Gorillas In A Dangerous Mist

Before this week, Uganda's Bwindi National Park was known to most Americans as home to the nearly extinct mountain gorillas made famous by the movie Gorillas in the Mist.

There are only about 600 mountain gorillas left in the world, and half of them live in the park's mountains. The other half live across the border in a region that has become a war zone. Uganda was once a safe place for both tourists and gorillas. Not any more.

Katie Frohardt of the African Wildlife Foundation studied the gorillas in Uganda and called the region "one of the most beautiful places that I've visited in Africa."

She says, "You can get within five meters or 15 feet of the gorillas, so it's a very intimate viewing experience."

If tourists are scared away, Frohardt worries the gorillas could be in even more danger from poachers and trappers. The tourism revenue directly finances patrols of the animals and their habitat. Those revenues are critical in maintaining a high level of protection for the mountain gorillas.

In the unique ecology of this part of Africa the welfare of people is directly tied to the welfare of animals.

James Garland, whose daughter Elizabeth narrowly escaped being kidnapped, said she worries about how the local people will support themselves if the gorillas and the tourists disappear. "She said: 'Dad, I'm going to survive this, but there are many other people in this area who are not going to survive this.'"

It's a tough lesson to learn: that in one corner of Uganda, gorillas are not the only endangered species.