When the gorillas came visiting....

Bwindi Impenetrable Park gorillas

February 2012. In December 2011 the guests at a tented campsite in Uganda's Bwindi Impenetrable Park had a major surprise when they got up early for breakfast. Rather than having to go trekking through the mountainous jungle to look for a family of gorillas, the gorillas had come to visit them in their camp. 

The video shows a whole family of mountain gorillas, including a silverback and several youngsters, wandering through the camp. They then decide to check out one of the guests who, much to his credit, sits stock still while several gorillas 'groom' his hair with a 400lb silverback sitting just a metre behind him. 

Mountain Gorilla Conservation.
The key activity that has helped preserve the Mountain gorillas is tourism. The money that they bring into the local communities is by far and away their largest source of income, which in turn means that they instantly have a very large interest in preserving these animals. Every visitor, apart from the park fees, stays in hotels, eats and drinks, and tips the guides (well most anyway). So how can you help protect them? Easy; visit the mountain gorillas; they need visitors, and the experience never short-changes.

If you would like to donate some money towards the Mountain gorillas survival, we recommend the International Gorilla Conservation Programme or the Congo Rangers. 

http://www.wildlifeextra.com/go/news/bwindi-gorillas.html

Guereza colobus monkeys join dawn chorus to 'show off'

Scientists have revealed some of the secrets of the loud, growling monkey dawn chorus in the forests of Uganda.

Guereza colobus monkeys appear to join the chorus to advertise their size and dominance.

The scientists managed, for the first time, to trigger a forest-wide chorus using a recording.

They reported their lastest insight into this early morning "wall of sound" in the journal Behavioural Ecology and Sociobiology.

Anne Marijke Schel carried out the work at Budongo Conservation Field Station, Uganda, as part of her PhD project.

She and her colleague, Prof Klaus Zuberbuhler from the University of St Andrews, Scotland, wanted to find out why the monkeys took part in what they described as a "vocal spectacle".

"The behaviour usually starts before dawn by one individual calling somewhere in the forest," said Dr Zuberbuhler.


Read more here ...

20-million-year-old skull discovery

Scientists in Paris have unveiled a 20-million-year-old skull they hope will help with the study of human ancestry.

The Ugandapithecus was found in Uganda in the layers of sediment under the volcanoes of the Karamoja region.

The discovery of the skull represents the culmination of more than 25 years of work and it is the most complete skull of this type to ever be found.

Martin Pickford, one of the paleontologists who discovered the skull, said: "It's the first time we've got a real good sample of Ugandapithecus Major.

"Before that, it was known by jaw fragments, isolated teeth, a few postcranial bones. But here, we really have a good idea for the first time of what the whole skull might have looked like."

The British paleontologist said the discovery would allow scientists to fill a gap in the lineage of primates but said the Ugandapithecus could very well have become extinct without leading to the birth of man.

http://news.uk.msn.com/articles.aspx?cp-documentid=159215627

20-million year-old fossil found

Aug. 4 - A 20-million year-old fossil, thought to be from a distant cousin of modern apes, is discovered in Uganda. Tara Cleary reports.
http://www.reuters.com/video/2011/08/04/20-million-year-old-fossil-found?videoId=217874852