Gorilla Trekking Uganda, Rwanda & Congo – Combine Gorillas & Kilimanjaro Trekking Tours.

If your planning gorilla trekking in Africa ( Uganda & Rwanda ) on a combined expedition to summit Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania which is a unique experience that can be guaranteed if the trip is handled by Kilimanjaro Trekking the leading operators that have been offering Africa Safaris under the name of Primate Safari Experiences.

If your interested in gorilla trekking , Chimpanzee watching & Kilimanjaro Trek , select on the packages below for ultimate Safari experience in the wilderness of Africa.

Mountain Gorillas in Rwanda, Uganda and Congo- Gorilla Safaris

The mountain gorillas are found at high altitudes in montane forests as well as bamboo forests. Most people want to track mountain gorillas and there’s much debate as to which country offers the best mountain gorilla safari. Mountain gorillas only live in the dense vegetation of Uganda’s Bwindi Impenetrable Forest & Mgahinga National Park and along the dormant volcanic Virunga Mountain range that stretches across Rwanda’s Volcanoes National Park, Uganda and Democratic Republic of the Congo. Some primatologists believe that Bwindi gorillas may be a separate subspecies.

What Mountain Gorillas Eat?

Their favorite food appears to be bamboo, but mountain gorillas also eat many other types of plants. Due to their habitat, fruit is rare and makes up a very small portion of their diet. These gorillas also hunt for ants, grubs and snails. They can eat all day long, Mountain gorillas spend about a quarter of their day eating.

Live in families or Gorilla Groups

Mountain gorillas live in different families with each gorilla belonging to a certain family is highly attached to that family. It is very interesting that even if the two or three families meet and mix, every gorilla goes back to her/his own family at the time of departure. A dominant silver back leads a family and the entire family consists of about 10-30 members. All year round, only 8 People are allowed to visit a single gorilla family.

There is an overlap in group territories and the silver back defends his group rather than his territory. Both males and females in the group care for their infants, hugging, carrying and playing with them. When they get older, most males and around 60% of females then leave their birth group to join another troop. This helps prevent inbreeding.

Reproduction

The reproduction in mountain gorillas is quite slow compared to other wild animals. The female mountain gorillas give their first birth at 10 years and the gestation period is 8.5 months after which one baby gorilla is born. It is not very common mountain gorillas giving birth to twins. Anew born baby gorilla is very tiny weighing approximately 1.8kgs but keeps on growing to measure about 180kgs when it becomes mature.

How to differentiate mountain gorilla’s female and male?

When gorillas are young (up to about 8 years), it is difficult to tell males and females apart as they are roughly the same size. The one guaranteed way to determine sex in a younger individual is to look at their genitals.  However, at maturity, gorillas are sexually dimorphic, meaning males and females have different physical characteristics making them easily identifiable. Adult male gorillas, or silverbacks, will be close to twice the size of the females, have silver hair on their back, and have large bumps on the top of their heads called sagittal crests.

When is the best time to go for mountain gorilla trekking in Africa?

Mountain Gorilla trekking or safari is a year-round activity in Uganda, Rwanda and the DRC. Peak season is July and August, with “long rains” from March to May and “short rains” in November.

Dry season from June to September, mid-December to early February, Rain Season from March to May and from August to November

In conclusion therefore, mountain gorillas are very interesting animals to interact with. Each member in the family plays a different role, which resemble a real human family.

EASTERN LOWLAND GORILLAS

Grauer’s gorilla, also known as the eastern lowland gorilla, is found only in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). The eastern lowland gorilla also known as Grauer’s gorilla is the largest of the four gorilla subspecies. The eastern lowland gorilla occurs in the lowland and Albertine Rift montane forests of eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). Until the mid-1990s, the population was thought to number around 17,000 individuals. But the latest survey found that numbers had crashed to less than 4,000.

What do they eat?

They eat every part of the plant, including roots, leaves, fruit, stems, flowers, bark, and even fungi (e.g. mushrooms). They will eat smaller ground plants and vines as well as foraging in the trees. This species will sometimes eat insects, but for the most part they are herbivores.

Eastern Gorilla groups

Eastern lowland gorillas are highly sociable and very peaceful, living in groups of two to over 30. A group usually consists of one silverback, several females and their offspring. Silverbacks are strong and each group has one dominant leader (see alpha male). These males protect their group from danger.

Reproduction

Adult female gorillas give birth to one baby about every 4 years although a surviving infant is produced only every 6 to 8 years due to high infant mortality in the first 3 years of life. A baby gorilla is born weighing 1.8 to 2 kilograms (4 to 4.4 pounds) after a gestation period of 251 to 295 days.

How to differentiate eastern lowland gorillas female and male?

Adult male gorillas, or silverbacks, will be close to twice the size of the females, have silver hair on their back, and have large bumps on the top of their heads called sagittal crests. Even with these indicators, it sometimes may be hard to tell young males and adult females apart.