The Karisoke Research Institute was established by an American primatologist known as Dian Fossey, who dedicated her life to the studying and conservation of gorillas in the Virunga ranges in the Albertine region of Africa. The institute derives its name from a combination of two mountains: Mount Karisimbi and Mount Bisoke.
The Karisoke Research Institute was established in September 1967. The institute now protects half of the world’s remaining mountain gorillas, numbering over 400—a great population increase since the efforts of Dian Fossey, when they were almost extinct on the planet.
The Karisoke research institute lies in the eight of the virunga ranges in Congo. Poaching has been managed by setting rules against poaching activities but the demand of land for settlement and agriculture use has greatly threatened gorillas of the virunga Massif
The Karisoke research institute Provides daily protection of the endangered mountain gorillas thanks Good for the work well done years ago by Dian Fossey, the founder of the institute, the Karisoke also serves as a platform for scientists, primatologists, and research students all over the world who can study gorillas in their natural habitat.
The Karisoke Research Institute continued to function after Dian Fossey was murdered on the 26th of December in 1985 under the Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund International. The facilities moved to a more modern facility in the year 2012 to a place called Musanze.
The Karisoke Research Institute survived when Fossey was brutally murdered and all through the civil wars and Rwandan genocide in 1994. Though most of the Karisoke workers ran to the nearby countries to seek refuge during the genocide, they lost their loved ones, homes, and a lot of property.
Before the facility was relocated to Musanze, it was rebuilt two times after being destroyed three times. Though the center was destroyed, the mountain gorillas were not greatly affected, and Fossey’s monument still stands in honor of the great work she did for the conservation and study of the gorillas.
The locals often referred to Dian Fossey as the woman who lived in the mountains without a man. There has been a great deal of data collected about mountain gorillas since its establishment. The center has greatly improved people’s living standards through the employment of the locals at the park as staff and other rangers. The country has also earned foreign exchange through gorilla trekking done in the Virunga ranges.
The Karisoke Research Institute also supports schools and hospitals around the area, plus provides education to the locals about the importance, conservation, and role of gorillas in the community. A book was written by Dian Fossey and was later produced into a film known as “Gorillas in the Mist.”
The Karisoke Research Institute also provides tourists with information about the life of its founder, Dian Fossey. Mountain gorillas can be hiked at the mountain slopes. There are also chances of seeing other wild animals at Volcanoes National Park, plus many species of birds to be seen.
Tourists who would love to spend a night can choose from a wide range of accommodation units; some of these are Mikeno Lodge, among the rest.
The best time to visit Rwanda for a Rwanda gorilla trekking experience can be all year round, more so for the researchers and scientists. For tourists who would just love to trek gorillas, the dry season is the best, when the fruits are ripe and the vegetation is not very thick, making it easy to view animals.
