? … Damn … I dug it out after that encounter …
It seemed as if this first Gorilla was leading us right to his family … as if in an effort to say … OK, get on with it so that the 1 hr is over quickly and we can get back to our business! … We now heard the Gorillas moving ahead and to the side of us. They seemed to be everywhere now … The trackers were excellent … the knew exactly where the Gorillas were heading and we followed … They also spoke to them in Gorilla language more or less constantly …
The Rushegura Gorilla family was habituated in 2000 and later opened for tourism within the Buhoma region for tracking in 2002. This Rushegura family is a fragment group of the Habinyanja family and is one of the larger families in Bwindi with 19 members in total including 2 newborn Baby Gorillas. The trackers knew the best spots to take photos … Our group was a true photo crazy group … I had known that of The Gang before, but the 2 ladies that had joined us seemed to be real professionals … with huge lenses and fancy cameras of which I was a bit jealous … So the trackers were always trying to find us the best spot for a photo … and believe me, they knew all the tricks and angles for a good photo …
As with all Great Apes – with the exception of humans – the Gorilla’s arms are significantly longer than the legs, the span of the outstretched arms can be 2 to 2.75 m. Gorillas have very broad hands with large thumbs. Like humans – and also other primates – every Gorilla has a distinctive fingerprint. However, scientists identify the animals primarily on the basis of photos or drawings of their equally unique nose print – through the shape of their nose and the arrangement of the folds on it.
The Mountain Gorilla is primarily terrestrial and quadrupedal. However, it will climb into fruiting trees if the branches can carry its weight. It moves by knuckle-walking, supporting its weight on the backs of its curved fingers rather than its palms. Not even the mother with baby was concerned about us and strutted right past us as if it was the most normal thing to do … it probably was for her … not for me, though … I was holding my breath in awe …
We moved slowly along the hillside beating through the impenetrable forest. Aptly named it is a riot of green with things growing on top of other things that grow on top of more things in layers of ferns, mosses, creepers and lichens. The trackers were ahead and to the side of us leading us closer to the Gorillas. They were not far away, but the going was hard – the hill side was steep, the ground slippery from the recent rains … I forgot how many times I landed on my side grabbing hold of whoever and whatever was close to me so not to slide down the mountain and be dumped into the unseen depths below … I would have wasted my precious hour of Gorilla time if I had to climb up again … I was sweating under the jacket … sweat was running down my face and burning in my eyes … But as Billy Ocean once sang – When the going gets tough, the tough get going, when the going gets rough, the tough get rough! – We came closer to that Gorilla family!
The R-group was led by a Silverback named Mwirima – a brother to a former Silverback in the Habinyanja family called Rwansigazi. The group is named after a place where these 2 brothers seperated to form their own independent families. The R-group was formed in 2002 when Mwirima broke away from his brother with 7 family members including 5 females – other lone Gorillas joined the group and it increased further by the birth of infants. And we were lucky to spot the mothers and babies very close … they did keep the 10 m distance … I think …
In August and September 2020 the Ugandan Wildlife Authority declared a baby boom – 5 Baby Gorillas had been born within 6 weeks in Bwindi Impenetrable National Park! For the first time in the history of Mountain Gorilla conservation in Bwindi Mgahinga Conservation Area – 12 Gorilla births were recorded in 2020 in total – compared to 3 for the whole of 2019, according to the UWA. The Rushegura Gorilla family welcomed a bouncing cute Baby Gorilla by mother Ruterana on 03.09.2020. This newborn is Ruterana’s third baby, but sadly her first infant died at just 2 weeks old from pneumonia in 2012. The most senior female of the family, Kibande, welcomed another newborn at the end of August and now has 5 offspring. Incidentally, the absence of tourists due to the lockdown was not the decisive factor for the baby boom – the gestation period of Gorillas is approx 8.5 month – all of the babies were conceived long before lockdown was even a subject. I am not sure which one of the mothers and babies we saw here … I am pretty sure we saw both of them today …
Mountain Gorillas start reproducing from the age of approx 10 years. Observations have shown that the mortality rate in young animals is 42% and it is particularly high in the first year of life. Most Gorilla mothers have only few children that grow up, so Gorillas reproduce very slowly. They do not have a fixed mating season – reproduction can take place all year round. They give birth to a single young – but that only every 3-4 years. Newborns weigh approx 2 km, at 3 months they can crawl and then ride on their mother’s back for several years. They are weaned after 3-4 years, hence the long birth intervall. In the course of its life, the female gives birth to an average of 2-3 surviving young animals. Gorillas reach sexual maturity at 6 to 8 years as females or 10 years as males. Due to their social structure, however, most animals do not reproduce until a few years after they have reached sexual maturity. Typically, both males and females may leave their birth group as they grow up.
