It’s very possible for one to adopt or sponsor a gorilla in Rwanda Volcanoes national park. Each years Rwanda hosts the Kwita Izina, special ceremony where baby gorillas born of that year are given names. 
At this ceremony you can choose to adopt a baby gorilla where you even have chance to give name to the infant gorilla from anywhere in the world.
However, baby gorillas adoption is not physical like any pet like a cat or dog in your home, it is symbolic/digital! What is done, a gorilla under a particular name is assigned to you online, and you get to know where it is found, its family the physical appearance and you are always given updates of its development and well being promptly. The adopted gorilla is left to its family in the wild as you follow it regularly.
You cannot know why the gorillas are adopted in Rwanda without getting into details of the adoption and its history. First we shall look at the history of gorilla adoption in Rwanda
Rwanda is one of the few countries in the world with gorillas. Out of the four species of gorillas, Rwanda has the mountain gorillas that are endangered red listed by the International Union of Conservation for Nature (IUCN). These gorillas are still low in number with about 1004 individuals in the isolated locale of Bwindi impenetrable forest in Uganda and the Virunga massif that is shared by Rwanda, Uganda and Dr. Congo. Rwanda now has about a third of the total population of the mountain gorillas. The gorillas in Rwanda are found in Volcanoes national park in Musanze province in the northeast of the country at the borders of Uganda and Dr. Congo
In the 1960s, the mountain gorillas were critically endangered due to their 
massive killings by the rebels who were in their habitats and also human settlement and the diseases that attacked them. An American primatologist Dian Fossey who lived in Rwanda by then got a huge concern of the drastic decrease of the mountain gorillas. She set up karisoke research institute in the Virunga Mountains in Rwanda to know more about the taxonomy and life cycle of the gorillas. In order to save these huge primates, she adopted one of the helpless silverback in the forest by then (the legendary silverback Cantsbee). Under the patronage of Diana Fossey, Cantsbee had a remarkable life time. He was the longest lived male gorilla ever recorded, the alpha male of the largest gorilla family ever known, and he fathered more offspring than any other gorilla known to primatologists! Cantsbee is still up-to-date celebrated and honored through the wonderful job done by the Diana Fossey Gorilla Fund.
Different conservation organization noted the great work started by Diana Fossey by carrying on her legacy through the Diana Fossey Gorilla Fund which started with two tents near the Virunga ranges forest into a worldwide coordinated organization. Today anyone from anywhere, can adopt a gorilla through the Diana Fossey gorilla Fund organization. There are also other international organizations that carry out gorilla adoption project for example World Wide Fund for Nature formerly known as World Wildlife Fund (WWF) and Friend a Gorilla
Gorilla adoption is very simple and benefiting, all one has to do is subscribe and paying as low as 3$ monthly to get a gorilla to keep track of for a lifetime for the case of World Wide fund for Nature and for Diana Fossey Gorilla Fund, it starts from 50$ for an unstated period of time.
What happens when you adopt a gorilla?
- A person gets the following when he/she successfully adopts a gorilla
- A customized, a clear adoption certificate with a full-color photo of your adopted gorilla
- A Layout with beautiful images of your gorilla along with detailed information from the family and exact locale it comes from
- A digital subscription to the Gorilla Journal, the Fossey Fund’s quarterly newsletter
- A special video of your adopted gorilla.
Why adopt a gorilla
Mountain gorillas have been critically endangered species for the past few years and different stakeholders from the government of Rwanda to the international wildlife conservation organizations have been greatly concerned of the predicament.
Mountain gorillas are natural beings that deserve to live since they contribute much to the ecosystems of the areas of Virunga ranges. In addition to that the gorillas are very interesting animals to watch in the wild. They bring lots of excitement and joy to the people who watch them in the wild. Meeting the gorillas in the wild is a lifetime experience! These animals have very unique social antics that will leave one intrigued when observed. So why not contribute to their conservation and preservation through adopting one and the funds paid will be used to treat, manage and protect them from their threats so that the future generation can enjoy them as well.
The benefits of the funds collected from gorilla adoption in Rwanda include;
- To help conserve, preserve and protect the actual habitats/locales of gorillas
- To convey some moderate support to the local government to improve volcanoes national park where the gorillas live in Rwanda.
- To Skill up patrons to look and demolish traps or snares put up for other animals by poachers that seriously damage or end life of the gorillas.
- To support the mountain gorilla population census project that are carried out promptly.
- To neutralize and prevent human gorilla conflicts caused by gorillas encroaching and getting into the local villages and farms.
The actual intention of adopting gorillas is to acquire funds to help out on works of conservation and preservation of the endangered mountain gorillas by bringing them close to the people to know how exciting and important they are on the planet.
Get yourself a gorilla and follow its development right from scratch to being an integral member of a certain gorilla family. You can either adopt a gorilla from Diana Fossey Gorilla Fund, Friend a Gorilla or the World Wide Fund for Conservation to conserve for the future generation. It is up to you to choose the best convenient organization for you since they are all credible.
