Kwita Izina Gorilla Naming Ceremony in Rwanda

The Gorilla Naming Ceremony is an intriguing experience in Rwanda, it is a baby gorilla naming ceremony in Rwanda, launched in 2005 and several series have been going on regarding the same annually, it is an awareness to the people and the world at large on the conservation of mountain gorillas, they are the worlds largest living primates which have been listed by the IUCN redlist as critically endangered,  the ceremony had been in existence for years but came to life when the Rwanda development board decided to part of the primate protection and continued effort towards conservation and sustainability. The Mountain gorillas are found in the Virunga volcanic region, living in the dormant volcanic slopes of the 5 great series that make up the 8 series of the great Virunga mountains the species have thick fur compared to other thick apes, this is a great way of them existing in the cold environment. “Kwita Izina” is a Kinyarwanda word to mean naming.

The country puts into consideration the conservation success of the annual ceremony is inspired by the typical Rwandan culture, the annual week ceremony is along program of activities every September to raise awareness, after birth the baby gorillas are given a name during the annual ceremony, and the name is called in “Kinyarwanda” it is a massive event like no other collecting thousands of people from other destinations naming of baby gorillas that have been born in the volcanoes national park this is where the primates are situated, they live freely in the national park without being captivated, guests are invited to the ceremony to the main huge bamboo stage to give a name to the baby gorilla, names are chosen according to the behavior of the gorilla, unique traits, where they are born,

During the national ceremony, they announce the birth of baby gorillas, this is the traditional way where elders gathered in particular home with babies and named them after loved ones, famous, icons or even religious leaders, the activity is flagged by the rangers as a way of monitoring the species, the activity in the past years has become an eye-catching event, which welcomes baby gorillas to the world, today it is a part of the best ways of Rwanda to ensure progress on the conservation gorillas are named by notable visitors that are present during that year The eventful week includes different festivities like performances from different people, dancing to traditional music. There are quite several primates that have been named during the ceremony, it is one way of thanking the local communities that live around the national conservation areas, and the people that are involved in the day today well-being of the mountain gorillas, mountain gorillas are significant in Rwanda, these only exist in a few ecosystems including the neighboring states of Uganda and the democratic republic of Congo.

Mountain gorillas live within the Volcanoes National Park. It can be accessed by road or by air and is one of the closest national parks to the conservation area, besides the mountain gorillas there is more to the park including the Golden monkeys and more primates like the Lhoest monkeys, animals like a forest, elephants are present in the ecosystem although they are rare to see.