Gorilla tracking rules and Regulations

Gorilla tracking rules and regulations, Mountain gorillas (Gorilla beringei beringei) were listed in 2018 as endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). These endangered species are few remaining in the wild in Virunga national park in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Volcanoes national park in Rwanda, Mgahinga gorilla national park, and Bwindi impenetrable forest national park in Uganda. All these national parks have rules and regulations governing gorilla trekking, and these include the following:

• Tourists are required to carry with them payment receipts as proof that the permit for gorilla trekking has been paid for. This is to ensure that there is no inconvenience at the start of your gorilla trekking adventure.
• Do not use flash photography while in the wild with the mountain gorillas because they may end up charging at you, thinking it is an attack.
• The maximum number of tourists per gorilla family is strictly eight. This has been set up to avoid overcrowding.
• The minimum age for trekking mountain gorillas is strictly 15 years.
• Tourists are not allowed to visit the mountain gorillas when they have a cold or flu. This is because these gorillas can catch human diseases easily. If you must sneeze or cough, you are requested to cover the face and turn away from the mountain gorillas.
• You are always requested by a ranger guide to keep a 7-meter distance from the mountain gorillas.
• In circumstances where a tourist may be in need to ease themselves while in the wild, they are required to bury human waste 30 centimetres deep.
• Tourists are not allowed to smoke, eat, or drink in the presence of mountain gorillas.
• While in the wild searching for the mountain gorillas, once they are located, tourists are allowed only one hour with them.
• While in the park with mountain gorillas, keep your voice low; do not make loud noise in the presence of mountain gorillas because this disrupts them.
• Spitting on the national park’s vegetation is strictly prohibited.
• All litter in the park should be removed so as to keep the environment clean. This should be disposed of in the dustbin at different points. Destroying the vegetation as you set off for gorilla trekking is prohibited and punishable by courts of law.
• Ammunitions and firearms are prohibited during gorilla trekking.
• Tourists are requested to observe and obey the above rules and regulations so as to make this gorilla tracking adventure the most memorable one.