It’s important to see the Rwandan jungle for the trees.
I first visited the African nation in November 2021. It’s one of just three countries on Earth that are home to the fabled mountain gorilla. One of these countries is embroiled in armed conflict, while the two others remain viable options for close encounters with these animals. I chose Rwanda over Uganda for my first trip to this part of Africa and returned the following year after the experiences and connections I made there.
Of all the biology courses I’ve taken in my life, ecology resonated with me the most. It’s a field that removes the vacuum from which so much is typically analyzed and zooms out to ask the broader question: how do organisms interact with each other and the environment around them?
As a nod to my prior life in
THE LAND
Rwanda is a landlocked country in Central Africa, covering about 10,000 square miles. Its mountainous landscape has earned it the nickname “Land of a Thousand Hills,” a name that becomes immediately apparent when you touch down in Kigali. As you head west from the capital, the hills become even more pronounced.
The Virunga mountains are a chain of eight major volcanoes, two of which are still active today. Stretching across Rwanda, Uganda, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), the mountains serve as the backdrop to the people and wildlife residing in the region. Five of these peaks are located within Volcanoes National Park in northwestern Rwanda, which borders Mgahinga Gorilla National Park in Uganda and Virunga National Park in the DRC.
Rwanda’s national park spans about 60 square miles�"slightly smaller than Washington, D.C. and just 2% the size of Yellowstone National Park. Changes in altitude creates a diverse landscape that includes rainforests, bamboo forests, alpine forests, marshes, and swamps. It’s an imposing and almost primitive-looking landscape that greets you each morning before you set off on your trek. By the tail end of the rainy season in November, it becomes a world of shin-high mud that you trudge through as you navigate the nearly impenetrable foliage.
But to some, this is home.
THE PEOPLE
With a population exceeding 13 million, Rwanda is one of the most densely populated countries in Africa. Its economy relies heavily on subsistence agriculture, which employs about 70% of the population. Most of this labor is manual, as many work for their small piece of the pie. Rwanda’s gross national income per capita was just over $3,000 USD in 2023.
In this predominantly agricultural nation, where the vast majority of people live in rural areas, the Virunga Mountains stand as some of the few remaining natural forested areas. Farmers depend on this land for their livelihoods, while the animals have nothing other than these mountains to their names.
One of the first things you notice on a trek in Rwanda is the close proximity of cultivated land to the untamed jungle of Volcanoes National Park. In many areas, only a small rock wall separates the two. Treks to see the great apes begin with a hike through plowed fields, where livestock and farmers greet you along the way. A rebound in the gorilla population and their habituation to humans means that it’s not uncommon for these animals to emerge from the forest and wander across the farmlands, occasionally treating themselves to some of the crops. In many parts of the world, unwanted intruders on farms would be shot. In Rwanda, however, these visitors are allowed to roam free.
This informal understanding functions because of the reinvestment into local villages. Around 15% of each $1500 trek permit goes to community projects and a compensation fund for farmers affected by crop losses. This financial distribution helps convey to locals that their animal neighbors are allies, not adversaries, to their prosperity.
THE ANIMALS
Having explored both the land and human aspects, we can turn to the final, hairier piece of this Rwandan story.
There’s a wide array of wildlife within this small country. Along your trek, you can spot golden monkeys, and trackers will sometimes find elephant droppings in the jungle. More “traditional” African species like gazelles, zebras, giraffes, and hippos inhabit the eastern part of Rwanda. It’s the gorillas, however, that capture so much of the attention, and likely for good reason.
Mountain gorillas are one of four sub-species of gorilla. There are around 44 habituated families, varying in size from 10 to 40 members. About half of these families permanently reside in another of Uganda’s national parks�"the Bwindi Impenetrable Forest. The other population roams the Virunga Mountains, crossing the borders between Rwanda, Uganda, and the DRC. They are burly animals that spend most of their time at high elevations foraging for food. Adult males, known as silverbacks, can weigh over 400 pounds and stand up to six feet tall. Despite their impressive physique, they still find themselves at the mercy of a species with which they share 98% of their DNA�"humans.
If you were to scale a map of the African continent to the size of a sheet of printer paper, the habitat of the mountain gorilla would be smaller than a penny. It’s this question of land that lies at the heart of why the animals are still at risk. Over 100,000 people already live around the areas where these gorillas reside. As the human population continues to grow and more cultivation takes place, this already delicate balance becomes even more precarious.
Since 2010, the number of mountain gorillas has more than doubled thanks to conservation initiatives and coordination among Rwanda, Uganda, and the DRC. But with just 1,000 animals remaining today, the sub-species remains endangered. Traps and snares from illegal poaching, animal trafficking, disease, habitat loss, and the effects of war and civil unrest in the region continue to pose a great threat to these gorillas.
On the morning of my final trek in November 2022, I spoke with my guides about my interest in visiting a family situated in more open space. When photographing gorillas, I’ve found that the challenge often comes less from the animals themselves and more from the dense foliage. If we could trek to an area with fewer overhanging trees, it would provide a clearer view of the setting, and, ideally, make for better photographs.
We reached the Kwitonda family, who were eating leaves and branches along the border between the farmland and the jungle. And while cultivated land wasn’t what I initially had in mind when I shared I was seeking a more open setting, I realized that this was the story to be told.
As the squeeze is increasingly placed on this already fragile region, scenes like this one are becoming more common. An entire sub-species previously considered to be mythical figures of the jungle, now emerging onto land maintained by humans.
Life very much on the fringe.
In 2022, the Government of Rwanda announced plans to restore Volcanoes National Park, aiming to increase the mountain gorillas’ habitat by 14 square miles. They also plan to create an additional “buffer zone” nearly double that size to be used for agriculture and agroforestry to benefit both the park and the surrounding communities. The government projects that this initiative can reduce human-wildlife conflicts by 80%.
There are many variables and many pieces to this puzzle. It’s a story being written as quickly as we’re reading it.
The small white button that Sylvia has pinned to her red sweater in The Truman Show comes to mind.
“HOW’S IT GOING TO END?” it asks.
Hopefully, this is one story that never does.
