Is Mountain Gorilla Trekking in Uganda Safe?

Mountain gorilla trekking is one of the most thrilling wildlife experiences to cherish in Africa and safety has always been a serious concern for most travelers. The intimidating size/appearance of mountain gorillas combined with the perceived insecurity of most African countries discourage intending gorilla trekkers but worry not because the activity is totally safe.

It would interest you to know that a number of strict safety measures/precautions are put in place to ensure the safety of both mountain gorillas and visitors, in addition to the field guides accompanying trekkers on gorilla treks being real experts with several years’ experience in leading tourists through gorilla treks. For this reason, they know so much about these endangered Giant Apes and their thrilling behavior than anyone else on Earth.

At the extreme south-western corner of Uganda, the verdant Bwindi Impenetrable Forest and Mgahinga Gorilla National Park are havens to the highest concentration of endangered mountain gorillas in the wild. There are only about 1063 or so of these beautiful creatures left in the wild today and more than half of them live in the two amazing parks of this country. Getting the chance to trek the Giant Apes in Uganda is undeniably a once-in-a-lifetime experience and interestingly, a number of guidelines are taken/followed to ensure the safety of both mountain gorillas and visitors.

Gorilla treks are done with expert field guides, who have surprisingly been doing this activity for decades and therefore are conversant with the forest like the back of their hands. As tourists walk through the dense forest, the main reason is to find clues left behind by the mountain gorillas and this lasts 1-4 hours, although sometimes take as short as half an hour or as long as 6 hours to finally reach the allocated gorilla group. The good news is that it is rare to leave the jungles without meeting these incredibly gentle and iconic creatures.

On the issue of safety, while trekking mountain gorillas, a minimum distance of 7 meters is recommended from the mountain gorillas in addition to critically following a set of rules and regulations as issued by Ranger guides during a briefing (before entering the jungle) thus making gorilla trekking very safe.

While the mountain gorillas have huge sizes and are incredibly strong (with the capability of lifting objects twice their weight), they are surprisingly gentle, peaceful, calm, and not aggressive creatures as they are portrayed in films such as King Kong. Anyone who has ever encountered silverbacks fighting will agree that they are strong but keep in mind that are the first fully habituated (for 2-3 years) to make them accustomed to human presence thus cases of aggressiveness are minimal. Somebody languages such as avoiding direct eye contact as well as maintaining a reasonable distance are fundamental in making these creatures comfortable or less threatened with you in their presence.

Another assurance that gorilla trekking is safe is the fact that experienced Ranger guides are responsible for leading visitors through the jungles and they interestingly know how to calm them down in case they charge in addition to guiding you through some of the comfortable body languages that don’t threaten the mountain gorillas. These among others include not looking directly into the eyes of mountain gorillas, being submissive when they charge, keeping voices at the very minimum, not using flash cameras, and sitting or crouching when observing them.

Outside gorilla treks, Ranger guides are well trained and fully armed while taking visitors through gorilla treks, hence can fire guns in the air in case of encounters with other animals such as forest buffaloes, forest elephants, and many others without necessarily harming them.

While we all worry about how safety during gorilla trekking, have you ever wondered how these gentle and defenseless creatures are threatened by humans? First, the Gorilla National Parks in Uganda was for years been disturbed by rebel elements. Nonetheless, there have not been any recorded incidences for the last two decades and also, the Government of Uganda through Tourism Police, UWA Park Rangers, and UPDF conduct patrols around the Park in addition to the surrounding local communities being vigilant. Littering of Parks with rubbish and food particles also affects the natural appearance of gorilla natural habitats, Also, local communities have continuously hunted for gorillas and encroached into their natural habitats. All these negatively affect the survival of Giant Apes.