Uganda Launches the Gorilla and Chimpanzee Census in Bwindi
Uganda has officially kicked off the gorilla and chimpanzee census in Bwindi Impenetrable National Park located in south-western Uganda. The census was officially launched in Ruhija, Bwindi by the Executive Director of Uganda Wildlife Authority (UWA). Dr. James Musinguzi launched the Bwindi – Sarambwe mountain gorilla and inaugural chimpanzee cencus 2025 at the Institute of Tropical Forest Conservation (ITFC), a leading research institution based in Uganda working towards biodiversity conservation and the sustainable management of natural resources in the Albertine Rift region.
In attendance were key partners and stakeholders including the Jane Goodall Institute, Rwanda Development Board (RDB), Gorilla Doctors, World Wide Fund for Nature Uganda country office (WWF UCO), and Greater Virunga Transboundary Collaboration among others. This census will be a contributor to the conservation of primates across the world and is a great indicator of the conservation efforts of gorillas and chimpanzees.
The 2025 mountain gorilla census is the 6th census, the first ever census was carried out in 1997. The last gorilla census was conducted in 2018 and 459 mountain gorillas were recorded. The next census after 2018 was supposed to be carried out in 2023 but was rescheduled to 2025 due to COVID-19.
This census is usually conducted every five years and the census team is flagged off during the launch ceremony. The team that will conduct the 2025 gorilla and chimpanzee census will be made up of over 60 trained personnel with 70% of the team members coming from Uganda Wildlife Authority (UWA). The analysis methods that they will use for the census include nest count and genetic analysis methods. It will be conducted over two sweeps with the first concluding in June 2025 and the second one in September 2025.
Key partners and other stakeholders attending the launch ceremony in Bwindi. Photo by Uganda Wildlife Authority.
The UWA Executive Director during the launch ceremony highlighted that apes are important for tourism, contributing about 60% of UWA’s internally generated revenue hence being an exceptional contributor to Uganda’s tourism. He further informed the stakeholders that Uganda Wildlife Authority (UWA) is strengthening human and logistical capacity to reduce threats to gorillas, chimpanzees and other wildlife species in Uganda.
Where in Uganda can one see gorillas and chimpanzees?
Following the 2025 census, one might wonder where they can see gorillas and chimpanzees in Uganda. Well, gorilla trekking and chimpanzee trekking is one of the well-known tourism activities in Uganda and Uganda through the Uganda Wildlife Authority (UWA) allows a select number of individuals to spend time trekking and coming face to face with these apes. A visit to the gorillas and chimpanzees is a memorable adventure and a great way to contribute to the conservation of gorillas and chimpanzees as a percentage of yout park entrance fee goes to conservation of these primates.
Gorillas in Uganda can be seen in Bwindi Impenetrable National Park while chimpanzees in Uganda can be seen in Kibale National Park. Gorillas can only be seen in Bwindi however for chimpanzees, one can track them is other conservation areas in Uganda like Budongo Forest Reserve at Kaniyo Papidi in Murchison Falls National Park, Kalinzu Forest and Kyambura Gorge in Queen Elizabeth National Park.
The 2025 gorilla and chimpanzee census will be an exciting way to track the primate’s population in Uganda and we are eagerly looking forward to the census results.
