Meet Rwanda’s newborn gorillas at one of the world’s most prestigious wildlife festivals. Kwita izina continues the centuries-old Rwandan tradition of naming children in front of family and friends. Rwanda began officially naming mountain gorillas in 2005. It has evolved into a global celebration of nature. By naming them, we give these magnificent animals the respect they deserve.
The ceremony is an opportunity to thank the surrounding community, research partners, veterinarians, and dedicated conservationists, rangers, and trackers. About 374 mountain gorillas have been named in the last 18 years to commemorate the country’s dedication to sustainable and responsible tourism. The Kwita izina (Gorilla naming) ritual continues for centuries as an old Rwandan tradition of naming children in front of family and friends as a sign of respect. The Park rangers and researchers named gorilla babies in the Rwandan mountains thirty years before the first formal gorilla naming ceremony, and they observed each gorilla in its family and habitat.
Kwita Izina is now part of an ambitious effort to safeguard Rwanda’s natural heritage and boost tourism’s role in the country’s transformation. Rwandans from all walks of life now recognize the gorilla’s intrinsic importance and contribution to the country’s economic prosperity as a result of the naming ceremony. Rwandans were trained as gorilla keepers and this has helped it to emerge as the continent’s leading conservation and sustainable tourist destination. For example, the 2010 census counted 480 mountain gorillas in the Virunga Massive, but the 2016 census counted 604 in the same area. These initiatives have helped to increase the global population of mountain gorillas to 1,063 in the whole world which is no longer categorized as endangered. It’s a country’s major income earner and a key aspect to the communities; this is an event that brings all categories of to witness and the chosen ones to name the baby gorillas. A juvenile mountain gorilla named Kwita izina was honored at the foot of Rwanda’s Volcanoes National Park. You can also make an early inquiry about the event through numinous African safaris to reserve and purchase a ticket for the next gorilla naming event.
