When Lions Ate Letters
Lions used to be common in the lower altitudes of the Virunga volcanoes but are now are locally extinct, along with the leopard. Historically they…
Author: Ian
Ian Cantwell is a historian, the writer of the Kigezi Mosaic and a member of the team that started the Gorilla Highlands idea in 2011. When not researching somewhere in Africa, he is based in Ireland.
100 Years Ago Dr Leonard Sharp Revolutionised Lake Bunyonyi
There are three islands on Uganda’s Lake Bunyonyi’s that are connected through the deeply fascinating story of Dr Leonard Sharp, an English missionary (pictured above, driving…
Rough and Tough People of the Hills
The Gorilla Highlands Initiative was born 10 years ago in the land of the Bakiga (pronunciation: “Bachiga”; singular: Mukiga; language: Rukiga), the tribe from southwestern…
The Godfather and the Controversial Martyr of Mountain Gorilla Research
The first scientist to study mountain gorillas full time in the wild was George Schaller. When he reviewed the literature he could find few verifiable facts, largely…
Were Batwa Really Dangerous to Gorillas?
The sad story of the Batwa “Pygmies” of the Gorilla Highlands reached its dramatic peak when they were kicked out of national parks. This was in line with the…
How Do Gorillas Get Habituated (Used to Humans)?
In the national parks of the Gorilla Highlands, many gorilla groups roam. But only some of them can actually receive one-hour visits from tourists. That…
Why Do Gorillas Fart So Much?
Article from the series: Frequently Asked Questions about Rwanda, Uganda and DR Congo For more about gorillas and gorilla tracking please listen to the podcast…
Batwa “Pygmies”: History and Present
The Batwa “Pygmies” are one of the oldest peoples in Africa and their origin is unknown. They were hunter-gatherers, roaming the forests in bands foraging for honey, wild yams, fruit, stems…
How Human are Gorillas?
Researchers are often struck by gorillas’ apparent humanity. Taking into account our genetic similarities of 95% or above, there has been a long debate about…
Dawn of Gorilla Tracking as a Tourism Activity
While there were sporadic non-scientific expeditions to mountain gorillas before, real tourism began with the arrival of Walter Baumgartel. Baumgartel was a German who had…