Gorillas excite Kampala

Sep 01, 2009

Excitement swept through Kampala city yesterday morning as 50 dummy mountain gorillas roamed the streets early morning.

By Jeff Lule and Lydia Lakwonyero

Excitement swept through Kampala city yesterday morning as 50 dummy mountain gorillas roamed the streets early morning.

Vendors abandoned business to see the ‘beasts’ which were having a great meal of yellow bananas, shook hands with passers-by and distributed fliers to them.

A traffic Police officer at Entebbe Road junction, Richard Okem, blamed the gorillas for the thick traffic jam as drivers stopped to stare at them.

“Yes, they are very exciting and many people are very attracted to them,” he said. “But they have caused traffic jam.”

Despite the fanfare, some people took off in panic on seeing their “cousins”.

Isaac Daka, a shop attendant on Kampala Road, was initially scared at Shell Capital on meeting but later joined other admirers.

“Nobody has seen a gorilla in the city and what do you expect if you just bump into it unexpectedly?” Daka asked. “Many people fear drawing closer to them.”

At the Clock Tower, some gorillas became ecstatic when people gave them coins.

The gorillas, moving in pairs and groups of three, stood at the major junctions and streets of Wandegeya round-about, the Constitutional Square, the Clock Tower, Parliamentary Avenue, Hotel Equatoria, Pioneer Mall and Theatre Labonita, near Christ the King Church.

This was one of the activities organised by the Uganda Wildlife Authority to promote awareness and protection of gorillas and encourage the public to live in harmony with them, said director Moses Mapesa.

He explained that the event also helped the wildlife watchdog to publicise the UN international year of gorillas commemoration coming up later in the year.

“We received a positive response from the public,” Mapesa added. “Many people were curious about the gorillas.”

He said next year, the authority would have a marathon race from Kampala to Bwindi, the home of the gorillas, to promote tourism, which contributes 5% to Uganda’s GDP.

The authority says gorillas are among the most endangered species in Uganda, which needed protection.

There are about 720 gorillas worldwide, 340 of which live in the Bwindi Impenetrable National Park. The rest are found in Mgahinga (Uganda), the DR Congo and Rwanda.

The Ministry of Tourism and the wildlife authority are planning a grand launch of the biggest habituated gorilla family in Kisoro district on September 24.

This will be followed by national celebrations and a fundraising gala for gorillas on September 26.

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