Chances of Seeing Gorillas in Uganda, Rwanda, and Congo

Wild mountain gorillas can only be found in three countries around the whole worldwide and in four national parks which lie on the northern slopes of the three Virunga volcanoes each country protecting their jealousy. These apes are found in Uganda,Bwindi, and Maghinga forest park with 50%of the overall population of these primates and can still be found in Virunga national park in the democratic republic of Congo and lastly in the volcanoes national park as well in Rwanda. With the mountain gorillas being endangered and tremendously fun to watch these gentle giants have been able to meet a lot of visitors hearts from all over the world to come to see and discover their beauty in Africa and as of now 2022, it is the most famous activity among the people who travel to east Africa, recommended to be fun, thrilling and unforgettable to those who have experienced it.

gorillas in Uganda

For every tourist/visitor coming to visit any of the above national parks in East Africa, it is very normal to ask yourself the percentage of seeing these gentle giants. Well in regards to this the chances of seeing these primates in any of the countries mentioned would be 98.8% we don’t say 100% because of the laws of nature, but to every tourist that has purchased a gorilla trekking permit rest assured that you will see the wild mountain gorillas so the chances are indeed very high comparing to the overall cost of gorilla trekking as a single activity. You must be very unlucky not to see wild gorillas on your safari to any of the 4parks in east Africa. The reason why the chances of not seeing the wild mountain gorillas in Uganda/Rwanda and Congo are almost impossible are as follows.

On very rear occasions will a visitor not get a chance to see these gentle giants in the four parks in east Africa because the visitors are allocated to a gorilla group to trek during the early morning briefing at the park’s headquarters, as for those who don’t know the mountain gorilla live in distinct family groups in different sectors or parts of the forest with some living in the highly forested areas and some others other will go as far as at high mountains elevations which may make trekking hard and difficult at times. One single-family is dominated by the male silver-back who dictates whatever the other members follow. As you wondering why this could be of advantage to your chances of meeting up close to the mountain gorillas, this could answer your question. Through allocating different groups of 6 or 8 to trek a gorilla family, the goal is usually that they would wish to satisfy everyone who is there to watch or see the mountain gorillas from the weak/elderly to those having health problems will go for those close to the starting point and for the youth, young and energetic, as well as fit, would trek those gorilla families far from the start. This is done to ensure that everyone enjoys the chance of seeing these giants.

mountain gorillas

The second reason to this assurance is that the visitors trek only the habituated gorilla families, gorilla habituation is the process of slowly introducing the wild mountain gorillas to the presence of humans around them this is done to prepare them for trackers, researchers, and visitors. In this case different gorilla group behaviors are studied and this process takes about 3 years to complete. Before the broad daylight an advanced group of expert animal trackers are sent to locate the location of the apes , these behind the scene trekkers then communicate to the headquarters to send the tourists to see the gorillas so they increase the chances of seeing the gorillas because if the tourists are left to track the gorillas in the wild would fail to find them since they are mobile in there movement in search of food and fruits. You are given 1hr with the primates once they are found for an up close view with the apes for photos ,videos and see how they keep surviving in these dense forests.

please note that there are very few cases that a visitor can’t see the primates may be in case of rebel presence in the national park but these were flashed out of the forests since they were used as there fighting bases and it’s advisable to not visit the gorillas with human sickness such as flue because they can catch the gorillas too and this in most cases end up killing the gorillas , so once your found to be sick you could re- schedule your trekking date free of charge such that you prevent the transmission to the gorillas because it could cause a whole group of the mountain gorillas to fall seriously ill and die.