Rangers of Bwindi
Rangers of Bwindi are people who protect the park and the forest safely. These people are trained by Uganda Wildlife Authority for a period of about 6 months to learn how to handle and deal with animals and well as keeping the forest in a good state. It’s because of ranger’s work that the mountain gorilla population in Bwindi is increasing day by day and so many mountain gorillas have been habituated.
Rangers of Bwindi
The main role of rangers in Bwindi impenetrable forest national park is to protect endangered mountain gorillas. Rangers in Bwindi wake up every early morning and go through the thick tropical rainforest to patrol the park and make every animal is safe. They wake up early morning and by 6:30 they are already going into the jungles of Bwindi to search for snares that could kill animals.
They head to jungle to also search and report illegal activities that could be dangerous to endangered mountain gorillas as well as other park wildlife. The rangers also visit the mountain gorillas before trekkers to see if they slept well and they check on their health to see if they are in good condition. They will report any unusual changes after a moment of observing their behavior.
Rangers in Bwindi are always part of the habituation exercise together with the researchers and conservationists. Habituation of a mountain gorilla family is done for a period of 2-3 years where mountain gorillas are taught to get used to human presence around them. Even when trekkers aren’t available, rangers will still go and be with mountain gorillas for a period of about 4 hours.
The other role of rangers in Bwindi is to keep good friendships with the locals in the nearby communities. They interact with the community people and tell them the benefits of the park to the community. They discourage them from poaching and doing things that could harm the animals. Every year, Uganda Wildlife Authority gives 10% of the money collected from tourism activities to the local people to improve their lives.
Rangers in Bwindi impenetrable forest national park also participate in the mountain gorillas census in the park. They record the new births as well as the new deaths in the park every day. The rangers are also responsible for the training of researchers, and students in the park.
Rangers in Bwindi led the trekkers in the park to search for mountain gorillas. They protect them from dangerous wild animals and they make sure that they are protected from dangerous wild animals. When the mountain gorilla family is spotted, rangers are supported to count 1 hour or 4 hours for these trekkers to be with mountain gorillas and they keep reminding them of the rules and regulations of the gorilla trekking activity for the time they are around these apes.
Rangers of Bwindi determined to perform their duties at all times
Rangers in Bwindi do move around the jungle to search for mountain gorillas while trekking trekkers how to conserve the forest and the mountain gorillas. They also teach trekkers how to minimize the spread of diseases to these endangered mountain gorillas by telling these people to keep a distance of 7 meters away from these apes.
With all the above world being done by rangers that’s why in most cases tourists are advised to tip them after the gorilla trekking activity or even when you meet them in the park. They have played a big role to make sure that these mountain gorillas are in good health and that their population is increasing in the jungles of Bwindi. Trekkers can tip these rangers of Bwindi $10 and above if they appreciate their work and in the end, they will use it to improve their life on top of salaries.
About Bwindi
Bwindi is one of Uganda’s national parks located in the southwestern part of the country. The national park was gazetted in 1991 and as of now covers an area of 331 sq. km. Bwindi is known for hosting over 700 mountain gorillas, about 10 primate species, 120 mammal species, and about 350 bird species. The national park comprises tropical rainforest where different wild animals have found homes and food.
Bwindi has been divided into 4 regions where activities such as gorilla trekking, gorilla habituation, birding, nature walks, and Batwa visits do happen. These regions are Buhoma, Nkuringo, Ruhija and Rushaga. The main done activities are gorilla trekking which is done in all the sectors of the park and gorilla habituation which is done in Nkuringo and Rushaga sectors only.
A lot of travelers do visit Bwindi mainly to encounter mountain gorillas that are said to be related to human beings with about 98% human DNA. To encounter these mountain gorillas, you need gorilla trekking permits or gorilla habituation permits that you present to the park wardens to allow you to be part of the trekking activities.
Rangers in Bwindi normally lead the trekking exercise by taking trekkers through different trails where they get opportunities of meeting different park animals. To locate the mountain gorilla family can take 2-7 hours and the moment the mountain gorilla family is spotted, these rangers do give trekkers 1 hour to be around the apes and this enables them to know about the gorilla habits, take photos and watch them do daily activities such as nesting, coupling, eating, breastfeeding and hunting among others.
