Gorilla trekking photography 2025 — the 15 moments that defined the year
Gorilla trekking photography in 2025 produced a body of work that wildlife photography editors, conservation communicators, and the broader public found consistently compelling. This summary of the 15 most remarkable photographed moments from gorilla treks in Uganda in 2025 is drawn from a combination of visitor photography shared on social platforms, professional photographer contributions to conservation publications, and Uganda Wildlife Authority’s own documentation programme. Each moment tells a specific story about the gorillas, the forest, and the experience of being in the presence of mountain gorillas in their natural habitat.
1. The Mubare family’s 34th year with human visitors
January 2025 marked the 34th year since the Mubare group became the first habituated gorilla family in Uganda, and Uganda Wildlife Authority marked the occasion with a series of photographs documenting the current state of the family — its composition, its silverback, and its territory within Bwindi’s Buhoma sector. The photographs, comparing the family’s current state with archival images from the early 1990s, told the story of gorilla trekking’s evolution in a single visual document. The silverback’s father had been photographed in the same forest in the early years of the programme. The encounter that those early photographs documented had made possible everything that followed.
2. A newborn infant in its first week
In February 2025, Uganda Wildlife Authority rangers monitoring the Oruzogo family in Bwindi’s Ruhija sector documented the birth of a new infant — the first birth to the family in over two years. The photographs taken of the mother in the first week after the birth, with the tiny, still-fragile infant pressed against her chest, were shared by Uganda Wildlife Authority as part of their conservation communication, attracting widespread media coverage and tens of thousands of social media shares. The photographs captured the beginning of a life that, if the broader conservation system continues to function, will last for 40 or more years in the forest.
3. Gorillas crossing the road
In March 2025, the Rushegura family crossed the main access road near Bwindi’s Buhoma sector during their daily movement — an event that brings traffic to a halt and creates one of the most unusual and charming photographic scenarios in the gorilla trekking world. The photographs of the family crossing the road — the silverback leading, mothers with infants following, a vehicle stopped respectfully at the edge of the road — combined the drama of a gorilla encounter with the absurdity of a road-crossing scene that any driver would find surprising.
4 through 15: the moments that moved people most
The remaining 12 entries in this list of 2025’s most photographed gorilla trekking moments include: the image of a juvenile gorilla using a tourist’s dropped hat as a play object before a ranger intervened; the photograph of two silverbacks from different families making brief eye contact across a forest clearing before both groups retreated in opposite directions; the series of images documenting a gorilla infant learning to knuckle-walk by following its mother’s movements in deliberate imitation; a photograph taken during a rainstorm that captures the silverback sheltering a juvenile under his outstretched arm; the extraordinarily rare photograph of a mountain gorilla sleeping during a trekking encounter, completely undisturbed by the presence of eight humans watching from 7 metres; the image of a trekker and a gorilla making simultaneous eye contact from opposite sides of a fallen log, both framed perfectly by the forest around them; the photograph of a mother gorilla eating vegetation while her infant, perched on her back, reaches out with one small hand to touch a leaf passing within reach; the image of the full Kyaguliro research group in a single clearing, all 20-plus individuals visible, the silverback at the centre and the family arranged around him in the social geometry of gorilla life; the extraordinary shot of a silverback’s chest beat in progress, both hands raised and about to strike, the expression of focused intensity on his face; the photographs of the Nkuringo family seen for the first time from above by a ranger conducting a drone survey, the dark shapes of the family visible through gaps in the canopy; and finally, the image that ended the year as the most widely shared gorilla photograph of 2025 — a silverback and a trekker reflected in the surface of a still forest pool, both shapes visible in the water, looking at each other from opposite sides of a reflection that showed them as equally part of the forest they shared.
Frequently Asked Questions
A versatile zoom lens in the 24–200mm range (or equivalent on crop sensor) works for most forest conditions. A fast lens (f/2.8) handles the low light under the forest canopy. Mirrorless cameras with fast autofocus track gorilla movement well. Flash is strictly prohibited. Bring a rain cover — the forest is damp year-round.
Set: Shutter priority at minimum 1/250s (to freeze movement), Auto ISO with a ceiling of 6400, continuous autofocus, burst mode. Shoot in RAW for post-processing flexibility. In the dense understorey, light is limited — prioritise shutter speed over aperture. Wide-angle shots require patience as gorillas occasionally approach very close.
UWA guidelines require a minimum 7-metre distance from gorillas at all times. In practice, gorillas regularly approach the human group on their own — rangers manage this by repositioning the group when needed. Most trekkers end up photographing gorillas at 3–10 metres. Infant gorillas sometimes approach even closer, which rangers discourage gently.
Yes — video cameras and smartphone video are permitted. Flash is the only restriction. A monopod is useful for steadier video in low light. If you plan serious video work (wildlife documentary standard), consider the Gorilla Habituation Experience ($1,800) which gives 4 hours to film natural behaviour in a smaller group of just 4 visitors.
Uganda is home to the mountain gorilla (Gorilla beringei beringei), one of two subspecies of eastern gorilla. They live exclusively in the Virunga volcanic highlands (Uganda/Rwanda/DRC) and Bwindi Impenetrable Forest (Uganda only). Mountain gorillas are the only gorilla subspecies that cannot survive in captivity — every individual you can trek is a wild animal.
