Congo Gorillas
Gorillas in Congo are unique and have attracted thousands of travelers to visit Congo for gorilla trekking as one of the major activities in Congo.
The Democratic Republic of Congo has three subspecies of gorillas that is to say; the mountain gorillas, the eastern lowland gorillas and the western lowland gorillas (found in the far west of Democratic Republic of Congo). These gorillas are habitats in the rain forests of the Democratic Republic of Congo and are protected in different national parks of the Democratic Republic of Congo. These include;
Mountain Gorillas (Gorilla Beringei Beringei)
In the Democratic Republic of Congo, the mountain gorillas are found in the eastern part of the country within the Virunga Massif in Virunga National Park which is also United Nations Educational Scientific and Conservational Organization (UNESCO) Heritage site. Virunga national park is located on the border of Uganda and Rwanda, making up the biggest area of the Virunga Conservation Area. Virunga National Park covers an area of 3120 square miles and it is a home for over 230 habituated gorillas. It is operated under the Congolese Institute for Natural Conservation. The mountain gorillas are an endangered species, this factor is the genuine reason for the gazette of Virunga National Park as a safe haven to protect the endangered population of the mountain gorillas in the area.
As it is witnessed in Rwanda (Volcanoes National Park) and Uganda (Mgahinga National Park and Bwindi impenetrable national park), the Democratic republic of Congo has Virunga National Park which is a major home for eight habituated mountain gorillas that are available for trekking and visiting. Despite the fact that the area has been politically disturbed in the past, the democratic republic of Congo’s Virunga National Park has survived all the turmoil and the place is now open and tourists can visit any time of the year because of their security is guaranteed. The country is doing all the possible solutions to protect these endangered mountain gorillas in their natural habitat.
Before visitors trek the great mountain gorillas in Virunga National Park, they have to get to know the guidelines and rules followed as a way of safeguarding all parties. These rules include hours of Visiting where the trekking of mountain gorillas happens during day, it is only fifteen year old and over visitors that are accepted to carry out this expedition, it is strictly one hour that the visitors are advised to spend with these magical creatures, a maximum of 8 visitors are allowed to trek per day. The rules and guidelines for mountain gorilla trekking are aiming at the conservation of wildlife as also ensuring a memorable experience for the visitors.
Mountain gorillas are so peaceful creatures, especially when not tempered with. This offers a chance to the visitors to view them closely as they feed and rest as the young ones play around their mother gorillas. As this is stated, the visitor is not at any moment advised to touch or feed the gorillas. This is done to prevent these primates from getting infected by the human diseases because as much as their DNA is 98% like that of humans, they have a weak immune system in that a disease can be life-threatening to a gorilla.
Eastern Lowland Gorillas (Gorilla Beringei Graueri)
The eastern lowland gorillas are found in two parts of the Democratic Republic of Congo that is Kahuzi-Bienga National Park and Maiko National Park. Eastern lowland gorillas are habitats of the mountainous and lowland tropical forests of the Democratic Republic of Congo. They are fewer eastern lowland gorillas compared to their subspecies which are the western lowland gorillas. They are about 3800 eastern lowland gorillas in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
The eastern lowland gorillas are the largest gorillas among the four gorilla subspecies in the world. These eastern lowland gorillas are very peaceful, sociable and live in groups. The groups are about 2-30 members moving together and feeding together. Every group consists of a strong leader usually the large adult male; a Silverback, some females, young adults, and the infants. After the young adults developing into fully grown adults, they tend to leave the main group and form their own groups by attracting females that join them.
Kahuzi-biega national park is one of the destinations where you can find the gorillas. However, most of the gorillas here are different from the mountain gorillas because they are lowland gorillas. Kahuzi-Biega National Park is located near Bukavu town in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo. Listed under the United Nations Educational Scientific and Conservational Organization (UNESCO) as one of the world Heritage sites under threat, the park covers 8000 square miles of Democratic Republic of Congo and it is dominated by two extinct volcanoes that is Mount Kahuzi and Mount Biega.
As one of the biggest national parks in the Democratic Republic of Congo, the park consists of a variety of ecosystems from lowland forests to montane highlands. Kahuzi-Biega National Park was established in 1970 and to present, it is still the last refuge of the eastern lowland gorillas. Visitors are always welcome to the park to have a great adventurous and memorable experience during trekking of the eastern lowland gorillas in the Democratic Republic of Congo. trekking the lowland gorillas is affordable because the gorillas are found near the low altitude areas of Congo forest, therefore, it is not tiring compared to the mountain gorilla trekking in Bwindi impenetrable national park.
Another area to find gorillas in the democratic republic of Congo is Maiko National Park. Maiko national park is located in the forest areas of the Democratic Republic of Congo. It covers an area of 10,885 km2 and consists of a number of wildlife such as the eastern lowland gorillas, the African forest elephant, and eastern chimpanzee. Originally the area was aimed at preventing exploitation of mineral resources but later turned out to be the area that conserves nature and wildlife. Tourists traveling to the Democratic Republic of Congo have a greater chance of visiting Maiko National Park and get a memorable experience with nature. Maiko National Park is safe to visit and you are always provided with a guide, porters and armed rangers as you track the eastern lowland gorillas.
The Western Lowland Gorillas
The western lowland gorillas live in the montane forests and lowland swamps in the western Democratic Republic of Congo. This group is the smallest group among the four gorilla subspecies and most of these western lowland gorillas are kept in the zoos. The adult males’ hair changes to grey by the time they get old, it is lost and this coloration is the reason why the older ones are called Silverback.
To note, different species of mountain gorillas in the democratic republic of congo are found in a specific area. Some are adaptable to the lowland rainforest like Kahuzi beiga, whereas the others are adaptable to the highland forest such as the sought after mountain gorilla in the Virunga national park.
Best time to visit the Democratic Republic of Congo
The best time to visit Congo for gorilla trekking is mainly the dry season. The dry season in the Democratic Republic of Congo is experienced from July through August to September, and another dry period starts from December through January to February; these are the peak tourism seasons in almost all the national parks of Africa. This is because during the dry months all the wildlife safari activities are done smoothly without any interruptions from the abrupt rains and muddy roads. Visitors are always advised to travel in these months to attain memorable, adventurous, and exciting experiences. Also, visitors are advised to book their gorilla permits in advance before they travel to the national parks in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
