One of the most frequently asked question by tourists planning a Gorilla tour to Rwanda, DRC (Democratic Republic of Congo) and Uganda is, “What is the probability of seeing Mountain Gorillas?” it will be a very big shock if a tour agent confirms a gorilla tracking safari minus the client asking about the probability of seeing the mountain gorillas. The probability of encountering and interacting with these animals is at ninety nine percent (99%) though the fact is that there is no tour agent that will assure 100% tourists of the chance to see them. From the early 1990’s when Mountain Gorilla tourism had started, there has been no record of any tourist failing to see the Mountain Gorillas. The animals are always moving and their movements in the forest can’t be limited, however, tourists are always certain of encountering them and spending some time with man’s living closest relatives. just imagine how heart breaking it would be if one paid six hundred US dollars ($700) in Uganda, Four hundred and fifty US dollar ($450) in Congo and a whopping one thousand and five hundred US dollars ($1,500) in Rwanda and does not see the world’s threatened species that was once at the edge of disappearing. Even though there is no assurance for tourists to see the Mountain Gorillas, the probability of seeing them is great and below is the reason for the guarantee;
Early Pre-trekking checks done by the park rangers
A group of park wardens get up very early at the beginning of every tracking day, and trek in to the gorilla sanctuary looking for the location of the Mountain Gorillas. These wardens search for each family to know where they spent the previous night and then communicate with the management at the park headquarters telling them which directions they should take when trekking the Mountain Gorillas with the tourists. The wardens communicate via radio calls with the park officials on the gorillas’ whereabouts hence not wasting the tourist’s time because they follow a given path which greatly increases the probability of seeing the Mountain Gorillas. The gorilla families in Bwindi Impenetrable forest National Park stay in four (4) areas of Ruhija, Rushaga, Nkuringo as well as Buhoma so the hiking group also divides in to four (4) parts. This increases the chances of seeing the Mountain Gorillas hence saving the tourists energy and time.
