A mother gorilla and its young in Bwindi Forest

A New-Born Mountain Gorilla in Uganda

On 11th November 2016, Baby Mountain Gorilla in Uganda was born. The Population of Mountain Gorillas in Uganda grew by one member when a baby was born in Bwindi Impenetrable National Park. Bwindi, a park found in south western Uganda is a home to half the population of Mountain Gorillas and at the same time a World Heritage Site recognized by UNESCO.

According to a Uganda Wildlife Authority (UWA) tracker, a mother gorilla one, Businza gave birth in the morning and was spotted later in the day. Businza is a member of the Rushegura mountain gorilla group that originally belonged to Habinyanza family which she left in 2000.

On a daily basis, UWA plays a monitoring role of all the habituated gorillas to make sure they all in good health and safe.

Speaking with happiness on the latest birth, one of the three births incidents in a period of 90 days, UWA Executive Director, Andrew Seguya said the constant and continued conservation efforts to ensure the survival of endangered mountain gorillas was paying off.

“In over a decade now, Uganda has been a major player in the mountain gorilla conservation. We are hopeful that the untouched and safe habitat is the key avenue in the survival of the gorillas in Uganda plus their health and well being,” Seguya said.

Uganda has only two parks where gorillas are found, Bwindi Impenetrable National Park and Mgahinga National Park. Bwindi forest has almost of the world’s mountain gorilla population estimated to be around 880 in number. Rwanda and Democratic Republic of Congo also have gorillas at Volcanoes National Park and Virunga National Park respectively.

Gorilla trekking especially that done in Bwindi is Uganda’s major tourism earner followed by activities in other national Parks.

Mountain Gorillas are popularly known as endangered species (at high risk of extinction), meaning the news of a a baby in Bwindi is a development good for increase and survival of gorilla populations.