kumasawa

There are 2 articles about gorilla trekking in yesterday's Travel section of the San Francisco Chronicle:

Rwanda
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/articl...RG4RL08VO1.DTL

Uganda
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/articl...RG4RL08VQ1.DTL

The "Abdu Makumb" mentioned at the end of the Rwanda article was the same guide that we had during our trip in July. We just called him <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/kumasaw...;Abi</a>. Great guy, as are all the people from Amahoro Tours.

Darren

atravelynn

Makes me want to go back. Thanks.

waynehazle

Aaah,

a great article. I can feel the musky dampness of the air as I read it!.

How interesting about Guhundra (the Sabinyo silverback) the guide of course told us that he was the biggest silverback in PNV, but I didn't even think about it that that makes him the <b>biggest gorilla in the world!</b>

Chris_GA_Atl

Not to be a party pooper about the &quot;biggest gorilla in the world&quot; comment, but I am not sure it is possible to make such a claim with certainty. There are far more western lowland gorillas and Grauer gorillas than there are mountain gorillas, and the former two subspecies live in areas much more remote and much less frequently visited than the mountain gorillas do. Even assuming there is no comparably-sized mountain gorilla silverback in DRC or Uganda (which is probably known, since all those are individually catalogued), there are thousands of western lowland and Grauer gorillas in DRC, Cameroon, Gabon, etc. These are not monitored and studied in the same manner as the mountain gorillas, so it's not possible to know how big the &quot;biggest&quot; one really is. Grauer gorillas are supposedly the biggest kind in any event.
Also, the Rwanda article implies that there are only five gorilla famiies in PNV, which isn't accurate. Not only are there two new tourist-available groups, but there are at least three &quot;research&quot; groups that tourists are not permitted to visit, but which are monitored and studied by the Dian Fossey Gorilla Foundation (Shinda, Beetsme and Pablo). Pablo's group alone has more than 50 gorillas in it.
To complete my nit-picking, the Uganda article states that each gorilla family in Uganda may be visited by 24 tourists per day, when the real number is 8.
The articles are great, but I don't want readers to absorb and rely on inaccurate information. I am so obsessed with our upcoming trip I can hardly stand it!
Chris

atravelynn

More nitpicking. I thought it was only 6 visitors per gorilla family in Uganda. At least that's what it was in 2004. Rwanda allowed 8.

Have a great trip Chris!

Chris_GA_Atl

Hey Lynn, it is good to talk to you again. My 8 tourists per group figure comes from an August 2006 update from Volcanoes Safaris:
http://www.volcanoessafaris.com/updates.html
Perhaps they increased the numbers per group since 2004?
Chris

Lucia78

The guide mentioned in the Rwanda article is who I had for my Susa trek...he got slapped by a gorilla

waynehazle

Good feedback Chris,

I hope you have a great time on your upcoming trip

Chris_GA_Atl

Thanks Wayne. Your pictures and travelogue were a major help to me in inspiring and then planning our trip, and you continue to contribute to people's trip planning on this forum.
Chris

atravelynn

You can report back from the front, Chris, on how many are now allowed on Uganda gorilla visits.