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Mountain Gorilla Groups In Virunga National Park

Mountain Gorilla Groups In Virunga National Park :  Virunga national park found in Democratic Republic of Congo is one of the 4 mountain gorilla destinations in the world and the 3 park found in the Virunga Conservation Area “Virunga ranges”

Virunga national park is one of the oldest national parks in Africa covering an area of 790,000 ha, the park is a stunning and an iconic attraction famous worldwide for its stunning lush beauty and mountain gorillas.

Virunga national park of Democratic Republic of Congo hosts 8 habituated mountain gorilla families, the park is one of the best places to see mountains gorillas and because these gentle animals, the park is visited by thousands of travelers.

Habituated gorilla groups in Virunga national park are Kabirizi, Humba, Rugendo, Mapuwa, Lulengo, Munyaga, Nyakamwe, and Bageni.

Each gorilla group has got a unique story to tell, dynamics and composition that is the number of individuals in the group, the group leadership/dominant silverback which changes from time to time.

Kabirizi Gorilla Group

Kabirizi gorilla group previously known as Ndungutse group named after the dominant silverback Ndungutse, a very humble and giant silverback was assassinated in 1997 after being caught in the crossfire between the DR Congo army and rebel groups in the Bukima patrol post.

 This gorilla group was later named Kabirizi, a name derived from the ICCN Director who died in a traffic accident in the late 1990s, the group is currently led by a powerful yet humble Kabirizi, who was previously a wild unhabituated gorilla until 1998. The dominant Silverback is currently facing stiff competition from a younger Silverback Masibo, Kabirizi gorilla group.

Kabirizi gorilla group currently consists of 19 group members, tracking of this gorilla group starts from the Bukima patrol post.

Humba Gorilla Group

Humba gorilla group is located in the Bukima Sector of Virunga national park, the group is currently the calmest habituated gorilla group in Virunga national park and is preferred by many tourists.

This group is named after its leader dominant silverback called Humba who is a brother to Senkwekwe silverback who was executed on 22nd July 2007 by unidentified gunmen.  Humba split from Rugendo- his father in 1998, the group currently consists of 9 members. Current there is no challenge in group leadership.

Rugendo Gorilla Group

Rugendo gorilla group is one of the oldest groups in Virunga national park habituated in 1989, the group was formerly led by Silverback Rugendo, who is the father of Silverback Humba. The group is currently led by the Silverback Bukima, there have been serious group changes since the beginning of the habituation.

By 1997, the Rugendo group has 18 individuals with 2 silverbacks that iw Rugendo and his son Humba, in 1998 Humba fought his father forming a new group with 10 individuals. Rugendo was left only with 8 individuals, there were also several group dynamics after, increasing and decreasing this group from time to time.

Rugendo gorilla group currently has 9 members after grabbing a sub-adult member of a Mapuwa group in June 2016.

Mapuwa Gorilla Group

Mapuwa gorilla group is found in Jomba near Bunagana (Congo – Uganda border), this group was formerly led by a silverback named Mapuwa.

Silverback Mapuwa has acquired and protected his family by all means through violent struggles, he was a son to Rugendo, the current leader of Rugendo group. He left his father’s group in 1998 and started his own family, when he left, he took 2 adults females along with him named Jicho and Mafaze.

In a continuous fight, silverback Mapuwa has acquired more members from other groups. Pilipili one of the strongest and well-known Silverback in Virunga was stripped of all his members in 2002 leaving alone silverback, in addition to grabbing members, there have been several births which have led to an increase in numbers, Silverback Mvuyekure is the dominant silverback in the group. The group has 22 gorillas.

Lulengo Gorilla Group

Mountain Gorilla Groups In Virunga National Park
Mountain Gorilla Groups In Virunga National Park

Lulengo gorilla group is found in the Jombo area of Virunga national park near Bunagana, the Congo – Uganda border, this group was formerly called Musekura group however its name was changed to Lulengo, the name of the dominant silverback and in the memory of the Technical Director of Virunga national park who was killed by a land mine.

Silverback Lulengo is a born and was a member of the Rugabo group, the first habituated mountain gorilla group in the Mikeno sector. By then, silverback Rugabo  was the leader of Rugabo group, Rugabo was the father of silverback Lulengo. In 1994, Rugabo was shot by poachers in the times of the Great Lakes Refugee Crisis, after his death the family was left in the hands of by then the black back Lulengo who is now a silverback and leader of the group.

Lulengo group has 9 members.

Munyaga Gorilla Group

Munyaga gorilla group is located and tracked in the Bukima sector of Virunga national park, the habituation of this group started in 2008 and the group’s name came from its then leader – Munyaga.

Munyaga group is well known for an adult female Bilali who gave birth to twins after joining from Rugendo group, the twins however died in infancy. The leadership of this group shifted from Silverback Munyaga to silverback Mawazo, as per now, Gasore is the current leader of the group.

Munyaga gorilla group is well-known for its bold headed silverback – Kadogo, the current leader of the group is Gasore, however there is a challenge from other silverbacks. The group consists of 7 members.

Nyakamwe Gorilla Group

Nyakamwe gorilla group is one of the newly habituated gorilla groups in Virunga national park, this group has habituated in the same time as Bageni – the largest gorilla group in Virunga national park.

Nyakamwe gorilla group is named after the dominant silverback called Nyakamwe and it has 11 members, currently there is no challenge for leadership in the group.

Bageni Gorilla Group

Bageni gorilla group is currently the largest gorilla family in Virunga national park with 26 members, the group is led by silverback Bageni. there is a struggle for leadership in the group and it is expected that the group may split into two or three groups, there are 2 other silverbacks who are fight for the lead that are Silverback Kanamaharagi and Kitagenda.

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