A new Bench mark for Africa’s gorillas
Reports that Africa’s mountain gorillas have doubled their numbers over the last 30 years coincide with easier access to visiting their sanctuaries in east Africa, according to safari experts Bench International.
Sales manager Martin Edwards said that a census carried out in the Virunga Massif – where most of the world’s mountain gorillas live – revealed 480 individuals living in 36 groups, with an estimated 300 in nearby Bwindi National Park in Uganda.
He said that conservationists in the region had indicated that tourism had played a major role in bringing the world’s attention to the gorillas’ plight with visitors’ fees contributing to their survival, though the African Wildlife Foundation says that the animals “remain very much under threatâ€.
Edwards said that compared with other African safari itineraries gorilla trekking was a relatively high cost activity, but new opportunities in more accessible regions in Rwanda had prompted significant growth in consumer demand.
He said that Bench was now able to offer three-day expeditions from Kigali in Rwanda to the Parc National Des Volcans from as little as $1650, a price which includes all transportation, accommodation, guides and permits.
The AWF recently destroyed 200 poachers’ snares in the Virunga Massif, which had been set mainly for other animals but were a threat to gorillas.
Ian Jarrett
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