In both – Bwindi Impenetrable and the Virungas National Parks – groups of Gorillas that were habituated for research and ecotourism have higher growth rates than unhabituated Gorillas, according to computer modelings of their population dynamics. Habituation means that through repeated, neutral contact with humans, Gorillas exhibit normal behavior when people are in proximity. Habituated Gorillas are more closely guarded by field staff and they receive veterinary treatment for snares, respiratory disease and other life-threatening conditions. Nonetheless, researchers recommended that some Gorillas remain unhabituated as a bet-hedging strategy against the risk of human pathogens being transmitted throughout the population.
Each Gorilla builds a nest from surrounding vegetation to sleep in – constructing a new one every evening. Only infants sleep in the same nest as their mothers. They leave their sleeping sites when the sun rises – except when it is cold and overcast – then they often stay longer in their nests … That sounds very familiar, right? … They are diurnal, spending most of the day eating, as large quantities of food are needed to sustain the massive bulk. They forage in the early morning, rests during the late morning and around midday and in the afternoon they forage again before resting at night. That makes the late morning and midday the best time to observe the Gorillas. We reached the main gathering spot for today a few minutes later … we did not meet all members of the Rushegura family … we had maybe 6 or 8 of them in our circle of vision … probably there were more in the off behind the impenetrable vegetation …
Mwirima, the dominant Silverback of the R-group, died in 2014. The family is now led by a calm and friendly Silverback called Kabukojo and is known as the most peaceful and friendly family in Bwindi. The family several times crossed over to Congo, but always returned and has now apparently permanently settled near Buhoma. It is extremely active within the Buhoma region and covers a broad territory – sometimes going into Banana groves at Batwa villages, visiting the UWA park office at Bwindi Waterfall or even Buhoma Camp, They even are known to have moved into lodges at times … however such sightings are normally a bonus and very rare.
Now some of the Gorillas were lounging around in a relative small radius … especially the Baby Gorillas were posing for us … We could move around as much as the conditions permitted … the slope was still steep and slippery, but the trackers and porters helped out … more than once I was sliding and grabbed the closest person’s belt or hand … or gave somebody’s bum a shove up the hill … we were all in the same boat … ahh … forest … and tried not get too much in each other’s camera line or photo bomb a picture … Since the Gorillas were mostly hanging out in the undergrowth, we were also sitting on the forest floor most of the time … Just put your butt down wherever gives you the best line-up for a great photo!
I have to admit – most often we were less than 10 m away from the mighty giants … I think it was sometimes even less than 5 m … shame on us … but we were all wearing our masks … and it was all in the heat of the moment … Maddy and the trackers did keep reminding us and we moved off a bit … as much as the steep slope let us … it could all be blamed on the terrain … there was no chance we could be further away …
And then … the Silverback sauntered over … he had been somewhere in the off before … the trackers had seen – or heard – him , but only now he decided to join his family members. He just sat there with his back turned towards us … after all he was the boss and could do whatever he damn well pleased …
One of the Baby Gorillas was not at all impressed with his dad or with us … it was showing off its acrobatic skills hanging on a branch right above the Silverback. The Baby seemed to never forget to keep eye contact with us … as if it was specially performing for us … it was very adorable …
The quiet in the park due to the lockdown last year and reduced tourist numbers at the moment, certainly has positive effects on nature and the environment, but tourists who visit the Gorillas are very important for the protection of the Gorillas. The birth of new Mountain Gorillas is testimony to Uganda’s successful conservation efforts, as it has implemented anti-poaching patrols, a round-the-clock veterinary team and 24/7 monitoring of the Gorillas.
The baby boom is largely attributed to the conservation efforts that Uganda has undertaken over the years to protect the endangered giants. High stress levels can lead Gorillas not to procreate – stress can be caused by poaching, fights among family members or different groups and uncontrolled tourism. But conservation seems to be paying off – Gorillas populations are getting stable. If there was no effort of creating an environment of comfort, there would be no baby boom. When there is crisis in a family, a man has no time for sexual intercourse. The assumption here is that there is no pressure and therefore the baby boom.
