Mountain gorillas are listed as endangered wild animals by world animal protection bodies because the forests they live in are slowly being cleared by human encroachment. They are considered to be highly intelligent, using tools and communicating with vocal sounds. Their striking appearance and mysterious nature make them revered and a big drawcard for tourists the world over, and more recently for a growing number of Chinese visitors.

"I have made sure that I [do the] trek [to see] mountain gorillas with my four other Chinese colleagues. I was told that they are closely related to human beings - sharing 98 percent of human genes. Today, after having a look at them I can see that indeed they are very close to us.," said Liu Wei, a recent visitor to the Virunga National Park.

Safety precautions

Virunga National Park game ranger Charles Mugera said photos are not allowed with the primates because as they are so close to humans genetically, they are susceptible to diseases carried by humans.

"Tourists must stay at least between 7 to 10 meters away [from the gorillas]," said Mugera.

He said mountain gorillas can easily catch airborne diseases like flu from people. According to Mugera, visitors to Virunga National Park are requested to wear face masks if they have signs of flu and are coughing and sneezing. It is for this reason that only a limited number of visitors are allowed to go on gorilla treks. In all the three countries, each gorilla trek is made up of only eight people at a time.

"Some of the Chinese tourists who trek for mountain gorillas are directly from China, while others are currently living and working in African countries. Chinese are among the new groups of tourists who visit game parks in Rwanda, the DRC and Uganda. They started in small numbers, but recently these numbers are increasing," said Robert Ojambo, a travel consultant from Kampala, capital of Uganda.

Apart from trekking, Ojambo said the Chinese also attend mountain gorilla-related ceremonies, which are carried out in the three countries. According to statistics from the game parks, in 2019, the DRC received about 30,000 trekkers, Rwanda 28,000, and Uganda 25,600. Of the total 83,600 mountain trekkers on the gorilla trails, at least 12,000 were Chinese, up from 7,500 in 2018 and 5,000 in 2017, said Ojambo.

Naming gorillas

One of the most popular gorilla-related ceremonies attended by Chinese tourists is the Rwandan mountain gorilla baby naming. In Rwanda, every mountain gorilla born has a naming ceremony, which takes place at least once a year.

On September 6, 2019, Chinese tourist Zhang Yong joined over 50,000 Rwandan and foreign tourists to witness the annual ceremony. Locally, this is called Kwita Izina, which means giving a name.

"I was excited to see many people gathered to watch as 25 baby mountain gorillas were named. It reminded me that we also [have a ceremony to] name our babies in China. I enjoyed the ceremony greatly," said Zhang.

Among the dignitaries who attended the ceremony were former Ethiopian Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn, Deputy Secretary General of the United Nations Amina Mohammed and several Rwandan ministers. The baby gorillas were given names of some famous people such as European football coach Louis Van Gaal, English supermodel Naomi Campbell, English football legend Tony Adams, Jordan's Princess Basma Bint Talal and U.S. singer Ne-Yo.

Chief Tourism Officer at Rwanda Development board Belise Kariza said such ceremonies are meant to promote tourism in Rwanda and Africa at large.

"I call upon all those who want to see mountain gorillas to visit Rwanda," she said.

Marketing strategy

Having observed the potential market of tourists from China, authorities in Uganda have started strategizing for bigger numbers of tourists from China, the world's second largest economy.

Uganda, through the Uganda Tourism Board (UTB), has hired PHG Consulting China, a market destination representative, to promote Uganda's tourism in China.

The company, which has already started working, is training local tour operators on how they can help attract visitors from China.

"Uganda is a unique country that we are promoting in China [in an effort to] bring more Chinese tourists to enjoy the wildlife safaris and the authentic culture," said Catherine Mei, Travel Sales Director of the PHG Consulting China.

She said each year more than 500,000 Chinese tourists travel to Africa, many of whom spend more money than their foreign counterparts from Europe and North America.

According to the UTB, 1.3 million visitors entered Uganda in 2019, generating $1.4 billion in local revenue. Of these, Uganda Wildlife Authority spokesperson Bashir Hangi said, 332,197 visited the various national game parks and at least 60,000 of these were from China.

Andrew Kassujja, Sales Manager of Nninzi Gorilla and Chimpanzee Tour Co., said the number of Chinese tourists are increasing.

"Some Chinese tourists have been on gorilla treks. We encourage more to come. A 10-day holiday, including mountain trekking and visiting other game parks, costs around $4,000. The environment, transport and security are all good," said Kassujia.

Chris Muhumuza, Assistant Tour Coordinator of Mamaland Safari Ltd., said that over the past few months, they signed contracts with more Chinese tourists for gorilla treks.

"Each one [tourist] pay $600 for trekking," he said.

"Everyone must see mountain gorillas personally at least once in their lives. Uganda has the biggest number of mountain gorillas in the world, so there are more chances of seeing them here," said Hangi.

Passionate about gorillas, Hangi said the animals are mainly herbivorous, feeding on vegetation. They mostly eat fruits, leaves, wild celery, thistles, stinging nettles, bed straw and bamboo shoots. At times they also eat small insects, ants and larvae.

Hangi said the gorillas have structured family groups and each animal knows where it belongs, so they will never get lost in the forest. Although they look aggressive, they are gentle and never attack people.

"Whoever goes on a mountain gorilla trek has a story to tell for the rest of their life," said Jian Yan, a Chinese national living in Uganda, who recently went on the trek.

However, Hangi confirmed that since the COVID19 lockdown about three months ago, mountain gorilla trekking has been suspended, but is expected to reopen in the near future.

''For the safety of our primates, we have temporarily closed mountain gorilla trekking activities. But we are making arrangements to open very soon.' said Hangi.

Chinese visitors who had booked and paid for the treks before the pandemic began will be first on the list of trekking clients once tours reopen according to Hangi. 

(Reporting from Uganda)

(Printed Title: Gorilla Thriller)

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