5 Safety Considerations for Gorilla Trekking in Africa

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Most of the people who live out there in the world prefer to visit Africa in order to enjoy their time with gorilla trekking. In fact, Africa is one of the best destinations available for you to get closer to the gorillas and explore them in their natural habitats. But if you don’t focus on your safety while you are engaged with gorilla trekking, there is a high possibility for you to come across hassle and frustration.

Below mentioned are 5 important considerations that you need to keep in mind while you are engaged with gorilla trekking in Africa. All people are strongly encouraged to keep these safety considerations in mind. If you can do it, there is a high possibility for you to overcome hassle and frustration throughout the journey. Hence, you will be able to end up with impressive results as well.

  • Keep a distance of at least seven meters

As mentioned earlier, gorilla trekking will provide you with the chance to get closer to the gorillas. However, you need to make sure that you don’t get closer than seven meters. Then you will be able to avoid all possible chances available for a close interaction to take place. Close interactions are never encouraged with gorillas because it can cause dangerous situations for both parties. The gorillas are not aware about the boundaries. Therefore, you will need to keep the 7m boundary in your mind at all times. Then you will be able to avoid them with minimum hassle. In fact, the gorillas feel comfortable when you stay beyond 7 meters from them. Hence, you will be able to make sure that you are not making the gorillas feel scared. This will also provide a tremendous assistance to you with defending yourself against the gorillas.

  • Wear appropriate clothes

When you are engaged with gorilla trekking, you will need to go deep into the jungle. Due to this reason, you are strongly encouraged to wear appropriate clothes. It can contribute a lot towards your safety as well. Gorilla trekking is never going to be an easy journey. That’s because you will have to go through slippery muddy grounds, thorny bushes and steep slopes while you are looking for gorillas. This is the main reason why you will need to wear clothes that are appropriate for jungle. If you can wear hiking boots instead of slippers, you will be able to receive a tremendous assistance when walking on muddy grounds. Hence, you can make sure that you don’t slip and fall. In addition, you need to wear hand gloves, long pants and long sleeved shirts as well. Then you will be able to seek the assistance of thorny bushes while you are traveling inside the jungle. You can also wear sunglasses to make sure that you don’t have to deal with direct sunlight. If you are traveling in the rainy season, you are encouraged to take rain jackets and sweaters to ensure your safety.

  • Avoid direct eye contact with gorillas

All people who take part in gorilla trekking are strongly encouraged to avoid having direct eye contact with gorillas as much as possible. That’s because the mountain gorillas are identified as a shy animal species. When you maintain direct eye contact with the mountain gorillas, you will be disrupting them. Due to this reason, you should never even try to maintain direct eye contact with the gorillas at any given time. In addition, you will also be asked to keep calm when you are exploring the gorillas. If you panic, the gorillas will panic as well. Therefore, you need to make sure that you act normally while you are in front of the gorillas. If you can speak at a low tone, you will be able to minimize a large number of inconveniences that can take place during the journey. Then you will be able to make sure that you are not disturbing the gorillas that spend their time in the natural habitats. There are instances where the baby gorillas will walk up to you. In such instances, you should not carry or touch the baby gorillas. If you do, the family of gorillas would see that as a threat. Hence, they will try to attack you and defend the baby.

  • Stick to your group

People who go on gorilla trekking will be taken to the jungle in groups. When you are inside the jungle, you will be asked to stick to the group at all times. Usually, the groups are being divided with 8 people each. Such a group will be allowed to explore a one gorilla family. When you set off to the jungle, you will be tempted to go ahead and explore the beautiful surroundings on your own. However, you need to keep in mind that it is a dangerous activity to try out. Due to that reason, you are always encouraged to stick to your group. You need to keep in mind that gorillas are not the only animal species that you can find inside the jungle. If you split from the group, there is a high possibility for the other animals to attack you. Hence, you need to stick to your group at all times and make sure that you don’t grab their attention.

  • Never go on gorilla trekking when you are sick

All people who are sick should refrain from going on gorilla trekking. That’s mainly because the mountain gorillas are vulnerable to the human borne illnesses such as flue and cough. On the other hand, taking part in gorilla trekking while you are sick can worsen the health conditions that you have. Due to this reason, only healthy individuals are allowed to take part in gorilla trekking. Then you will be able to come back home with peace of mind, along with a large number of exciting memories that you have captured throughout the journey.