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On a hike through the mountainous rain forest of Rwanda, tourists get close enough to touch the endangered animals (though that's forbidden). In a twist, bringing humans into their habitat helps keep the species alive.
By LIISA K. HYVARINEN
© St. Petersburg Times, published November 17, 2002
RUHENGERI, Rwanda -- About 15 feet from me, enjoying an afternoon snack of bamboo, sat 350 pounds of mountain gorilla. We would get much closer.
I had climbed on my hands and knees up a mountain, through a rain forest, hoping to catch a glimpse of these endangered animals. And finally, after almost an hour of slowly following the leader of an eight-member gorilla pack, I was in a position to get good pictures of the male leader.
But my digital camera was malfunctioning in the humidity that was present even at about 6,000 feet. Remembering that my new, professional TV camera also took still photos, I pressed my eye to its viewfinder and trained the lens on the magnificent beast.
Almost immediately, the gorilla lifted his head from his meal and looked at my camera. Excited about the perfect image, I pressed a button that would freeze the video image to a still.
My eye still pressed against the camera, I admired this portrait as I waited for the camera to automatically kick back into the video mode so I could see where the gorilla had moved in the past 10 seconds.
"Get down, get down!" I heard my guide, Felix, whisper urgently from a few feet away. From the corner of the eye not looking through the viewfinder, I could see Felix calmly pointing with both of his hands for me to dive into the shrubbery.
Confused by his gesturing, I lifted my head from the viewfinder -- and found the gorilla right in front of me and moving closer.
Swinging both cameras in front of me, I dove headfirst into the leaves. My face buried in the underbrush, I tried to hear where the gorilla was going. But the animal made no noise; there was no growl, no banging of his chest, no audible footsteps.
And then I felt his foot -- and his weight -- on my back.
The leader of this gorilla family, the male was reclaiming his territory, exercising his authority, by walking over me.
As the other people on my "gorilla tour" scrambled out of his way, the animal calmly sat down 6 feet from me and continued his bamboo meal as if nothing had happened.
Soon, the time allowed for our group to be on the mountain was up, and without further interaction, we left the gorillas to their habitat.
"Gorillas are not violent animals," said Praveen Moman, a safari operator who has led gorilla tours in Uganda for six years. "I cannot remember a single incident where a tourist on a gorilla safari was hurt by the animals."
The mountain gorilla's natural habitat is along the Virungas Mountains in central Africa. Wanderers in search of food, the gorillas roam the mountain range, which stretches through Rwanda, Uganda and Congo.
Though gorilla tracking, as it is called, has been available in Uganda for years, Volcanoes National Park in Rwanda was forced to close after the country's bloody civil war in 1994.
"If there are no tourists, those gorillas will die," said Moman, whose company was the first gorilla tour operator to come back into the park after the Rwandan government reopened it for tourists in 2001.
Experts estimate that 355 of the creatures remain in the wild. Ironically, specialists now believe that bringing humans to visit the gorillas in their natural habitat may be the cornerstone to saving the species.
"If the money (spent by the tourists) is seen to be benefiting local communities, then local people can put a value on the gorillas," said Clare Richardson, president and CEO of the Fossey Foundation. That is the research and preservation group founded by renowned gorilla expert Dian Fossey.
When tourists "see and film the gorillas, (it) raises their profile around the world, and creating awareness of their plight brings conservation funds as well as tourism dollars," Richardson said.
Those tourism dollars come from the permits that allow "ecotourists" to go on a gorilla safari. Going on a safari is relatively cheap: The permit to hike up the mountain to see the animals is $250 per person. That money goes toward rebuilding the park and saving the gorillas.
Yet, it is a delicate balancing act to let the visitors see, but not endanger, the gorillas, and contact with the animals is strictly controlled.
"Gorillas are susceptible to many human diseases and in many cases have no acquired immunity," Richardson said.
"They are particularly susceptible to respiratory disease, which is why tourists with obvious signs of cold or cough are not allowed to visit the gorillas. Imagine a flu or measles epidemic racing through this extremely endangered population. They'd be wiped out."
Richardson has worked seven years for the Fossey Foundation, named for the researcher who began her 18-year crusade to save the mountain gorilla from extinction in Volcanoes National Park. The walls inside the Rwandan Office for Tourism and National Parks, at the base of the Virungas mountain range, are still decorated with movie posters from Gorillas in the Mist, the film that starred Sigourney Weaver as Fossey, who lived among the gorillas.
Based in Atlanta, the foundation maintains a staff of scientists, trackers and antipoaching patrols in Rwanda. But the organization does not lead the tours up the mountain; they are carried out by commercial operators.
And tourists are rarely disappointed, though this ecotourism requires stamina and patience.
Each visitors group gets an hour with the animals, but that comes only after a hike that requires crawling and mountain climbing.
Gorilla tracking has made Ruhengeri, where the sightseeing begins, one of the most popular tourist destinations in Rwanda. The only way to see the gorillas is by following, on foot, a guide and special trackers (who double as security guards) on a multihour hike through the rain forest.
Most visitors choose to come to the Ruhengeri area the night before their safari because the participants must report to the park office at 8 a.m. to have their permits checked. After a briefing about safety and how to interact with the gorillas, hikers are divided in groups limited to eight people. A caravan of Land Rovers takes the visitors to the bottom of the mountain range, and the trek continues on foot.
