The World Wild Fund for Nature(WWF), one of the implementers of the ongoing gorilla and chimpanzee census has said the exercise will last a year.
On Monday, WWF in collaboration with Uganda Wildlife Authority, the Greater Virunga Transboundary Collaboration (GVTC) and other partners begun a new count of mountain gorillas in Bwindi, Uganda.
At the same time, these partners will also carry out the first ever chimpanzee census in this landscape in the three countries of Uganda, Rwanda and DRC.
The new scientific count will provide a robust estimate of the number of mountain gorillas living in Bwindi, and an indication of how the population has changed since the previous census was carried out in 2018 but will also help determine the number of chimpanzees in this area.
Commenting about the exercise, Bruno Ssemaganda, the Chief Operating Officer for WWF Uganda said the exercise will last for a year with results to be disseminated mid next year.
“Data and sample collection and analyses will continue through 2025 and results from the count will be released in 2026,” Ssemaganda said.
He explained that whereas the actual counting will end earlier, analysis of the data to be done within the region will take a little while, to ensure the results are released mid-next year.
The Chief Operating Officer for WWF Uganda said six teams comprising staff from the 11 participating institutions are currently systematically moving on foot through Bwindi, looking for signs of mountain gorillas, recording mountain gorilla nest sites, and collecting fecal samples to be used for genetic analyses.
He insisted that the actual counting will be done manually since technology in form of drones can’t be use since Bwindi is impenetrable.
“This census will also provide information on demographics (age and sex ratio) within the Bwindi – Sarambwe population, and the location of groups in relation to each other within the ecosystem, on illegal activities, vegetation dynamics in the gorilla habitat, and the status of other large mammals.”
The last census for gorillas in Bwindi was done in 2018 and put the number of these animals to 459 individuals in 36 social groups and 16 solitary mountain gorillas.
Conservationists hope that the census results for this year depict an increase population for gorillas, as a sign of the success of their conservation efforts over the years.