Baby gorillas to be named in October

By The Inspirer.

The Rwanda Development Board (RDB) has announced that for the 20th time, there will be a ceremony to name baby gorillas, an event scheduled for October 18, 2024.

Baby gorillas born since last September will be given names in the ceremony, which will be held for the 20th time in Kinigi, Musanze District, in the Northern Province, on Friday, October 18, 2024.

The event will be attended by people from all over the world, including celebrities and leaders in fields related to environmental conservation and biodiversity.

The Gorilla Naming Ceremony, known as Kwita Izina, has become deeply rooted in Rwanda since it was first introduced in 2005. The Rwandan government decided that every year, newborn gorillas would be given names.

According to the Visit Rwanda website, this event is meant to acknowledge the role of communities living near the parks in conserving them, protecting gorillas, appreciating those who care for them daily, and those who visit them.

Traditionally, researchers and others who monitor gorillas have had the practice of naming gorillas within their families to make it easier to continue research on them in the future.

Given the importance of mountain gorillas, Rwanda is one of the three countries in the world that host them, along with Uganda and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). This has given Rwanda the responsibility of protecting them, as they are considered a global heritage.

As the years go by, the Kwita Izina ceremony continues to attract a wide range of participants, including international guests, celebrities from various fields, leaders of organizations related to environmental conservation, heads of state, and others.

According to the RDB website, since 2005, a total of 397 baby gorillas have been named through this ceremony.

A report from the Rwanda Development Board (RDB) shows that in 2023, Rwanda generated $620 million from the tourism sector, representing a 36% increase compared to the $500 million earned in 2022.

RDB attributes this growth to the fact that in 2023, Rwanda was visited by over 1.4 million tourists. Of those, 2% visited gorillas, and the revenue from Volcanoes National Park visits was the highest, accounting for nearly 30% of the total income generated from tourism-related services.

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