Is Gorilla Trekking Dangerous : Yes, Gorilla trekking is safe both for an individual and the most majestic animals, provided consideration that are followed up. With male silverbacks weighing up to 400 pounds and reaching almost 6ft when standing, it’s valid to feel vulnerable when watching gorillas in the wild. Continue reading this article to get your question “is gorilla trekking dangerous” answered.
The truth is that, these creatures are peaceful species – their gentle nature permits us to observe them up close in their natural habitat ‘’ though, as always, it’s more important to remember they’re wild animals and their privacy life should be respected.
First of all, the best way to see gorillas in Africa is by trekking which involves in hiking on foot, therefore being that these are wild animals there could be thought to be dangerous to humans. Fact that, gorilla trekking involves in walking through the jungle, many visitors on either Uganda Gorilla Safaris, Rwanda Gorilla Tours or Congo Gorilla Tour, should be aware of how violent mountain gorillas can be dangerous to humans, other people include researchers and guides are brought to meet the gorillas. If the park ranger notices that gorillas have passed the test, then they are opened up to tourists for gorilla tourism.
Note; Gorilla trekking safari in Uganda or Rwanda is done with the ranger guides who accompanies them into the jungle to ensure that you are safe. And only a total of 8 tourists are allowed to participate in the activity, also allowing 2-armed ranger guides to ensure their safety in the forest.
Being fully habituated gorillas have been carefully exposed to human presence, though at a certain moment they are still cautious and act according to your reaction to them. Just in case the gorillas feel unsafe they may react since they are still wild animals. Although, there are no recorded cases of when mountain gorillas have gone violent on humans during gorilla trekking. What to do is to follow the ranger’s instructions given you and the ranger is his role to take you through the precautions and what is required of you in case gorilla gets upset with your presence.
Things which can make gorillas to violent;
Here are the things that force gorillas to act in defense when they are threatened; Beating your chest and having a direct eye contact to them and all these must be avoided.
If a gorilla ‘’silverback gorilla’’ charges towards you just make sure you do not react like you are picking a fight.
What do you do when a gorilla looks dangerous to humans?
The fact is that, you should be aware of what to do in case of the gorilla charges towards you since you definitely can’t fight this massive size of creature. The most appropriate reaction you can do – crouch down slowly, look away and act casual with no intentions of threat. For this matter, the gorilla will see you as non-threatening and therefore will move away and return to their family.
Well, Africa is a blessed country with a lot of unique features and creatures such as fearsome predator like lions, hyenas and many more but luckily the endangered mountain gorillas which are not part of them. More so, Mountain gorillas can be habituated before they are opened to tourists for gorilla trekking. During habituation experience, gorillas are first taken through a train up process where they get familiar with the presence of humans and the process takes about 2 to 3 years until the gorillas get unbothered with the presence of human.
In Uganda Gorilla Trekking started years back in 1993, when gorilla tracking was opened to visitors after a gorilla habituation process.
A gorilla trekking permit in Uganda costs USD700 per person for nonforeigner, USSD600 for foreigner residents and UGX250,000 for East African Members. Yet, Rwanda Gorilla permits costs USD1500 per person per day.
Generally, gorilla trekking is one of the most memorable experiences that allows you to meet with our closely related cousins whom are said to be 98% of human genes thus making it unforgettable safari experience. More then, Gorilla trekking can be tailored with a Kenya safari ‘’Masai Mara or Tsavo National Park’’ or wildlife safari in Tanzania thus having a truly authentic African experience.
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