Gorilla Families in Rwanda : Mountain gorilla in Rwanda are only found in Volcanoes national park and there are 10 habituated gorilla families, generally the park is a home to about 380 mountain gorillas.
Volcanoes national park is part of the Great Virunga Conservation Area together with Mgahinga Gorilla national park found in Uganda and Virunga national park in Democratic Republic of Congo, the Virunga ranges hosts about 500 mountain gorillas which is the second mountain gorilla population. The other mountain gorilla population is found in Uganda’s Bwindi impenetrable Forest national park.
Mountain gorillas live in groups and each gorilla family is led by a dominant silverback and while on a gorilla trekking safari in Volcanoes national park you are allocated a family based on your presence, accommodation and overall level of fitness.
Note: only 8 per group are allowed to trek each gorilla family and a total of 80 gorilla permits are issued on a daily by the Rwanda Development Board.
Mountain gorillas live deep in the forests and require longer tracking hours, the 10 gorilla families of Rwanda, Volcanoes national park are divided into two that is for research purposes and those open to tourists. The Shida and Beetsme group are research group and have the highest number of individuals.
Locating of these mountain gorillas is not an easy task as it involves hiking on a steep terrain, gorillas normally move to a different location each day as they build new nests for the night. Each and every gorilla family in Rwanda has its tracking challenges and opportunities, in case you doubt your overall fitness, you can hire porters to help you all the way up.
Habituated Gorilla Families in Rwanda
The 10 habituated gorilla families/ groups in Rwanda are
- Susa Gorilla Group (Susa A Family)
- Karisimbi Gorilla Group (Susa-B)
- Sabyinyo Gorilla Group
- Amahoro Gorilla Group
- Umubano Gorilla Group
- Agashya Gorilla Group
- Kwitonda Gorilla Group
- Hirwa Gorilla Group
- Bwenge Family Group
- Ugenda Gorilla Family
These families are more explained as below
Susa Gorilla Group (Susa A Family)
The Susa group is a famous gorilla family in Rwanda made famous by the Zoologist Dian Fossey and her research activities, this gorilla family is one of the most preferred gorilla groups by visitors.
Susa gorilla group has 28 members including 3 silverbacks, the group gets its name “Susa” a Kinyarwanda word borrowed from the nearby Susa River, initially the group 42 members before some members split off because of a feud. This gorilla family tends to live high u in the mountains which makes it the most difficult to track, sometimes taking the whole day.
Susa Gorilla group is famous for its playful young twins Byishomo and Impano which make gorilla tracking this family an exciting experience, this group also hosts Poppy one of the oldest habituated gorillas.
Karisimbi Gorilla Group (Susa-B)
Karisimbi Gorilla Group also known as Susa B is a group of 15 members and it is a split family from Susa A, this family inhabits on the slopes of the Karisimbi volcano thus the name Karisimbi gorilla group.
Tracking this gorilla family is difficult as the group wanders too far and on a particular day the gorilla tracking experience can be cancelled, trackers usually go earlier than the visitors to confirm the location of this gorilla family. This family is perfect for trekkers who are physically fit and they are rewarded with the beautiful scenery that make the whole experience worth every coin spent.
Sabyinyo Gorilla Group
This is a small gorilla group of about 8 members led by a powerful silverback Guhonda who is perhaps the largest silverback in Volcanoes national park, Sabyinyo gorilla group gets its name from the Sabyinyo Volcano loosely translated as “Old man’s teeth”, this is the volcano which they live.
Guhonda has kept his family together by excluding and regulating his rival silverback Ryango to a loner outside the group, the group contains playful juveniles and is easy to spot because they near the park’s edge.
Amahoro Gorilla Group
Amahoro Gorilla Group is a group of 17 members under the leadership of Ubumbwe, the group’s name means “peaceful” and the dominant silver – Ubumbwe has demonstrated this quality while leading the group. He remains calm and peaceful even after losing a few members of his group to Charles another silverback who is a former member of this group, Charles took advantage of Ubumbwe’s calmness to steal some females and to form the Umbano group.
The Amahoro gorilla group lives at the slopes of Mount Visoke, though to reach the group while on mountain gorilla activity involves climbing steep slopes. Visitors love this gorilla group because of its juveniles, predictability and calmness.
Umubano Gorilla Group
Umubano Gorilla Group is a split gorilla group from the Amahoro family and its split from dominant silverback Ubumbwe was led by Silverback Charles who is its leader (dominant silverback of the group). As Charles grew older, he started undermining the leader of calm Ubumbwe which resulted into constant confrontation between the two. Charles decided to split off with some females from the Amahoro family to start his own.
Umbano gorilla group currently consists of 11 individuals with 6 youngsters and lives in the area near the Amahoro family. Visiting this gorilla family is easy, the family is loved by travelers because of its unique personality.
Agashya Gorilla Group
The Agasya Gorilla Group also known as “Group 13’ under the leadership of silverback Nyakarima before he was challenged by Agashya to a deadly fight after which he made off with the entire family up the volcano. This complete takeover was the first to be observed by gorilla researchers, after moving as far as possible from Nyakarima, Agashya continued increasing his family members by stealing members from other groups and taking on loners.
This group lives near the Sabyinyo gorilla group, whenever the dominant silverback senses trouble for the group, he gathers all the members and flees to his favorite safety spot on top of the volcano. Because of this, tracking this gorilla group is difficult, the group has grown from 13 to about 25 members.
Kwitonda Gorilla Group
This gorilla group is a difficult gorilla group to trek in Volcanoes national park, the group hosts 18 individuals with 2 silverbacks and it is under the leadership of a dominant silverback Kwitonda meaning “a humble one in Kinyarwanda”. This gorilla group originated from gorilla groups in Congo and they live around the slopes of Mount Muhabura but tend to move within a wide geographical area which makes tracking abit hard but exciting.
Hirwa Gorilla Group
Hirwa gorilla group is a relatively new formed gorilla family in Volcanoes national park, this group was formed by some of the individuals from Group 13 and the Sabyinyo family that came together to form their own group.
This group is found on the slopes of Mount Sabyinyo and is under the leadership of a dominant and protective silverback. Hirwa means “Lucky one” this is because the group was lucky to have more individuals to join them voluntarily, this unusual group formation was witnessed in 2006 and now has 16 members including twins. On certain days, locating this group can be difficult.
Bwenge Gorilla Group
This group’s name Bwenge means “wisdom”, some of the gorilla group members featured in the drama “Gorillas in the Mist”. Bwege gorilla group was formed in 2007 by a dominant silverback Bwenge after leaving his birth group and was joined by female members from other families.
The group contains 11 individuals, reaching this family is hard as it involves trekking up a steep and sometimes muddy hill on the slopes of Karisoke Volcano.
Ugenda Gorilla Group
Ugenda Gorilla Group is a group of 11 members including 2 silverbacks, Ugenda means “being on the move” in Kinyarwanda and was used in reference to the moving nature of the group. because of their wandering habits, tracking them can be very difficult on some days.
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