History of the orphanage

In early 2009, Chief Warden Emmanuel de Merode and park rangers regained control of Virunga, following the arrest of rebel leader Laurent Nkunda. Shortly after, park staff began raising awareness about the two young orphan mountain gorillas that were in their care. Orphans Ndeze and Ndakasi had been forced by the circumstances of war to live in tiny compound in the capital city of Goma. Unlike their natural environment, Goma was heavily polluted, noisy, and largely built on a lava flow devoid of vegetation.

With the southern sector once again secure, a team set out to raise money to build a care facility at park headquarters in Rumangabo. The site chosen for the facility was perfect: lush forest, teaming with wildlife, expansive and safe. As 2009 drew to a close, park staff kicked off an intense online campaign, and in a matter of two months, raised $211,000.

The World Heritage Organization matched every dollar donated by caring individuals around the world. The Murry Foundation and Howard G. Buffett Foundation also provided critical funding. The “Senkwekwe Centre” was soon built and the orphans living in Goma were promptly transferred to their new home. The centre is named after the dominant Silver Back of the Rugendo group, who was murdered in 2007, along with three other members of his family.

At the end of 2010, two more orphan mountain gorillas, Maisha and Koboko, were transferred to the Senkwekwe Centre. They came from Rwanda where they had been living in a small facility. The four gorillas settled in nicely and soon became a tightly knit family. Tragically, Koboko died during the latest conflict. Although the official cause of death was attributed to a gastrological infection, the sounds of mortar fire and machine guns severely stressed Koboko, and likely led to the collapse of his immune system.

The latest addition to the Senkwekwe Centre is Matabishi, a young male that was found alone and outside the park boundary near Bikenge. Poachers who feared they would be arrested by Virunga rangers likely released Matabishi. After 6-month quarantine, Matabishi has joined Ndeze, Ndakasi, and Maisha.

The Senkwekwe Centre also plays a critical role in rehabilitating orphan eastern lowland gorillas confiscated from animal traffickers. Once rehabilitated, these gorilla orphans are transferred to the GRACE facility for eastern lowland gorillas.

The post Senkwekwe Orphanage Centre, Congo first appeared on Congo Parks.

Gorilla trekking is such an exciting activity that every African tourist should opt for while in the continent as the activity offers a very memorable experience.

It is a tiresome activity that may last up to 8 hours implicating, thus you will need refreshments and eats (probably snacks) during the activity.

However, though the trekking of gorillas is somehow tiresome, when you access these gentle apes (gorillas) you will forget all the difficult time you passed through.

When you come in touch with the gorillas, you will only be given one hour to interact with them as you see how they feed, play, communicate, walk and also have their photo shoots to show your beloved ones back home, and also have great memories of the gorillas.

Democratic Republic of Congo is the only country all over the world where one will encounter both the eastern lowland gorillas and the endangered mountain gorillas.

Virunga National Park is the only residence for mountain gorillas in Democratic Republic of Congo well as the lowland gorillas in the country can only be trekked from Kahuzi-Biega National Park, of which both Parks lie in the eastern parts of Democratic Republic of Congo.

Besides being the only country with both the lowland gorillas and mountain gorillas, Democratic Republic of Congo offers the most affordable gorilla expeditions as compared to the other gorilla trekking countries such as Uganda and Rwanda.

Democratic Republic of Congo gorilla trekking permit is arguably the cheapest as it costs only US$ 400 unlike those of Uganda and Rwanda which cost US$ 700 and US$ 1500 respectively.

Gorilla permits are booked by your tour agency that you book a safari through such as Eco Tours Congo and among others.

On your day of trekking, you head to the Park headquarters for briefing and also get a family of gorillas to trek.

You will then head to the forest with the park rangers who help search for you the assigned family of gorillas and chase away the dangerous animals.

Hiking the forest is a difficult exercise that needs you to be energetic but porters are always there to support you on an affordable price.

You will always have a fantastic gorilla trekking safari in Democratic Republic of Congo as you see different families of gorillas and enjoy the unique experience.

Democratic Republic of Congo comprises of eight habituated gorilla families that are open to trekkers and these are Kabirizi, Bageni, Mapuwa, Munyaga, Nyakamwe, Humba, Rugendo and Lulengo.

During the trekking process, trekkers are advised to maintain maximum silence and other rules and regulations to consider during gorilla trekking include, keep at least 7 meters away from the gorillas while viewing them, do not litter in the Park, do not smoke from the park, do not use flashlight cameras while taking gorilla photos, and all the trails in the park are led by park rangers.

In Democratic Republic of Congo, a gorilla trekker will have a great opportunity to trek both the eastern lowland gorillas and mountain gorillas without leaving the eastern province of Congo.

The eastern lowland gorillas in Democratic Republic of Congo are found in Kahuzi-Biega National Park and the Park comprises of over 12 gorilla families with only four being habituated and open to trekkers.

These habituated gorilla families include: Chimanuka, Mpungwe, Bonnani, and Mugahuka with Mpungwe being the largest gorilla family in the park.

Still in the eastern province of Democratic Republic of Congo, in Virunga National Park, a tourist will also get engaged in many other interesting activities such as; a two days hike to Nyiragongo volcano to view the bubbling lava lake at the summits of the volcano.

Chimpanzee trekking is another enjoyable activity that tourists will do and bird watching plus many other activities. As of now and due to your secure safety, gorilla trekkers in Virunga will base in Kibumba tented camp.

The post Encounter Double Gorilla Trekking In Congo first appeared on Congo Parks.