Habituated gorilla families in Uganda: 15 Mountain Gorilla Families have been
Habituated
Bwindi ha more than half of Mountain gorillas in the world. With
approximately over 400 mountain gorillas
living in the Bwindi impenetrable forest,
Uganda is home to more than half of the world’s total population of mountain
gorillas. The majority is found in different areas of Bwindi Impenetrable
National Park, a UNESCO World Heritage Site and one of the most popular tourism
destinations in Africa. A small number lives on the lower slopes of the
volcanoes in Mgahinga National Park -
Nyakagezi. Uganda now have 15 gorilla habituated gorilla permit families .
These gorilla families
wonder all parts of Bwindi Impenetrable forest at the various locations for gorilla trekking. They form gorilla safaris industry in Uganda .
Uganda currently hosts 15 habituated gorilla families and 2 groups that is only available for research.
These include Mubare, Habinyanja, Rushegura,Bitukura, Oruzogo, Nkuringo, Nshongi, Mishaya, Kahungye, Bweza, Busingye,Nyakagezi and
the research group Kyaguriro.
Before embarking on your Gorilla Safari we invite
you to learn more about these incredible creatures and read interesting facts
about the various gorilla families. However, keep in mind that the mountain
gorillas are wild animals and details such as the group size, location in the
forest and leading silverback might change without notice.
This is the first gorilla family to be Habituated . Mubare
gorilla group is the oldest habituated gorilla family in Uganda and was opened
for tourism in 1993. The name derives from the Mubare Hill, deep in Bwindi
Impenetrable Forest, where the gorillas were first sighted by trackers.
Initially, the group consisted of 18 individuals, led by the dominant Silverback
Ruhondeza. Unfortunately, over the years the family lost many members until
there were only 5 left in 2012. This was due to moving to other groups, life
losses during fights and the death of a baby gorilla.
In March 2012, the family was attacked by a wild gorilla
group who broke Ruhondeza’s leadership and took away some of the females. Old
Ruhondeza took refuge in a nearby community forest but continued to be
monitored by researchers, until he died in his sleep on 27 June 2012. He was
believed to have been well over 50 years of age. When visiting Buhoma feel free
to ask your guide for the location of this great silverback’s grave!
In the meantime, Ruhondeza successor Kanyonyi managed to
expand the family again and increased it to eight members including a baby
named Kashundwe.
Habinyanja Gorilla Family
Location: Buhoma (ranging from Kahororo to Rubona)
Group size: 17 individuals including 2 silverbacks
Location: Buhoma (ranging from Kahororo to Rubona)
Group size: 17 individuals including 2 silverbacks
The Habinyanja gorilla family was habituated in 1997 and
first visited by tourists in 1999. The name “Habinyanja” comes from the Rukiga
word “Nyanja” meaning “a place with water”. The reason for this name is because
the group was first seen near a swamp in Bwindi Impenetrable Forest National
Park.
At the time of habituation the group was lead by the
dominant Silverback Mugurisi, which means “Old man”. After passing away because
of old age, the two brothers Rwansigazi and Mwirima shared power but they were
so different that it couldn’t continue. Rwansigazi was an adventurous gorilla
and liked travelling, while Mwirima preferred to stay at a small range. It was
therefore inevitable that in 2002 the two silverbacks decided to separate,
without any fights. The group that followed Rwansigazi maintained the name
Habinyanja and the members who stayed with Mwirima came to be known as the
Rushegura family. Later, Rwansigazi had to give up leadership to Makara who is
now the dominant silverback of the Habinyanja family. Sometimes, both groups
still come across each other but co-exist rather peacefully.
Sadly, a tragedy happened in June 2011 when the friendly
blackback Mizano was found dead with evidence of spear wounds about the
shoulders and neck. It is believed that a group of poacher with their dogs ran
into the group. Mizano, who naturally defended his family, was speared and died
instantly. It was the first poaching incident whereby a gorilla has been killed
by poachers since 1995.
Rushegura is the name of a place where the separation of
this group from the larger family of Habinyanja took place in February 2002.
The breakaway was led by Mwirima who took with him seven members/started with
12 individuals including 5 femails. His devotatoin to create a stable family
wierp vruchten af as the number of individuals increased to 19 by April 2010.
At an estimated 25 years of age, Mwirima is without question
the most dominant silverback in his group and does not back away from showing
his strength during fights with wild gorilla groups. They used to cross to
neighboring Democratic Republic of Congo but came back and now enjoy the
peacefully environments of Bwindi National Park. The group is known to be one
of the calmest families and usually stay in the vicinity of Buhoma Village for valuing Uganda safaris. Do
not be surprised to even see them wandering around the lodge gardens or visit
the souvenir shop of Gorilla Forest Camp as they are very curious as well.
Especially the youngsters do not shy away from visitors and often like to ‘get
a better look’.
View video of the
Rushegura group touching one of the guests at Gorilla Forest Camp!
The Bitukura family is located in the Ruhija side of BwindiForest National Park. This mountain gorilla family was named after a river that
bears the same name, where it was first sighted. Habituation started in July
2007 and the group was opened for tourism in October 2008. Taking only 15
months is remarkable, since the habituation process normally lasts at least 2
years. But thanks to the close bond that they share with the Kyaguriro family,
with whom they have regularly have ‘get-togethers’, they had frequent
encounters with the UWA rangers and thus made the habituation easier.