This lockdown had a major impact on the country’s tourism revenues, which are largely used to conserve the wildlife. According to ministry of finance figures, the country could lose up to US$ 1.6 billion in annually earns as revenue. More than half of the tourism revenue is contributed by Gorilla tourism, according to UWA. Because of the lockdown and the closure of tourism activities, many people whose livelihood depended on tourism to Bwindi Impenetrable National Park were affected. Some of those living close to the park therefore resorted to poaching and setting up snares to hunt antelopes. These snares at times end up trapping Gorillas. According to UWA figures, poaching in the park has gone up considerably. A vivid case happened in June last year when a poacher and 3 accomplices killed a popular Silverback named Rafiki – the first Gorilla victim of poaching in many years – delivering a setback to decades-long conservation efforts to pull the subspecies back from the precipice of extinction. When a group is attacked, an individual Silverback will protect the group – even at the cost of his own life. The poacher was sentenced 11 years in jail in July. But despite the challenges of reduced funding, foot patrols in the park were increased and the rangers continued to monitor the Gorillas and other wildlife. Not only this poacher had been arrested …
During the first years of their life, a Gorilla young is recognized by the tuft of white hair on their buttocks. This tuft is a clear signal to the other members of the group to treat the young Gorilla kindly. The white tuft means something like – I am young so I can still do whatever I please! – It disappears when Gorillas reach puberty, by the age of 5 or 6 years.
Active conservation of Gorillas involves simply going out into the forest,
on foot, day after day after day,
attempting to capture poachers, killing – regretfully – poacher dogs,
which spread rabies within the park, and cutting down traps.
Dian Fossey
Now the Gorillas were all around us … not at all bothered by us … they were sprawled out in the impenetrable undergrowth of the forest … My guidebook (Bradt Uganda) stated under photography advice – “As for photography, our advice, unless you are professional or serious amateur, is to run off a few quick snapshots, then put the camera away, enjoy the moment, and buy a postcard or coffee-table book later. Gorillas are tricky photographic subjects, on account of their sunken eyes, the gloomy habitat in which they are often found, and a jet-black skin that tends to distort light readings.”
I am not sure if this is a leftover of pre-digital times, though – I remember from 2002 I had a fairly good camera and invested in highly expensive slide films for this occasion – some ISO 1600 and some ISO 400 to push to 800 – and in the hour we had with the M-group back then I had shot 5 films of 36 slides each – carefully considering each photo … yet the outcome was … amateurish to say the least – I was still learning the ropes and I had to switch to manual focus, because my camera had a red focus light and that was not permitted with the Gorillas same as using the flash … maybe 15% of the photos turned out as keepers … But they still are a great memory! … And these scans from the slides do not nearly do them justice at all! The originals are wonderful.
Now with digital cameras it was much easier … I basically clicked away. I have some more experience with the camera now and had put the settings accordingly. Still I checked along the way and adjusted to get sharper shots … Once I got distracted by the 2 ladies with the professional cameras throwing settings and exposure times at each other … those would not work with my – if not semiprofessional but high-end amateur camera … I blended them out and concentrated on the Gorillas and my photos …
I am not somebody who likes using a tripod – even though I carry several in different sizes … I rather adjust the settings so I can still hold the lens steady. And I shoot in RAW being able to develop later on … But having a much better camera and lens than back in 2002, I think this time around my photos turned out a lot better … Anyway, I gave myself a pat on the shoulder! I was happy with them … I took more than 500 shots with the camera plus a series of short video sequences with the GoPro … and this time around a much higher percentage of photos turned out to my liking!
We all more or less stayed in the same spots to take photos. The Gorillas were within a radius of maybe 20 m around us … our group had basically split over 2 spots observing them … but we moved around. The Gorillas were right in front of us just resting … sleeping … every now and then munching on some leaves … The babies however were active … playing … climbing bushes … curiously coming closer …
Finally the Silverback started moving again … only a few meters over to the other females … but he moved and then settled picturesquely behind the bushes close to our vantage point … he was … massive … Gorillas are the largest non-human primates – reaching heights between 1.25-1.8 m and weights between 100-270 kg. They tend to live 35-40 years in the wild. A Silverback Gorilla is the adult male that dominates the Gorilla family. It is typically more than 12 years of age and is named for the distinctive patch of silver hair on its back – which comes with maturity. The silverback is the center of the troupe’s attention, making all the decisions, mediating conflicts, determining the movements of the family, leading the others to feeding sites and taking responsibility for the safety and well-being of all of them.
One of the Baby Gorillas was climbing over the Silverback and playing around him … He did not mind. Gorilla infants are vulnerable and dependent, thus mothers – their primary caregivers – are important to their survival. Male Gorillas are not active in caring for the young, but they do play a role in socialising them to other youngsters. The Silverback has a largely supportive relationship with the infants in his family and shields them from aggression within the group.