"Gorillas can travel several miles each day in search of food," my guide, Felix, said. To minimize the amount of time and effort it takes to get to the animals, three trackers are sent out before dawn to find gorilla groups. "We use walkie-talkies . . . to find the best route up the mountain to get to them."
The first hour is a fast hike through potato fields, but the terrain changes dramatically at the edge of the rain forest. From there until the first gorilla sighting, the steep ground is covered with volcanic rocks and mud. The "trail" is narrow, overgrown paths that animals have made while grazing.
At times the underbrush is so thick that the only way to advance is on all fours. Felix used his machete to cut through the worst obstacles.
The last hour of the uphill climb can be quite demanding. The altitude alone can leave those used to sea level gasping for air. The valley where the safari starts is at 5,500 feet, and the gorillas can wander up to 11,000 feet.
For my group, the first glimpse of the gorillas came at 11:15 a.m. Felix stopped the hikers and reminded us of the safety rules for the humans and the animals. He would enforce the one-hour rule; there would be no drinking, eating, spitting, urinating, smoking or littering.
And though the animals at times might come much closer than the 15-foot separation the government requires, Felix would not allow us to touch them.
The separation rule is there not to protect the tourists from getting scratched or bitten -- mountain gorillas are vegetarian and rarely act like the vicious carnivores that popular culture portrays them as -- but to safeguard the gorillas' fragile immune systems.
The pack my group observed had five adults and three babies; those numbers can range from two to 40, led by a dominant male. The male in our group was at least twice the size of an average man; mature males, called silverbacks, can weigh more than 450 pounds, stand 5 feet 6 and have an arm span of 8 feet. The females are somewhat smaller and tend to their babies with remarkable tenderness. The little ones tease each other and generally make a ruckus in the rain forest.
Although peaceful, gorillas do not like eye contact. Males particularly can take that as a challenge, which can lead them to charge. And sometimes a videocamera lens pointed at the animal at close range can appear to be one giant eye. A gorilla on his hind legs, making what appears to be the perfect pose for a photo, is about to charge -- a clue I had obviously missed.
-- Liisa K. Hyvarinen is a freelance journalist who lives in Tampa. As a Dart Fellow for Journalism and Trauma for the University of Washington, she traveled to Rwanda in June to train journalists.
GETTING THERE: By using ticket consolidators -- companies that buy blocks of airline tickets and sell them at a discount -- it is possible to get a round-trip ticket from Tampa to Kigali, the capital of Rwanda, for less than $2,000.
It takes two hours by car to get to Volcanoes National Park from Kigali. Forget about renting a car; you are better off hiring a local driver with a Land Rover. The usual charge is $100 per day plus gas. This will guarantee your safety; the roads are full of dangerously deep potholes that prevent driving after dark. Payment is expected in cash.
Dependable drivers can be located through the U.S. Embassy in Kigali or with the help of the front desk at your hotel.
Public transportation to the park is possible by using so-called Okapi buses, which are seven-passenger vans that usually carry up to 15 people.
STAYING THERE: Hotels in Kigali that are equivalent to mid price U.S. accommodations range from $60 to $200 per room, depending on the time of year, single or double occupancy, and room size. Only one Kigali hotel, Hotel des Mille Collines, accepts credit cards.
The Kinigi Guest House is the only hotel within a 10-minute drive of the staging area for the gorilla hikes in Volcanoes National Park. Rooms range from $15 to $35; the hotel has a Western-style restaurant. Kinigi does not take credit cards.
THE GORILLA TOUR: The permit is $250 in cash if paying in person at the Office for Tourism and National Parks in Kigali. If the trip is being arranged through a travel agency, the cost can be added to your bill.
Proper hiking boots are essential to guard against sprained ankles or worse. Long sleeves and thick, durable pants help guard against sharp branches, vines with thorns and a variety of nettles that leave a burning rash on the skin.
Contact the following tour companies:
Volcanoes Safaris (headquarters in England; offices in Uganda and Rwanda), www.volcanoessafaris.com; e-mail salesrw@volcanoessafaris.com.
New World Expeditions (in Springboro, Ohio), e-mail nwe@core.com; call (937) 748-8887 (also handles discount plane tickets).
Dollarsaver Travel (in Overland Park, Kan.), www.dstravel.com; e-mail save@dstravel.com; call (913) 381-5050; fax (913) 381-6788.
RWANDA VISITATION DETAILS: The Office of Tourism in Rwanda issues gorilla visitation permits; go to www.ortpn.gov.rw; e-mail ortpn@rwanda1.com.
No visa is required for Americans to enter Rwanda for fewer than 90 days.
MEDICAL CONSIDERATIONS: You need evidence of yellow fever immunization. Your county health department will help you decide on other shots you may want to get before leaving. Recommended are hepatitis A and B, typhoid fever, meningococcal meningitis and polio, as well as medications for malaria and travelers diarrhea. Medical facilities in country are limited, and some medicines are in short supply.
The U.S. State Department says that "evidence of and/or assurances from U.S. insurance companies will not be accepted as settlement of medical expenses in Rwanda." The department strongly urges Americans to consult with their medical insurance company before traveling abroad to confirm whether their policy applies overseas and if it will cover emergency expenses such as a medical evacuation.
Consider buying a "medical evacuation" membership; as a member of this type of service program, you have 24-hour access to a specially equipped jet with a medical team that will take you to a hospital of your choice from anywhere in the world.