The Bitukura group with originally 24 members has been
reduced to only 14 individuals during the last years. It is a peaceable family
with four silverbacks, where the second youngest silverback Ndahura is the
leader. He took the role from former Silverback Karamuzi who stayed over 40
years and is now retired.
Despite of the loss of several members, who defected to
other gorilla families, Bitukura now looks happily and closer to one another.
Especially since a new member joined the family in April 2013. Adult female
Ruhara gave birth to a baby gorilla, who is closely guarded by the proud father
Ndahura.
The Oruzogo group is the second habituated gorilla family
living in the Ruhija area. The group consists of 23 individuals and is led by
Silverback Tibirikwata. The family opened for tourism mid 2011 and since then
has experienced a growth thanks to a number of births. Female adult Ntamurungi
gave birth to a baby gorilla in June 2011 and Musi gave birth in October 2011.
More joy came when a set of twins was born in March 2012. The twin mother is
Kakoba. Other individuals in the group include Busungu (meaning “short
tempered”), Kaganga (“the giant one”) and Bwoba (“the coward”).
The habituation process of the Nkuringo gorilla group was
completed in 2004. Nkuringo means “round hill” in Rukiga, referring to the hill
where the group was first spotted. They were often found in the vicinity of the
villages outside park, which eventually became the main reason for the
habituation. Because of their behavior to feed on bananas, sweet potatoes and
other crops, they created a problem for the local communities. It was then
decided to open the group for tourists, so the villagers would directly benefit
from tourism and the gorillas would be protected at the same time.
Initially, the group was led by the elderly Silverback
Nkuringo. He died in April 2008, leaving behind two silverbacks, Safari and
Rafiki. It was his son Safari who took over the leadership. Seven months later,
the Nkuringo family welcomed a set of twin gorillas from mother Kwitonda, named
Katungi and Muhozi. Unfortunately, Katungi died at the age of 1.5 years due to
illness.
The Nshongi gorilla group was named after the river close
where the family was first seen. The word Nshongi derives from “Omushongi
Gwoboki, meaning ‘honey’ and referred to the deep color of the river. Being
opened for tourism in September 2009, the family was unique due to its large
size. With 36 individuals it was the largest gorilla group ever habituated.
Even more remarkable was that the three silverbacks and seven blackbacks lived
in harmony with each other and did not make an attempt for leadership.
Especially since the dominant silverback Nshongi was not even the oldest
silverback in the family. However, in July 2010, the group split into two: the
Nshongi group with 26 individuals, including 4 silverbacks and a newly formed
family led by the silverback Mishaya with 10 members.
Silverback Mishaya was part of the Nshongi group but decided
in July 2010 to establish its own family. Being known as a fighter who often
starts interactions with other gorilla families, he was able to gather females
from other groups in the area and could expand his group. In April 2011 he
clashed again with a non-habituated gorilla family, resulting in serious
injuries for himself and a 2-year old infant. The wounds were treated by
veterinarians from the Mountain Gorilla Veterinary Project.
The Kahungye group is one of the most recent habituated
gorilla families in Bwindi National Park. The family was opened for tourism in
October 2011 but in less than a year the group split, creating a new family
that is called Busingye. Before the separation, the family consisted of 27
individuals including 3 silverbacks. The group is active and led by the
dominant silverback Gwigi, which means “door” in the local language.
Originally, the Nshongi family was the largest gorilla group
ever habituated. However, in July 2010 Silverback Mishaya decided to start his
own family. Two years later also Bweza, another silverback preferred to
separate himself from the rest of the group. Initially, the UWA rangers
suspected that they would get back together again, but when it appeared that
the split was infinitive, this ‘new’ group opened for tourism in December 2012.
In the same period, in the same sector, but another gorilla
family experienced a breakaway as well. It was Silverback Busingye who decided
to split from the Kahungye group in June 2012 and create his own family.
Busingye means ‘peace’ which is quite surprising since this ambitious
silverback is known for his legendary fights with other gorilla groups. He
likes showing his power and whenever encountering a wild family he mercilessly
grabs a female to add to his own family.
Nyakagezi Gorilla Family
Location: Mgahinga National Park
Group size: 10 individuals including 3 silverbacks
Location: Mgahinga National Park
Group size: 10 individuals including 3 silverbacks
Mgahinga National Park only hosts one gorilla family known
as the Nyakagezi Group. The group is led by Mark, the dominant silverback, who
likes travelling and keeps on crossing borders between Uganda, Rwanda and
Democratic Republic of Congo. Lately it seems they are trying to regain their
Ugandan citizenship again as they have been back in Mgahinga National Park
since November 2012 and may are likely to stay for a while. Even more good news
came in May 2013 when a new baby was born, increasing the group to 10 members.
Due to quite unpredictable behavior, permits for this group
can only be booked at the park headquarters of Uganda Wildlife Authority.
Although the Kyaguriro family is habituated, it has not been
visited by tourists until now but is put aside for research only. By closely
keeping contact with this group, conservationists have been able to learn a lot
about the mountain gorillas of Bwindi, including some remarkable differences
with the mountain gorillas that live in the Virunga Volcanoes. Initially the
family was led by an aging silverback Zeus. Unfortunately he died in exile
after being usurped and banished into the forest by his rival Rukina.
