Trekking mountain gorillas in their natural habitat
is undeniably a wonderful, breathtaking and unforgettable experience. Coming
face to face with these humble giants of the jungle and getting to witness
their human-like characters – of adult females grooming and breastfeeding their
infants and dominant silverbacks (group heads) defending their group members,
fills one with admiration for the great apes and the wish that they can live
long and safely enough for the next generations to see!
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| Adult female Nshuti and her baby boy. Photo credit: BINP |
Protected area authorities with support from conservation
institutions continue to invest and do so much to secure the future for this
wild world heritage – the mountain gorilla. Tourists have been sensitized on
mountain gorilla trekking rules while park adjacent communities have been
engaged to benefit from conservation and live harmoniously with wildlife.
The International Union of Conservation for Nature
(IUCN) provides a set of principles for the best practice guidelines for great
ape tourism (Macfie and Williamson, 2010), readily available to read online: Only one visit per day to a gorilla group,
not more than 8 tourists/visitors per gorilla group, maximum of one hour of
viewing per day, observe a safe distance between the tourist and the gorillas
(recommended 10 m without masks, 7 m with masks). The purpose of the Gorilla Rules
is to minimize stress on the gorillas, reduce the risk of disease transmission,
protect the habitat as well as make gorilla tourism sustainable. The rules are
based on precautionary principles to ensure tourism does not adversely affect
mountain gorillas.
While
it is true that tourism is a strategy to fund conservation, it is also true
that if gorilla and other ape tourism, like that of the chimpanzee, isn’t based
on sound conservation principles, odds are that economic objectives will take
precedence, with likely consequences detrimental to the gorilla population and
their habitat.
The
onus to observe and respect these principles is everyone’s responsibility but
most especially the protected area authorities, the tourist and the tour
operator. Tourists need to be sensitized on the gorilla rules by both the
protected area authorities and their tour fixers. On the other hand, travel
fixers need to do a better job packaging and marketing their services appropriately.
So often some tour companies have flooded the media with inappropriate
marketing images and videos of tourists holding or very close to the gorillas
and messages promising their clients a similar experience if entrusted with
their trip. This is unacceptable and very dangerous because it raises the
expectations of the tourist which if not met causes misunderstandings between
them and the tour guides/rangers.
Tourists,
too, need to be mindful of the safe distance between them and the gorillas when
trekking and the kinds of images and videos they take and share on social
media. Images and videos showing a breach of the gorilla rules should never
be posted and or shared on public media, simply because they send and
perpetuate the wrong message out there and jeopardize responsible mountain
gorilla tourism efforts and conservation at large.
Recently, social media has been awash with images of mountain gorillas
from Senkwekwe mountain gorilla center in Virunga National Park holding and
playing with their care takers. While this is done to the orphaned gorillas to
show care and give them a sense of belonging under professional long-term care supervision,
such images potentially send the wrong message about mountain gorilla
conservation and tourism to the wider public. Similarly, also the
Jane Goodall Institute raised concerns about inappropriate videos on social media hurting
chimpanzees.
There’s a need for mass awareness creation on the
importance of respecting mountain gorillas through respect of the rules that
are there to protect them, and the need for sharing appropriate gorilla tourism
content on public media. We need to equip tourists and everyone else with the
tools/knowledge to become mountain gorilla guardians and ambassadors.
At the coalition International Gorilla Conservation
Programme, securing the future for mountain gorillas through the promotion of
responsible tourism is one of the key areas of focus. IGCP in partnership with Wildlife
Friendly Enterprise Network (WFEN) is running a Gorilla Friendly™ Pledge, an on-line campaign aimed at encouraging all tourists to pledge to
observe the gorilla tourism rules through the gorilla friendly pledge website, http://www.gorillafriendly.org/ . Taking the pledge re-affirms one’s willingness to comply to the gorilla
visitation rules and regulations. While observing the rules gives the tourist a
rewarding experience and minimizes the risk of disease transmission to and
behavior change of the gorillas.
The
awareness raising campaign was developed to prepare the tourist for their
trekking experience by giving them information that can guarantee them a
rewarding experience. If observed, gorilla rules can enhance your time with the
gorillas while giving one the opportunity to be a responsible tourist.
Do you love and care for
the mountain gorillas? You can contribute to their safety, protection and
survival by pledging to comply to the gorilla visitation rules and regulations.
Be #GorillaFriendly #TakeThePledge, http://www.gorillafriendly.org/pledge/ and make your contribution
remarkable!
By visiting the mountain
gorilla through organized tourism, you contribute to their continued survival!
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