I’ve wanted to see the mountain gorillas for as long as I can remember. 

As I talked about previously, Glenn and I decided to take separate vacations this year because we had different travel priorities. While walking the Camino de Santiago was atop Glenn’s bucket list, seeing the mountain gorillas was #1 on mine. Both were physically strenuous activities that we wanted to tackle while our bodies were still able, so we decided this was the year to make them happen. 

I watched a lot of Mutual of Omaha’s Wild Kingdom when I was young, and I think as a result I’m quite drawn to the idea of seeing wild animals up close. The bigger and the more dangerous, the better. It seems like only yesterday I’d settle in on a Sunday night to watch a new episode with the familiar refrain of Marlin Perkins’ narration in my head.   

Listed as “critically endangered” until very recently, there is only one region in the entire world you can see mountain gorillas – high in the Virunga Mountains (8,000-10,000 feet) of Rwanda, Uganda and the Democratic Republic of Congo, as well as in the Bwindi Impenetrable National Park a little further north in Uganda. 

Think about it…the entirety of the tiny population of these magnificent animals can only be found in just two itty-bitty, very fragile “islands” of mountain forests surrounded by humans and all of the devastating impacts we bring with us.  

In 1981 there were estimated to be about 240 mountain gorillas left in the world. After decades of intensive conservation efforts (much of which was spurred by Dian Fossey’s research and advocacy), their numbers have climbed and are now estimated to be over 1,000.

They are still endangered (which means at a high risk for going extinct) and the robust conservation activities must continue because they still face many threats including disease, limited habitat and climate change, not to mention human pressures such as political unrest, getting caught in poaching snares set for other animals, and habitat destruction as locals seek to gather much needed firewood for cooking or to clear land for agriculture. 

Tourism is critical to the ongoing conservation efforts.

“Gorilla trekking,” as it is called, is a vital fund-raising tool. For example, I read one article that said that in Uganda, gorilla tourism contributes approximately 80% of the national wildlife authority’s overall budget. The World Wildlife Fund estimates that each gorilla brings in $1 million in revenue each year for Uganda. Some of these revenues reportedly go to the communities that live adjacent to the gorillas in an effort to ensure these families see direct benefits from the conservation efforts.

Tourism dollars pay much of the costs associated with gorilla conservation, including regular security patrols in the parks to guard against poaching and habitat destruction. Needless to say, gorillas have become a valuable commodity – which in turn shores up support for ongoing conservation measures. It’s not a perfect system, and it certainly has its downsides, but it does represent one of the best examples in the world of the successful conservation of a nearly extinct species. 

Tourists, such as myself, fork-over anywhere from $600 (Uganda) to $1,500 (Rwanda) to obtain one of the limited numbers of permits to visit the gorillas. Each permit offers you one hour with the mountain gorillas in a group of up to 8 people. There are many gorilla families that tourists can visit (at least 19 in Uganda alone), which translates into over 140 gorilla permits available every day. I’ll let you do the math. In addition to the money tourists spend on the permits, they are also spending money for local lodging, meals, guides, porters, tips, souvenirs, etc.

I’m not sure what I was really expecting the experience of seeing the mountain gorillas to be like, but it is safe to say the reality was somewhat different than what I had imagined. 

Gorillas are remarkably human-like (sharing 98% of our same DNA). I naively thought that maybe I’d make eye contact with a gorilla…and we’d peer deeply into each others soul in some sort of mutual exchange or acknowledgement of our shared fate. 

Instead, the gorillas largely ignored me. 

Which was heartening on one hand because it meant the gorillas were completely unperturbed by our presence. On the other hand, it was a little disappointing because it meant the experience took on a strangely superficial quality. The lack of interaction made it almost like watching a really high-fidelity 3D movie (complete with sounds and smells), instead of being there in person. It was still an awe-inspiring experience…but it was different than what I had envisioned in my head going into it.  

In order for this system of intense conservation funded by tourism dollars to work, you have to reliably be able to get tourists in close proximity to the gorillas. To do this they “habitualize” some of the nearby gorilla families. This is a process of getting the gorillas comfortable with humans by having people (park rangers, trackers and at times tourists) hang out with them for about 4 hours a day, every day, for 2-plus years. 

Eventually, the gorillas become quite comfortable with humans being around them. They come to know the guides, park rangers and trackers, and trust them to bring a new group of tourists into close proximity (about 20 feet) to them every day, for an hour. About half of the gorilla families in the Bwindi Impenetrable National Park have been habitualized (I’m not sure what the rate is for the other parks where gorillas can be visited, but I’m guessing it might be similar).

For me, seeing the gorillas was a once in a lifetime experience. For the gorillas, seeing me was nothing of consequence.

In the end, even though the experience wasn’t as…intense? interactive? intimate? (I don’t know what word I’m looking for)…as what I had been imagining, I’m glad to know that the gorillas seem to be largely unaffected by their contact with tourists. It made me feel a bit better about the role I played in whole situation.

It seems that ‘responsible tourism’ (if that is, indeed, what I was engaged in) is a necessary evil to ensure that this precious species survives, and hopefully thrives, well in to the future. I am exceedingly grateful to have had the opportunity to spend some time in their presence.

I traveled to Uganda with my dear friend John.

We visited the Bushaho family group of gorillas in the Bwindi Impenetrable National Park.

The Bushaho gorilla family has about 13 members, including Bahati the silverback (his name means “Lucky One” in Swahili) and a new little 3-month old baby that has yet to be named.

A few experiences really stand out from my time with the mountain gorillas.

The first most notable experience was the hike getting to them, which was no joke.

While the terrain varies depending on where you visit them, the gorillas are wild and have free range to roam where they please. On a daily basis they move into new areas in order to find enough food (a 500 pound silverback will eat about 50 pounds of leaves and vegetation a day!) This means that getting to them can involve trekking off the beaten path.

More than that, however, the Bushaho family group required that we hike from the top of one ridge, down to the bottom of the valley on a trail that was exceedingly steep. The hike down took a little over two hours, and the hike back out took 3.5 hours. The fact that I hadn’t really exercised in several weeks, and that we were at an elevation of about 8,000 feet, didn’t help.

The gentleman in front of me in the photo above was Robert, my porter. For $20 (including tip) he was happy to carry my purple daypack, as well as assist me down – and up – some of the trickier parts of the trail. Although I certainly could have done these things on my own, hiring porters is an important way to directly financially support the local community. I’m not too proud to admit that I was more than a little grateful for his helping hand on multiple occasions.

The second most notable experience was watching the gorillas climb trees.

I never realized how often mountain gorillas climb into the trees. I guess I just figured they were too large to do such things. Toward the end of the second day we spent with the gorillas the silverback, Bahati, ordered everyone up into a tree. By the time we departed, nearly the entire family of 13 huge gorillas, including Bahati himself, were perched up in one single enormous tree. It was an impressive sight.

The third most notable experience was watching Bahati, the silverback, pull down a tree…just because he could.

The fourth most notable (and by far the cutest) experience was getting to see a 3-month old baby gorilla.

More photos and a video compilation of our amazing visit to see the mountain gorillas below…