KISORO, UGANDA: The Uganda Wildlife Authority and tourism stakeholders are in celebratory mode following the birth of two mountain gorillas in Bwindi Impenetrable National Park in Kisoro district, southwestern Uganda.
The exciting development was Thursday announced by the acting warden for the Bwindi Mgahinga conservation area, Mr Dickson Katana who said the first baby gorilla belongs to the Rushegura group, while the second is from the Mukiza family.
“The birth of the mountain gorillas was registered among the Rushegura family in the Buhoma area in Kanungu district where Kibande gave birth to a bouncing baby on Wednesday. The second birth was registered among the Mukiza family in the Ruhija area in Rubanda District where Mugyenyi also gave birth to a bouncing baby on the same day,” said Mr Katana, adding that the sex of the babies is not yet established as the mothers are still carefully protecting them.
According to Mr Katana, the gorillas in the Kibande group have now increased to 17 while those of Mukiza have increased to 20 with the new births registered.
He attributed the gorilla multiplication in the Bwindi Mgahinga conservation area to modern conservation methods that save them from being stressed by tourists and ensure that they remain healthy in their habitat.
“Because of limited interaction with the people during the Covid-19 lockdown, we recorded 22 births of mountain gorillas in Bwindi and Mgahinga conservation area. The total population of the mountain gorillas in this area is now about 500, which is slightly more than half of the total population in the whole world,” Mr Katana said.
Mr Ivan Mbabazi Batuma who is the chairman of the Kigezi tourism cluster says the gorilla multiplication in the area is a positive trend of the Uganda Wildlife Authority and the communities living around the parks.
The tourism stakeholders are already celebrating the news of the gorilla births saying the multiplication of mountain gorillas in Uganda strengthens the tourism industry.
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