Infants remain in contact with their mothers for the first 5 months and mothers stay near the Silverback for protection. Infants begin to break contact with their mothers after 5 months, but only for a brief period each time. By 12 months old, they move up to 5 m from their mothers. At around 18-21 months, the distance between mother and offspring increases and they regularly spend time away from each other. The infants enter their juvenile period at their third year and this can last until their 4th-6th year. At this time, Gorillas are weaned and they sleep in a separate nest from their mothers. After their offspring is weaned, females begin to ovulate and soon become pregnant again. The presence of play partners, including the Silverback, minimizes conflicts in weaning between mother and offspring.
Gorillas are brave and loyal.
They help each other.
They rival Elephants as parents and Whales for gentleness.
They play and have humor and they harm nothing.
They are what we should be.
I don’t know if we’ll ever get there.
Pat Derby
Adult Gorillas will fight to the death defending their families.
This is why poachers who may be seeking only one infant for the zoo trade
must often kill all the adults in the family to capture the baby.
Sy Montgomery
Gorillas are folivores – meaning their diet is based mainly on leaves and stems of 142 plant species. They supplement their diet with bark, flowers, roots, fungi, fruits and some insects. Adult males can eat up to 34 kg of vegetation a day – while a female can eat as much as 18 kg. Their range has 2 dry seasons and 2 rainy seasons per year. Weather in their range is generally cooler and rainier than in that of the lowland Gorillas. For reasons unknown, Mountain Gorillas appear to be naturally afraid of certain reptiles and insects. Infants – whose natural behavior is to chase anything that moves – will go out of their way to avoid Chameleons and Caterpillars. They are also afraid of water – they will cross streams only, if they can do so without getting wet – such as by crossing over fallen logs – and they dislike rain. Considering that it had been pouring cats and dogs yesterday evening, they all seemed to be in a good mood this morning. The babies were still playing and showing off for us. And we were so close without the Silverback getting alert …
Kabukojo took over leadership of the Rushegura family after Silverback Mwirima suddenly passed away in March 2014. At that time Kabukojo was still a Blackback and had certainly been under some stress to keep this large family together without the experience and wisdom of a seasoned Silverback. At only 8-12 years old, it was quite unusual to see a Blackback lead a group, but in the case of the Rushegura family, there was no other Silverback within the group to take Mwirima’s place. Everyone at the BINP held their breath to see how Kabukojo would handle the leadership role and he was faring well. He has sure grown into his position and became a majestic Silverback!
Too soon Maddy was announcing the end of our 1 hr Gorilla time … He had given us the 10 min call and the 5 min call … and we deliberately ignored it … none of us had been quite ready to say good-bye to the Gorillas just yet … but now Maddy got serious and we had to leave … our time was up … But not only Maddy had watched the timing … the Silverback obviously was keeping track as well … he had turned towards us and stared us down … as if to remind us that our time getting on his nerves was up …
Our hour with the Rushegura family sure had passed in a flash! It sure had been an entrancing hour. I was still in awe … we had been truly fortunate to have had such an incredible encounter with those amazing creatures! But we had to leave … The trackers led us straight down the mountain through the thicket of Bwindi Impenetrable forest … Despite the fact that we all were more or less sliding down the hill and slashing through the bushes, we were – at least I was – chatting excitedly. More than once I either landed on my butt or sat on my bum to navigate a particularly steep bit … nevertheless it was only a few minutes until we reached the main trail in the valley.
It was not too much a surprise that our porters were waiting there for us. They had stayed in contact with the others and made their way there to meet us. – Water! I need water! Noah, where are you? – Since in this short time I could not tell the porters apart, it was easiest to call out his name and see who reacted … what can I say … he was standing already right next to me …
After we all had packed our cameras away and taken a bit of a rest, we had to say farewell to the trackers. The 3 of them would be staying with the Gorilla family to make sure they did not venture any closer to or even into the village. They told us, the families are monitored until approx 18:00. It makes sense … by sunset the Gorillas would be settling in for the night … But now they were really close to the village. Which had been our luck … it saved us hours of trotching through the forest to find them … but still it was probably not the safest place for them.
As I am used from India … appreciation is shown financially and today it was my turn to collect the donations from The Gang and hand them over … happily I did it and I think we were all quite generous, because we were so over the moon having had such a magnificent time.
