Habituation of Bwindi Mountain Gorillas
Uganda's mountain gorillas occupy two national parks in southwestern
Uganda - in Mgahinga National Park which is part of the Virunga Volcanoes
bordering Uganda, Congo and Rwanda, and in the Bwindi Impenetrable National
Park approximately 25 km away from the Virungas. Gorilla eco-tourism was
introduced in Bwindi in the early 1990s in order to conserve and protect
this critically endangered species of the great apes and to generate revenue
for the government and the local people. As a result of civil war in Rwanda
and Congo, the Bwindi population of gorillas has been the most stable.
Consequently, there has been an increased demand to habituate more groups
in order to generate more money and satisfy the growing number of people
who want to view gorillas in their natural habitats.
Two groups (Mubare and Katendegyere) were habituated for tourism and by
1993, they were already open for viewing. The Katendegyere group disintegrated
in 1997 and another group (Ibaare-Habinyanja) was opened. Currently another
group (Nkuringo) is undergoing habituation and may be open for tourism
in the near future.
As a result of habituation, gorillas no longer fear human beings and have
been seen more often outside the forest. The Nkuringo group, for example,
spends about ó of its time foraging on vines and herbs from the
regenerating forest outside the park. In addition, habituated gorillas
have been seen eating exotic food crops including banana pith, eucalyptus
bark, sweet potato leaves and fruits from robusta coffee. Crop raiding
has been noted as one of the causes of gorilla-human conflict in Bwindi.
The major challenge of gorillas outside the park are risks of disease
transfer. The recent outbreak of scabies in the Nkuringo group is associated
to a mite suspected to be from humans. When gorillas share the same habitat
with humans and domestic animals, they risk cross transfer of their diseases.
Human and animal feces have been seen in places visited by habituated
gorillas. There is thus a potential for transmission of gastro-intestinal
parasites and other diseases from soils and water resources contaminated
with feces. Unlike tourists who are guided and briefed on health regulations
and on how to behave while tracking gorillas, and trackers, guides, researchers
who are familiar with gorilla eco-tourism regulations, the local people
and non-park staff go through the park unsupervised. There is a risk of
unfavourable behaviour including defecation and littering the park. In
addition, researchers, field assistants and park staff who spend more
time with the gorillas are not screened for contagious infections like
tuberculosis, which may not exhibit obvious symptoms during early stages
of infection. Indeed there have been cases of staff suspected to have
had tuberculosis and this calls screening of people tracking gorillas
more often to undergo some heath examinations as is done with zoo animal
keepers.
The human population in and around the tourism zone has increased dramatically
in the past years. This was mainly due to influx of people working for
the park, tourists and tour operators, local people selling food and other
merchandise, and job seekers. More recently, however, there has been deployment
of troops to protect people and their property. The resources for maintaining
this growing population are limited. There is a demand for clean water,
more food, good housing, schools and health care. Otherwise, a population
lacking the basic needs will continue to put pressure on park resources.
The future of gorilla eco-tourism will depend on maintaining their health
and their habitat. There is need to purchase land outside the gazetted
area where the gorillas range. It is also important to educate all the
people who interact with gorillas in one way or another so that there
is harmony between all the interest groups dealing with gorillas and so
that gorilla eco-tourism impacts and habituation effects are rationally
managed.
John Bosco Nkurunungi
John Bosco Nkurunungi made a survey of the gastro-intestinal parasites of gorillas and humans at Bwindi and is now studying the feeding ecology of Bwindi gorillas.
Photo: Michael Schmitt
If visitors come close, diseases can be transmitted