Rwanda Comes Together for Gorilla Naming Ceremony

President Kagame, wildlife authorities, conservation groups, and residents of Rwanda came together on Saturday for the naming of 30 endangered mountain gorilla babies (Gorilla beringei beringei). There are only 700 mountain gorillas surviving in the world, and 380 of them are in Rwanda. For Rwanda and its people, conservation of mountain gorillas is more than simply preserving one of the world's last great ape species. The gorillas are the country's main tourist attraction and have become perhaps the country's greatest icon.

Each year, more than 20,000 tourists from across the globe visit Rwanda, and the mountain gorillas are the main draw. On Saturday the people of Rwanda got to take part in the naming ceremony that will hopefully become an annual event. Children from villages near the park proposed names for each of the gorilla infants and officials selected the final names.

The names included Kubana, or living together; Kwunga, or peacemaker; Isoni, or shy; Izuba, or sun; Icyerekezo, or vision; Ubufatanye, or cooperation; Itsinzi or victory; and Inkundwa, or loved. Among those named were the Susa twins, the only recorded set of twins who have survived to the age of 1. President Paul Kagame and his wife named the twins Byishimo, meaning happiness, and Impano, or gift. They were born in May 2004.

The International Gorilla Conservation Program (IGCP), a coalition of the African Wildlife Foundation, Fauna and Flora International and World Wide Fund for Nature, was invited to be a presence at the ceremony. Eugene Rutagarama, Director of IGCP, was honored to name one of the gorillas, Dushishoze, which means "choose wisely."

"We must choose wisely the approach to conserving mountain gorillas so they will survive indefinitely," Mr. Rutagarama told the crowd. He was also impressed by the commitment of the Rwandan government to support gorilla conservation. "This commitment is seen by the people of Rwanda and is creating enthusiasm and awareness."

The naming ceremony featured traditional dances and poems praising the benefits of gorilla tourism on people's livelihoods.

The event also highlights the return of mountain gorilla tourism numbers to those of pre-genocide times. It is an opportunity for the small African nation to mark the progress they have achieved since the 1994 genocide, in which nearly one million Rwandans died.

Today, officials say tourism generates $2.5 million for Rwanda and is the country's third-largest source of foreign currency.

The mountain gorillas inhabit the Virungas, a mountain range that straddles the border of Rwanda, the Democratic Republic of Congo, and Uganda. This area anchors AWF's Virunga Heartland. Conservation efforts initiated by IGCP have helped to ensure that the endangered mountain gorilla population will endure. Through a variety of methods, including transboundary collaboration, ranger-based monitoring, community development, anti-poaching activities and habitat conservation, IGCP and its conservation partners are helping the mountain gorillas to make a comeback. In fact, a recent census shows a 17 percent increase in population since 1989.