By 11:20 we were on our way walking down effortlessly now … we all had a happy spring in our step … the trail was easy since we did not have to cross the agricultural fields anymore … we were all chatting away as we went. Quickly we reached the wood carvers once more and stopped to support the local community. While the others were initially skeptic … I was not … I inspected at all the different sizes of the Gorilla carvings …
I sure was going to buy several … They wanted US$ 10 for each of the small and medium sized ones … I think that was the easiest number for them … UXG 30000 or US$ 10 … avoiding change … I selected 4 medium Gorillas and asked for a good price … the young man looked at me questionably … so I said – US$ 30? … and he said yes … I was not sure if he was a good businessman … but I was happy and paid quickly. Some of the others bought a Gorilla, too … I think I might have been contagious …
The trail led us back through the Banana, Tea and Coffee plantations and through the village – it was the same way we had come up a few hours before.
Not only the wood carvers were enterprising … the village children were as well … Just a little further down they had lined up to offer their drawings for sale … Gorillas in all colours and sizes drawn on paper, postcards, cardboard … I had a look while walking by, but I think some of my fellow travelers bought something from them. I am always reluctant to buy from children … I believe they should rather be in school at this time … only at the moment there was no school due to the circumstances …
We reached the Church at the trailhead by 12:00 and our Matovu was really surprised to see us already back. We said farewell to our porters and paid them – it all turned into a regular photo session … I did not want a photo … I did not feel photogenic today … but I acted as designated photographer for the others … Ms Ping needed photos with the armed guards and their guns – she is a member of the local shooting club at home. And Ree wanted photos with her porter and the guards … so I was busy … My mind was still with the Gorillas and I never though about taking a photo here at all …
I found an post-Gorilla-trek group photo from 2002, though. Same spot 19 years before … and believe it or not … my trusted blue jacket had been brand new back then! I had bought it especially for my Africa Tour 2002! It had been well used over the 2 decades and seen half the world … and it is still alive … well-worn … but still in service!
Once everybody had taken their photos and we had all piled in the car, Matovu drove us back to the Park Headquarters. We were the first of the 4 groups to return today. There we got the farewell talk from our guide Maddy and he also presented us with out Gorilla Tracking Certificates – a nice souvenir. We also had to bid farewell to our armed guards and to Maddy – again I was elected to hand over our generous donations … they had all made this day outstanding and deserved our gratitude.
Matovu took us to Buhoma Village only a couple of hundred meters away. Buhoma was the only trailhead for Gorilla tracking from 1993 until 2004 and it had been no real village when I had been here in 2002. Despite the opening of 3 other Gorilla tracking trailheads since then, Buhoma remains the park’s busiest tourist focus, partly perhaps as a matter of convention. A large selection of upmarket lodges and the nowadays relative easy access from Kampala in combination with the 32 daily tracking permits available here make it the preferred base for tourists. On the main road close to the Park Headquaters a cluster of general stores and souvenir shops offering local handicrafts had sprung up and were forming a sort of village center.
We went to Bwindi Bar to have our packed lunch at their porch. I well deserved my cold Nile Special today! Bwindi Bar was right in the center of the main street. Our lunch boxes were the usual … I had only taken some of it out this morning and packed it in my backpack. The others had done the same and we had left the rest in the car.
A bunch of kids was hanging around in front of the bar watching us sitting there. They even were posing for us … but only a little bit … soon they were running off giggling.
What else could be done after lunch but shopping! This was the first real opportunity to browse for souvenirs and we took it … at least some of us … HD and Bud decided to relax in the bar and people watch. I cannot remember … but I am pretty sure when I was here in 2002 there were no souvenir shops, nobody selling Gorillas … but I probably would not have bought anything anyway, since I had been on a 2 months tour with Uganda being my first stop …
They were selling the same style Gorillas here everywhere … of course they had also Gorilla key chains, Gorilla paintings, Gorilla fridge magnets … it was Gorillas Gorillas Gorillas … what else … maybe some Giraffes and Hippos … just a few … The shop keepers were truly happy to have customers and every single one waved us in … Come look my shop! … Look here! … Yeah, I am looking! … But I have Gorillas already … I still bought a couple of Gorilla fridge magnets without much bargaining for US$ 5 for both …
We were all browsing in different shops … at one point I lost them all … but then one of the shopkeepers called me – Your friend is here! Come! – Which friend? – Just come look! … Well, it was Ms Ping and she had been lured in to look at beautifully carved walking sticks … Oh, they looked cool! But how could we get them home? – They are collapsable and packed pretty small to go in your luggage! – How much are they? – US$20! … the shopkeeper told me – And if we buy one each it is US$ 30 for 2? – Yes OK! … Ms Ping looked at me dumbfounded and said in German – But I had him down to 15 already for one! – Oh! – Boss, really? You offered it to her for US$ 15? That is not a good deal for me! … We haggled a bit, but he would not budge from the US$ 15 for one already … which was probably a good price anyway for the handiwork … In the end he gave us each a nice medium sized carved Gorilla additionally to the walking stick … now I had 5 Gorillas … a whole family! … What I was going to do with the walking stick, though … I was not sure. At least Ms Ping had bought it on purpose for her son … I just bought it because I liked it … Now it has found its new place between the Buddhas and souvenirs in my room at home …
We were obviously spending too much time shopping, because Matovu and the others already backed up the car to where we were … they were ready to go. Quickly we finished our business and hopped in. The next point on today’s agenda was a visit at a community project. It was only a good kilometer down the road and Matovu parked the car by the roadside. Bud surrendered when he saw the steep downhill road we had to walk … he took the lesser misery and headed the approx 500 m back to our lodge instead. The rest of us walked downhill for a couple hundred meters.
