Buhoma sector is one of the four exciting gorilla sectors in Bwindi impenetrable National Park. This sector is located in the northern provinces of the park and is arguably the best in consideration of the extraordinary experiences the visitors get while there. The sector stands out as the pioneer of gorilla tracking activities in the region, history is on its side as it was the very first to provide gorilla tourism activities.
Tourism activities in the sector started way back in 1993 after the full habituation processes of the sensational Mubare gorilla family. Buhoma sector has quite a number of captivating trail heads that provide outstanding experiences to the travelers including Munyanga river trail, Rushura hill trail, Muzabajiro and more. Travelers undertake the tracking activities through these trails that are used to track the movements of the gorillas through the Bwindi forest.
Mubare gorilla family.
Mubare gorilla family reigns with pride in Buhoma sector and the overall Bwindi impenetrable National Park as the first group ever to be habituated and therefore at the front line of gorilla tourism activities that were opened in 1993. The family was first teased with several appearances of humans as they were winding up the habituation processes to fully ensure that they are ready for tourism activities and would not charge to human beings. This exciting family is named after the breathtaking Mubare hills in Bwindi forest where they were first sighted.
Family history of Mubare gorilla group.
The Mubare Gorilla family at first was comprised of 12 members under the leadership of Ruhondeza who passed on, on 27th June 2012. The untimely death of Ruhondeza – the then silverback leader was the immediate cause of splitting of the family since some of the members felt insecure. Only five individuals were left in the family. Mubare was then in 2013 joined by four other companion-seeking individuals to make them nine.
Membership of Mubare gorilla family.
Mubare gorilla family is made-up of nine individuals comprising 1 silverback, 4 adult females and 4 infants. This gorilla group is renowned for its single male leadership and high male intolerance which partly explains why some of the members left.
Mubare gorilla family is currently led by a courageous silverback known as Kanyonyi. Kanyonyi took over leadership after the untimely demise of Ruhondeza in 2012. Kanyonyi is celebrated for various accomplishments to the group especially the tasks of protecting, guiding and expanding the group from 5 to 9 individuals.
Trekking Mubare gorilla family.
Mubare gorilla family is not that hard to track though its sightings are not guaranteed since the movements of the gorillas vary from time to time. This family formally used to reside in the outskirts of Buhoma park headquarters but of late the members usually go deeper in the forest hence visitors could possibly spend about four hours looking for them though they are not always far from the Buhoma trail heads.
The tourist guides take the travelers to the trails where the family was sighted the day before and that acts as the starting point from where the travelers can track and find the gentle giants.
Tracking this gorilla family requires the guidance of a professional tourist guide and protection of the Rangers that are provided by the National Park authorities to ensure that the entire session is enjoyable and harmless to both the visitors and the gorillas.
Maneuvering through the tropical rainforests in search for these wild mountain gorillas could possibly go on for more than five hours. This explains why the trek starts usually at 8:00 AM straight after the briefing about the activity. The travelers are first briefed about the activity and told about the guidelines to ensure that they always be on track while exploring the jungle as they look for the mountain gorillas.
The briefing starts at around 7:30 AM and could go on for possibly 30 minutes after which the guests are accompanied up to the jungle. The search of the gorillas starts at 8:00 AM and could go on up to the afternoon. The length of the session depends on how fast the trackers find the gorilla family.
Trekking Mubare gorilla family is guided by a set of rules and regulations that help protect the trackers and the animals from danger. The rules incorporate but are not limited to;
Permit requirements. The adventurer is required to present a gorilla tracking permit that is obtained from the authorities through the registered tour operators. This indicates the details of the traveler and the date of tracking.
Health requirements. Trekkers are required not to be sick of any communicable diseases especially flu and COVID-19 which could be possibly contracted by the gorillas putting them at potential risk of death and extinction.
Age restrictions. The trackers are required to be of 15 years and above. This requirement helps filter out interruptions on the track as young ones tend to have communicable diseases such as flu and most of them appear fearful in the presence of animals.
Distance regulations. The trackers are required to observe a reasonable distance with the gorillas, at least seven metres away to prevent intimidation of the animals and possible contraction of diseases
Flash photography is highly prohibited in the jungle since the flash lights scare away the gorillas and makes the traveler stand a high chance of being charged at which could possibly cause harm.
