Welcome to the Gorilla Falls conservation school and wildlife sanctuary.

We are a joint effort of the citizens of Harambe and international conservation groups. Dedicated to providing local people and visitors the skills to study and preserve native wildlife.

Gorilla Falls

Rehabilitation Center

  • Rehabilitation Center

The staff and students of Gorilla Falls conservation school have set aside this area for the care and rehabilitation of wild African species. Endangered animals are provided with shelter, medical care, and relocation to a protected environment.

The Angolan Colobus is currently being cared for. These black & white monkeys live in troops of about five to ten and have the remarkable ability to safely digest toxic foliage that other primates can't eat. Recent over-hunting has caused serious declines in wild populations.

Forest Viewing Blind

  • Forest Viewing Blind

Blinds like this are used to observe animals without disrupting their natural behaviors. Observation is the first step to understanding the lives of wild animals. Understanding how an animal adapts to its surroundings is a vital part of conserving it in the wild.

Here you can catch a glimpse of the okapi, beautiful relatives of the giraffe. Very shy and highly solitary, the opaki was unknown to the world outside of the Ituri Forest until 1901. It is hoped that the opakis will adapt to life here and create a healthy population outside the threatened rainforest region.

Research Center

  • Research Center
  • Research Center
  • Research Center
  • Research Center

At the heart of Gorilla Falls Exploration Trail, at trail marker 6, is the main research center. This building is where classes are held, researchers prepare before heading out into the field, and where specimens, notes, and film are brought back for further studies.

Smaller animals are also observed here, such as the African bullfrog. A glassed-in burrow is even set up to allow our researchers to gather biological data and observe the natural behaviors of naked mole-rats. Research notes and observation records of these various living specimens are displayed throughout the building, giving visitors an inside look at what is discovered here.

Aviary

  • Aviary
  • Aviary
  • Aviary
  • Aviary

Many of our birds in Africa are threatened with the destruction of their wetland and forest habitats. Survival of these beautiful creatures depends on our efforts to protect critical habitats. In our aviary we’re able to study and care for a variety of birds in a protected habitat.

Visitors are provided a bird spotting guide to help identify our feathered friends. Will you spot a purple glossy starling, taveta golden weaver, green wood hoopoe, or an emerald spotted wood dove? In our glassed-in pool, visitors and researchers can also view Victorian Rock Cichlids. 99% of these endangered native freshwater fish are found nowhere else in the world.

Underwater Observation

  • Underwater Observation

Stay dry as you go underwater with the hippos in our special observation area. These enormous amphibious mammals don’t swim but instead walk along the bottom of the water. They hold their breath for up to 5 minutes, and then use their webbed toes to gracefully push themselves up. Few creatures on the African savanna are larger than the hippopotamus, who can weigh up to 2,500 kg (or 5,500 pounds)!

When visiting, please make sure not to touch or tap on the viewing glass. A live underwater recording of hippos sounds may be in progress.

Savannah Overlook

  • Savannah Overlook

Observe zebras and other wild animals in their natural surrounds at the Savannah overlook.

The visitors’ favorites here are the playful meerkats. They may be catlike but meerkats are actually part of the civets and mongoose family. Each morning as the sun comes up, you'll spot a mob emerging from their burrows looking for food. All the meerkats in a mob participate in gathering food, keeping watch for predators, and taking care of the babies.

Gorilla Sanctuary

  • Gorilla Sanctuary
  • Gorilla Sanctuary
  • Gorilla Sanctuary
  • Gorilla Sanctuary

The namesake of Gorilla Falls is a protected reserve of dense forest inhabited by a troop of Lowland Gorillas. This is the number one destination for tourists and researchers wishing to observe these endangered primates first hand.

Come face to face at the research post, a viewing area set up at the gorillas’ forage spot. Cross over a suspension bridge and you may spot a bachelor group inventing new uses for gifts provided by the sanctuary’s staff. At the edge of a cliff researchers set up camp for a closer look, and on the other side of a river, which serves as a natural boundary between groups, a family of gorillas take care of the little ones.