Marching down the road Matovu asked into the round if somebody wanted a massage when we returned to the lodge … I did not hear exactly what he said … I only caught the word Massage! … I did not have to think twice … Me! … He turned around and looked at me questionably – You want a massage? – Yes, was that not what you were asking? Where do I have to sign up? … It is US$ 40 for one hour! – So? Yes, I want one! It is a bargain! … The others looked baffled … a Massage? … But Ms Ping decided to have one as well. – What time do you want it? – What time do we get back to the lodge? – Well, we should be back before 16:00. So you can have your massage at 16:00 and Ms Ping at 17:00. Is that OK? – Absolutely fine with me, as long as I get a massage! I sure need one after this day! …
A red-flowering tree caught my eye – We had seen it before, but never close enough. Here it was right next to the road, but against the light … Well … The tree is locally known as Flame Tree, but also Red-Hot Poker Tree or Lucky Bean Tree – Erythrina Abyssinica. This tree is indigenous to the Gorilla Highlands and to East Africa as well as southern Africa up to 2000 m above sea level. It grows to 6-12m, with thick branches coming out of a short trunk. A Flame Tree can be utilised for demarcating boundaries. Nevertheless it is perceived as a relatively useless tree, so it is a cheap option for firewood. The strikingly red flowers were already appreciated as decoration inside ancient people’s huts. But the thorns on its branches and trunk were as remarkable – there is a proverb saying that “the one who wants to shed blood climbs a flame tree”, meaning that one can always create problems to him/herself. Warring clans would even use thorny stems as weapons.
The people at the Community Initiative were already expecting and waiting for us. It was the Community Initiatives for Biodiversity Conservation (CIBIC) – www.bwindicommunityinitiatives.org – a non-profit community-based organisation working to bring harmony between man and nature in mainly Batwa communities around Bwindi Impenetrable National Park.
We were welcomed by the director himself – his name was John Bosco. He gave us an overview of what they do. Matovu had disappeared for a moment and Mr Bosco did not want to start without the translator … none of us wanted too wait … everybody really understands English anyway … I was elected to translate in case … but I was so drained today already … I could not concentrate. Anyway, I am not a translator … I understand and if I know what somebody is talking about I can make my own story around it … But since I did not know what eactly the subject was here … I could not … Luckily Matovu returned and took over.
The Batwa of Uganda were forest dwellers who lived by gathering and hunting as their main source of food. The dense forests at the foot of the Virunga Mountains was for more than 4000 years home to them – fierce warriors who depended on the forest for shelter, food and medicine. In 1991, the lives of the Batwa Pygmies changed forever. The Bwindi Impenetrable Forest became a national park and a UNESCO World Heritage Site to protect the endangered Mountain Gorillas within its boundaries. The Batwa were evicted from the park. Most of them now live on the periphery of their ancestral forestlands. Since they had no title to the land, they were given no compensation. They became conservation refugees in an unfamiliar, unforested world. Poverty, drugs and alcohol abuse were rampant, as well as a lack of education facilities, HIV as well as gender-based violence and discrimination were high among Batwa communities.
NGOs like this one aim to improve the livelihoods of Batwa Pygmies, less fortunate women, youth, and reformed poachers in the areas neighboring the protected area, through demonstrating, training and supporting them to build and own small scale sustainable organic agricultural enterprises for food and income, meaning they no longer have to go poaching or encroach on parkland, which for many people is the only way of earning money. This is by far the best way to protect the national park – working with people, not against them.
Understanding the many threats to biodiversity and climate is the first step towards protecting the forest and saving the Gorillas. Giving local people knowledge of climate and environmental issues is the foundation of social transformation. This is how to build a future. Protecting the many habitats starts with helping local people most in need to survive by other means than poaching or living off the forest. Since traditionally they are farmers and food gatherers, improving their agricultural practices, land usage, technologies and market access can actually save people’s lives, mitigate climate change and impact conservation. In this programm here mainly women are taught different skills to make a living – they have a fish hatchery here, the teach how to grow mushrooms, sustainable landuse, Bee keeping, goat rearing and such. Their produce was not only sold to tourist lodges. They had also a dance group – and now they were dancing for us.
