Mountain gorillas are known descendants of ancestral monkey that thrive in the mountain ranges of the Virunga and the Bwindi Forest! These great apes live in tropical rain forests shared by countries of Uganda, Rwanda and Democratic Republic of Congo as well as the Bwindi Impenetrable National Park in Uganda.
Mountain gorillas are the star attraction of the region and that is why many travelers seek for gorilla tours in Uganda and Rwanda all year round. One of the reasons for the development of gorilla tourism is creating awareness about how gorillas live in the wild! Many visitors to the gorilla parks wonder about how mountain gorillas spend their overnights in the environments where they live and a cross section of trekkers would feel mesmerized after encountering these great apes.
It should be noted that gorillas sleep in nests just like their relatives, the wild chimpanzees. The gorilla nests are built in trees or on the ground considering the security and vegetation. Interestingly to note is that gorillas put up new nests every evening and this can be encountered while on gorilla safari and tour in Uganda and Rwanda. Gorillas have to put up new nests even when the ones that they used previous night are very close to them.
Every night mountain gorilla constructs its nest except for young gorillas that put up with their mothers. They enter their nests approximately 1 hour to the dark and at times construct nests for midday rest which can be seen on gorilla trekking safari in Uganda and Rwanda.
A gorilla nest is built by pulling branches of bushes along with other plants to the center where they are joined with one another to form a nest and this is common with ground nests. Other branches are then bent to form the roof of the nest. The tree nests are constructed using tree branches and other materials and have to be strong enough to carry the weight of gorillas. This explains why most of the time young and female gorillas tend to spend their overnights in trees while the male gorillas especially silverbacks dwell much on the ground. These disparities can be encountered while on Uganda gorilla safaris and tours.
Would you like to learn more about the gorillas and how they survive in the wild? Why not take a tour to Bwindi Impenetrable National Park, the best place to encounter these great apes! Lots of prepackages gorilla tours are available from various tour operators or you can get started with planning an independent gorilla visit!