Bwindi’s Unsung Heroes: The Gorilla Defenders Story

At night, the equatorial rain doesn’t fall. It hammers!

In Uganda’s Bwindi Impenetrable Forest, darkness drops like a curtain and the air turns sharp with cold. A gorilla family settles – babies press into their mums; juveniles build ‘nests’; the silverback ever watchful, anchoring the group.

Out in the same downpour are the people who keep them alive – the Gorilla Defenders. They are desperately poor, yet they patrol and track for hours through steep forest and humid heat in the day and biting cold at night, often without proper boots, waterproofs or tents.

Mountain gorillas are among our closest relatives – we share 98.3 per cent of our DNA. Their world revolves around family. Mothers are loving and devoted; silverback leaders are calm and gentle when unthreatened, yet fiercely protective; and the youngsters are bright and playful, rarely straying far from the safety of the group. But that closeness has never protected them from humans.

By the 1980s, mountain gorillas were on the brink. Their population crashed to around 250 individuals, wiped out by poaching, war and forest destruction. Today it stands at 1,063 – better, but still frighteningly low. Gorillas reproduce slowly: a nine-month pregnancy and usually one baby every few years, with long childhoods.

When a population is that small, one death not only shatters a family emotionally but can have dangerous consequences for the population. If a leading silverback dies, troops may fragment and infants can lose the stability that keeps them safe. A single loss can echo for years. That is why protection must be constant.

But protection has to work for people too. Bwindi is bordered by communities whose survival depends on their crops. When gorillas step out of the forest and help themselves to inviting crops, a year’s hard work can be flattened in minutes. Fear can turn into retaliation.

This is where HUGO (Human & Gorilla Conflict Resolution) steps in. HUGO volunteers are trained in gorilla behaviour and chosen locally, often by community leaders. When gorillas venture into gardens and farmland, they respond fast, calmly and peacefully, guiding them back into the forest before conflict escalates. The result is extraordinary – HUGO volunteers prevent around 90 per cent of these conflicts.

They are also a vital bridge between communities and the Uganda Wildlife Authority – the eyes and ears on the ground, sharing what’s happening and what support is needed. Just as importantly, HUGO is helping turn poachers into anti-poachers and establishing poacher reform groups in Bwindi villages. That shift matters. It replaces secrecy with responsibility and pride.

Yet these frontline volunteers were going without basics. Uganda sits on the equator, but Bwindi’s mountains are cold at night; downpours are punishing; malaria-carrying mosquitoes arrive after dark. Imagine doing conservation work while your teeth chatter, trekking through mud in worn-down footwear, soaked through, with failing kit.

So, Viva! made a simple promise: if you are out there protecting gorillas, we will protect you.

Gorilla Defenders is a long-term programme run jointly by Viva! UK and Viva! Uganda to equip, train and support the teams safeguarding mountain gorillas every day.

Over the last two summers, Viva! UK’s appeals raised £33,000 – enough to buy equipment for all 160 HUGO volunteers. We purchased high-quality insulating and rainproof clothing, sturdy boots, tents and field kits, plus essentials for recording and reporting in the forest.

Then we did something that matters deeply to me – we handed it over directly, in person. And we then monitored the programme on the ground.

Viva! Uganda and Viva! UK, working with the Uganda Wildlife Authority, held a special handover event in Bwindi. Alongside Viva! Uganda’s Denis Kasaija and the team, I put the kit into volunteers’ hands.

Joshua Masereka, Warden of Community Conservation, said: “Volunteers sacrifice a lot for the gorillas and do an incredible job. We are very grateful to Viva! and don’t take this equipment for granted. We want to thank you, Viva!, and all your supporters for making this happen.”

And the volunteers’ reactions said everything:
Joseph: “I am overjoyed. I thank you. Please send my gracious appreciation to the UK.”
David: “This makes me happy – all your help is very well received.”
George: “I will now be warm when I meet my fellow gorillas. Their conservation is very important to me.”

“Warm when I meet my fellow gorillas.” That brings home the importance of Gorilla Defenders!

Now we move to Phase 3. HUGO has been equipped and the next need is urgent. Gorilla Defenders is focusing on 89 Gorilla Trackers working under the Uganda Wildlife Authority across the Bwindi-Mgahinga Conservation Area. Trackers spend long hours and often days deep in the forest locating and monitoring habituated gorilla groups, collecting health and demographic data, identifying threats and linking veterinarians, researchers, rangers and the gorillas themselves.

In practical terms, trackers are the early-warning system: spotting illness, injury, snares and abnormal behaviour so help can arrive fast. Equipping them with protective clothing, communication devices, camping gear and data tools strengthens daily monitoring and improves gorilla health surveillance.

Alongside this, Viva! Uganda is advancing a comprehensive HUGO training programme to strengthen skills in understanding gorilla behaviour, tracking, conflict prevention, rapid response, data collection and community engagement. Training plus equipment means better protection for gorillas and safer, more effective work for the people on the frontline.

There are only around one thousand mountain gorillas on Earth. They are families with long memories and strong bonds, and they depend on people brave enough to protect them and on supporters willing to make protection practical.

If you want a future where gorilla babies grow up safe, where silverbacks keep their families intact and where communities thrive alongside wildlife – be part of this. Be a Gorilla Defender.

Because extinction is forever. And so is the legacy we choose to leave.

To support Gorilla Defenders, please go to gorilladefenders.org
All monies raised are ringfenced for Gorilla Defenders and none of these funds are spent on admin.

About the author
Juliet Gellatley
Juliet Gellatley is founder & director of Viva! – the biggest vegan campaigning charity in Europe. Viva! launched in 1994, joined by Viva! Poland in 2002. Juliet has created and launched numerous campaigns on the impact of what we eat on animals, the planet and our health. She has also investigated many farms – often the big names - and exposed the devastating cruelty. She is the author of several reports, guides and books and producer of the award-winning HOGWOOD: a modern horror story documentary on Amazon Prime. Juliet has given many hundreds of talks, radio, Podcast and TV interviews. Juliet has a degree in Zoology & Psychology and is a qualified nutritional therapist.

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