By Gerald Tenywa

GORILLAS in Bwindi Impenetrable National Park have given birth to eight babies, giving conservationists cause to organise a naming ceremony to take place soon.

“We will have a naming ceremony for the baby gorillas,’’ said Lillian Nsubuga, the Public Relations Manager at the Uganda Wildlife Authority (UWA).

Buganda’s queen, Sylvia Nagginda, christened one of the baby gorillas, “Ntuse’’ (I have reached), ahead of the naming ceremony. Nagginda named the baby near Buhoma after viewing them last year.

Nsubuga said the most recent birth took place on May 23 among the Habinyanja group. He said this had raised the population of the group to 22.

Other gorillas were born at Nkuringo and Rushegura, which are open to tourists in Bwindi, where more than half of the endangered gorilla population roam.

In the last naming ceremony, organised about two years ago, several cultural activities of the Bakiga people such as songs and dances were conducted at Buhoma.

Sources at UWA said gorilla tourism was one of the largest contributors of revenue to the national coffers.

Gorilla tourism started in the early 1990s and now sells like hot cakes.
Other mountain gorillas occur in Mgahinga Gorilla national park, which is part of the virungas that also cover Rwanda and the DR Congo.

The gorilla population has increased by about 10% in a decade, causing conservationists to hope that the endangered species will survive.