Moses Kanyesigye is 44 years old. He has worked as a gorilla field tracker in Bwindi Impenetrable Forest for nineteen years. Every morning, six days a week, he enters the forest before sunrise — before the tourists, before the rangers, before anyone else.
His job is to find the gorillas.
The trackers are the invisible foundation of gorilla tourism in Uganda — an industry that generated approximately $20 million in direct revenue for Uganda Wildlife Authority in 2023, before COVID-19 recovery boosted figures further. Each gorilla permit costs $700. On peak days, 96 tourists visit eight habituated groups in Bwindi's Buhoma, Rushaga, Ruhija, and Nkuringo sectors.
The trackers make this possible. They locate the family the previous evening's nesting site, track the morning's movement, communicate via radio to the tourism team, and stay with the family for the duration of the one-hour tourist visit. They are conservation infrastructure — and they are paid accordingly: monthly salaries that, depending on the UWA pay grade, range from UGX 350,000 to UGX 600,000 (approximately $90–$160).
"The gorillas know my smell," Moses says quietly, watching Group Hugo move through a bamboo thicket from a respectful distance. "I have known these animals longer than I have known some of my neighbours. When a new baby is born, I am the first human to see it."