Baby gorillas get a name, and country's conservation is winner

KIGALI－Rwanda is to give names to 24 endangered mountain baby gorillas born late last year and this year in an annual gorilla conservation event known as Kwita Izina.

Each year Kwita Izina, which means to give a name, brings together thousands of participants including international guests, but this year's celebrations will be held virtually to prevent the spread of COVID-19, said Ariella Kageruka, acting chief tourism officer of the Rwanda Development Board, in the capital, Kigali.

The event will take place on Sept 24 and will be the 17th of its kind, Kageruka said.

"This year Rwanda is inviting the world to be part of the ultimate celebration of life, as 24 new baby gorillas will be named during the ceremony. Since the inception of this annual event in 2005 we have named 328 baby gorillas."

This year's baby gorilla naming celebration will showcase Rwanda's conservation efforts, including the health of the mountain gorillas and the need to expand their habitat and how the lives of communities have been improved while enabling wildlife conservation, Kageruka said.

"The pandemic has emphasized the importance of building partnerships to support conservation even as tourist numbers dwindle. We appreciate our conservation partners who have joined us in this journey."

The baby gorilla naming event has become a major tourism ceremony in the country. It has boosted efforts to conserve endangered mountain gorillas that have enabled Rwanda to tap tourism revenues connected with conservation.

Last year the country's tourism revenue fell sharply, to $121 million, compared with $498 million in 2019, because of the pandemic, Kageruka said.

Tourist activities were suspended for months due to the pandemic before the country reopened to tourism in June last year, with a sharp cut in the price of permits for tracking endangered mountain gorillas.

The previous events attracted thousands of Rwandans, members of the diplomatic corps, foreign dignitaries, sports personalities, philanthropists and conservation enthusiasts from around the world to take part in the baby gorilla naming ceremony at the foothills of the Virunga Massif, in Kinigi sector, Musanze district, northern Rwanda.

Through a partnership with Alibaba, the development board had been promoting Rwanda as a tourist destination to China, Kageruka said.

"Through the partnership we have with Alibaba we are continuing to look at how we can intensify our activities by hosting targeted travel media and trade from China that can allow us to penetrate the Chinese market better."

Xinhua