Gorillas in Bwindi Impenetrable National Park have given birth to eight babies.

Uganda Wildlife Authority’s public relations officer, Lillian Nsubuga said that there will be a naming ceremony for the baby gorillas. Lillian said the most recent birth took place on May 23rd amongst the Habinyanja group. She said that this had raised the population of the group to 22.

Last year before the christening ceremony, Buganda’s queen, Sylvia Nagginda, named one of the baby gorillas, “Ntuse’’ a luganda word meaning “I have reached”. She named the baby Gorilla near Buhoma after encountering them.

Other gorillas were born at Nkuringo and Rushegura, which are approachable to tourists in Bwindi, where more than half of the endangered gorilla populations roam. In the last naming ceremony, prearranged about two years ago, several artistic activities of the Bakiga people such as songs and dances were conducted at Buhoma.

Sources at UWA said gorilla tourism was one of the largest contributors of revenue to the national reserves and Uganda’s Tourism industry.

Gorilla tourism started in the early 1990s and now the most popular tourism activity. More mountain gorillas occur in Mgahinga Gorilla national park, which is part of the virungas that also cover Rwanda and the DR Congo. The gorilla population has increased by about 10% in a decade, causing conservationists to anticipate that the endangered species will survive.

Gorilla tracking is one of the elite tourism activities that appends to the number of tourist influx in Uganda.

Uganda Safari News