The women sang of the Batwa that used to live in the forest under grass huts, but now they live near the streets under tin roofs. In every song, the forest is mentioned because that is where they made their livelihood. Curiously, some of the Batwa women seems quite comfortable singing and dancing with a child strapped on their back. Seemingly every Batwa child literally grows up surrounded by music as their mothers sing and dance, stomping their feet on the ground in rhythmic fashion. Music and dance is like a cultural bridge between the past and the future of these people. Hopefully the musical heritage of the Batwa will never fade into oblivion.
A Batwa dance group performs regularly for the local community drawing huge crowds not only of children to watch. This is a very important activity as it works to integrate the Batwa with the local communities, who since their eviction from the forest have been reticent to share their precious land. I remember one of those performances in 2002. I was hanging out in the garden of the guesthouse, when I heard drumming and singing and went to investigate. There had been quite a gathering just across the street … no tourists … just locals and the musicians and dancers had been quite in their element. It had been spectacular.
While watching the dancers today I accidentally dropped my big camera … I was filming with the small camera and usually I have the big camera hanging around my neck or otherwise secured … only at this moment for some reason I did not and when I stood up … bang … it landed lens first on the floor … luckily it was only a short drop and only the UV filter cracked completely. The lens and camera were totally fine elseways. Unfortunately – as usual – the filter was jammed on the lens and I could not get it off. Even with the quickly acquired pliers it did not come off … At the lodge I just operated the cracked filter glass out and left the ring on … my brother-in-law removed the ring later at home with brute force … I can report the camera is still intact and a new filter is jammed on again!
Mushroom cultivation was one of the skills they taught the women here and it is undoubtedly the cheapest agricultural enterprise to start and maintain. Farmers and families with limited land and other resources find it profitable to generate sustainable income from the cultivation of Mushrooms. Mushrooms can be grown at very low cost and in a relatively short time. It is a practice that can be adopted by small-scale farmers and women to diversify their income during the dry season, when lack of water may challenge the cultivation of other crops and reduce their vulnerability to adverse weather. Indeed, Mushroom production is done indoor and it requires little amounts of water compared to other crops. Mushroom spawns can be bought from specialized producers at local markets.
We had the opportunity to look into one of the Oyster Mushroom cultivation huts. Easily available agricultural waste – e.g. from sorghum, millet, beans, peas, wheat, maize etc. – or cotton waste can be used as a substrate to grow Oyster Mushrooms. It is soaked for 3 days and then heaped for fermentation for 4-6 days in a closed container. After the fermentation process, the agricultural waste is sterilized through boiling in closed pots for 12 hrs in order to eliminate unwanted organisms and bacteria. After cooling, approx 5 kg of it is filled in small polyethylene plastic bags to serve as a substrate which is inoculated with approx 250 g of Mushroom spawns – this is now called a garden.
Following the inoculation process, the Mushroom bags are hung in locally built – brick or mud walls and thatched roof – darkened Mushroom houses for incubation. The ideal humidity of the incubation room is 70-75 %. Each room can host up to 300 gardens. I found it very interesting …
The Mushrooms start sprouting after about 28-35 days from inoculation. Each Mushroom garden – e.g. plastic bag of 5 kg of substrate – yields a minimum of 2 kg of fresh Oyster Mushrooms. It can be used for 3 harvests and then it is recycled as organic mulch or fertilizer. Harvested mushrooms can be sold fresh or dried providing an additional income source to farmers and strengthens food security of the most vulnerable rural households.
By now we were all ready to head back to the lodge. It had been an exceptionally awesome day, but I was ready for a shower, another cold Nile Special and my massage! We waved the women and children farewell and started the trek up the steep drive way back to the car.
When climbed the hill and reached the car, Ree and Dr D decided to hike back to the lodge as well. Ms Ping, HD and me let Matovu drive us. He had to go quite a bit down the road to turn the car before we headed back to the lodge. I was in a hurry … my massage was waiting!
