All gorilla safaris to Uganda, Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo have been temporarily suspended till further notice to prevent the spread of the deadly Covid19 to the endangered mountain gorillas. This is to inform all traveler operators and travelers that apparently there is no ongoing gorilla trekking tour in Bwindi Forest, Mgahinga Gorilla, Volcanoes and Virunga National Parks till further notice. Virunga National ark was the first one to close following her first incident of a Covid 19 victim in Congo; Rwanda Development Board was the second to close all tourism and research activities in its primate pars i.e Nyungwe Forest and Volcanoes National Parks. Uganda Wildlife Authority has also come to announce its official closure of all gorilla tours to Bwindi Forest and Mgahinga Gorilla National ark plus chimpanzee safaris to Kibale Forest National park and other chimpanzee destinations until 30th April 2020.
Why protect primates?
Mountain gorillas and chimpanzees are susceptible to respiratory infections of which Corona Virus is among. The primates share 99% of human genes, which make the close relative to people. Whereas trekking rules and regulations guiding gorilla and chimpanzee trekking have been in existence, they are not enough to protect the endangered species from trapping this deadly Covid19. The only solution hoped to prevent gorillas and chimpanzees from Corona Virus is the total absence of people in the jungle. The whole world has 1006 mountain gorillas only found in Bwindi Forest and the Virunga Conservation areas shared by Volcanoes, Virunga and Mgahinga Gorilla National Parks.
Expected tourism losses
Reduced government revenue is expected with no sale of mountain gorilla permits. For all the past years, primate trekking especially the mountain gorillas has been the leading tourist activity in Africa. A single gorilla permit costs $450 in Congo, $1500 in Rwanda while in Uganda, the permit costs $700 for foreign nonresidents, $700 for foreign residents and UGX 250,000 for East African residents. Tourism statistics in Uganda, Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo confirm that gorilla trekking is the major source of foreign exchange earner to gorilla national Parks. Most people especially in travel operators management, travel guiding and travel transport will lose employment opportunities in the meantime. This will decrease the standards of living of people who have been depending on tourism for a living.
Travelers are however advised not to cancel but rather postpone gorilla trips to save tourism in Uganda, Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo. Luckily, responsible tourism bodies in Uganda, Rwanda, and Congo have relaxed the gorilla and chimpanzee permit rescheduling policies to help travelers and tour operators deal with the existing incident
In the meantime, there are no primate tours to trek gorillas and chimpanzees in Uganda, Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo till further notice.
