According to Uganda Tourism Board, this only happens in Uganda. The endangered mountain gorillas have gone on a wild baby boom as yet another mountain gorilla is born in the Bwindi Impenetrable Forest National Park. This park found in the southern western part of Uganda is a World Heritage site. And with the increasing number of births here, it is rightly so.
Businza New Baby
Yesterday, yes, 11th November 2016, Businza gave birth to a new baby. Businza is an adult female in the Rushegura mountain gorilla family. Originally from the Habinyanza family, Businza moved to her present family, Rushegura, in 2000. She gave birth in the morning and was seen by a Uganda Wildlife Authority tracker later in the day. UWA monitors all the habituated gorillas daily to ensure they are in good health and safety.
Andrew Seguya
Speaking of the newest birth, the third in as many months, Dr. Andrew Seguya, has said the consistent and sustained conservation efforts to ensure the survival of the mountain gorillas is paying off.“Over the last 10 years, Uganda has been leading in the conservation of the mountain gorilla. We believe that the pristine and safe habitant is the crucial link in the survival of the gorillas as well as their health and wellbeing,” Dr. Seguya said.
He adds that as a World Heritage Site, Bwindi Impenetrable National Park has the highest possible level of conservation management. This coupled with a safe and secure environment is evidently showing in the growing number of baby mountain gorillas starting a new life here.
“The mountain gorillas are responding to these ideal circumstances by giving birth,” says Dr. Seguya. “At more than 450 individuals, and growing, Bwindi has the largest number of mountain gorillas found anywhere in the world.”
900 mountain gorilla
There are 10 groups of habituated gorillas in Bwindi, which is a small number compared to the larger numbers that live in the wild. Less than 900 mountain gorillas are left in the world and only found in Uganda (over 50%), Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo. So, every single birth is a reason for celebration.
The UWA area conservation manager, Mr. Pontius Ezuma says this is Businza’s second birth in two years.
“Businza first gave birth on 14th April 2011. This new baby born on born on 11th November 2016 is her second,” Ezuma has said. “With this baby, the group has now increased to 17 members. This also proves the scientific inter-birth interval for Bwindi as 5 years.”
Press release by UTB – 12 November 2016/KAMPALA
Photos courtesy of the Uganda Wildlife Authority (UWA).