Back at the lodge around 15:30, I had just enough time to take a shower and wash the dust and sweat of our Gorilla adventure off, when at 16:00 sharp the manager himself brought the massage lady to my cottage. They did not have a designated Spa in the lodge, so the bed was the massage table … which was fine with me. Rules conform, the lady and I were wearing our masks … I chose the African Rungu Massage. I was not sure what that would involve, but I am always for trying new things … It turned out to be an Oil Massage similar to an Ayurveda Massage, but with the difference that the therapist used a traditional Rungu – a curved wooden tool. It was looking like a shorter version of a Knobkerrie – a form of club used mainly in Eastern Africa – typically with a large knob at one end and used for throwing at animals in hunting or for clubbing an enemy on the head. It is generally associated with Maasai male warriors – who for centuries have used it in warfare and for hunting. Its origin is deeply rooted in East Africa.
The Rungu for Massages is carved out of natural Eucalyptus wood, is heavy enough for the therapist to apply deep pressure with far less effort and has a round smooth ball on each side – one side was slightly larger than the other. The shaft is used for effleurages and circular movements on larger areas, the larger knob on bigger muscles and the small knob to get into smaller spaces along the spine. The purpose of the Rungu tool is to assist the therapist to apply more pressure and work out the trigger points, hard muscles or to relieve tension and pain. It aids regeneration by increasing blood circulation and reducing tight nodes. The smooth texture, solid feel and different surfaces of the Rungu tool are ideal for Deep Tissue Massages – without the Massage therapist using their own energy to achieve optimum results. I have to say – it was one of the best Deep Tissue Massages I ever had! I was in heaven! Before I had been drained and fatigue after the exciting day … what better tool could there have been than a traditional African fighting weapon to conquer that! Now I was so relaxed! My limbs were liquid.
The 1 hr was over too fast and I was hardly capable of paying her … but I had already prepared the US$ 40 and a generous tip in advance. She deserved it. Lucky I was that the shower water was still hot … I had to wash some of the amply applied oil off. All relaxed and happy I sauntered over to the bar and got myself a Nile Special. Then I sat on my porch admiring my Gorilla family and Gorilla Tracking Certificate. What a day it had been!
Dinner time was a 19:00 today and that incredible day called for a G & T … What was for dinner? … I forgot … My head was still spinning with today’s awesome adventures. I had not even had the energy to sort through the photos … I had just taken a quick look … We were all still chatting away about the Gorilla encounter. Ree was worried, she might have lost all the photos to a faulty SD card, but we all assured her about available recovery software … HD had the cottage the furthest down by the river and the hot water had never reached his shower … Ms Ping was missing her facebook connection, it was still blocked here and she did not have VPN … I tried to charge the mobile phones at the power station in the bar … it did not really work today either … Good thing my power banks had still a bit of juice left. It would last until tomorrow, when at least the mobile phones could be charged in the car.
Early after dinner I went back to my cottage taking a cold tonic with me for another celebratory V & T while I would actually look at some of the photos and post them for the family at home. Upload was slow today, but it worked in the end. I also had to put some notes in the journal before I turned the light off to sleep … I would pack in the morning … I also needed to organize some newspaper to properly pack my wooden Gorilla family … I had written a couple more postcards, so a post office would be good … Those Gorillas had been magnificent today …
17.02.2021
ca. 140 km Engagi Lodge Buhoma – Mutanda Lake Resort
Despite having been awake long last night processing my Gorilla impressions, I was up early today. There was no power cut this morning, so I started to pack. 06:30 my wake-up Tea & Cookies were served at my porch. I had almost finished packing by then, so I could enjoy the fresh morning air and the forest sounds.
We were leaving Bwindi Impenetrable National Park today to go to Lake Mutanda and Mgahinga Gorilla National Park. Originally the tour was supposed to continue into Rwanda with another option for Gorilla tracking there and then end in Kigali – however, due to the current situation, crossing the border would have been considerably difficult, but not impossible. However, the Gorilla tracking permits in Volcanoes National Park Rwanda are US$ 1500 per person and not discounted. Therefore the tour had been changed – well before I even thought about booking it – to instead giving a second Gorilla tracking option in Mgahinga and end in Entebbe again. That made sense – in Mgahinga Gorilla National Park the permits were discounted form the regular US$ 700 – still cheaper than Rwanda – to US$ 400 only like in BINP. Even though Rwanda was essentially open to tourists … it was not worth the effort. I guess, the few people who traveled nowadays were all going to Uganda to see the Gorillas using the considerable financial advantage.
Breakfast was at 07:00 and I had the usual juice, fruits and cheese omlette … 08:00 we were off. Mutanda Lake Resort was only approx 25 km away … as the crow flies … but Buhoma was the end of the road. Since the northwestern corner of Bwindi Impenetrable National Park was bordering the Democratic Republic of the Congo and no road was crossing the national park on the western flank, we had to take the road around the eastern side … it added up to approx 140 km … on a – at times – rather bumpy gravel track …
