Rare Birth of Twin Mountain Gorillas at Virunga National Park
In the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, a pair of twin mountain gorillas has been born – a rare occurrence for the endangered primates, says conservationists at Virunga National Park.
On 3rd January 2026, community trackers responsible for monitoring the health of the mountain gorillas in Virunga National Park discovered the birth of twins within the Bageni Family, one of the habituated gorilla families in the park. Following further investigation, it was confirmed that twins had been born to adult female Mafuko, and that the two newborns are male. Both appeared to be in healthy condition at the time of observation.
The community trackers who discovered the 22-year-old Mafuko witnessed her hugging her newborns on Saturday, said the mother and her two baby boys all appeared to be well and healthy.
The birth of twins is a rare occurrence and constitutes the first birth recorded in 2026 in Virunga National Park, the birth increases the Bageni Family to 59 members, the largest gorilla family in the park. As already noted, twin births among mountain gorillas are rare and present additional challenges, particularly during the early months when infants are entirely dependent on their mother for care and transport for the first years of their life.
Following the birth, additional monitoring and protection measure will be deployed for the purposes of closely observing the twins and support their health and survival during this critical early period.
Mafuko – the mother to the twins was born into the Kabirizi family on May 23 2003. Following the assassination of her mother by armed individuals on June 8, 2007, she stayed with the Kabirizi Family alongside her sister Tumaini. In January on 2013, Mafuko joined the Bageni Family during the split of the Kabirizi Family. At the age of 22, Mafuko has given birth to a total of seven newborns, including a set of twins in 2016. Unfortunately the twins passed away a week after birth.
The birth of twins in the Bageni family represents a major event for the dynamics as well as for ongoing conservation efforts to support to the continued growth of the endangered mountain gorilla population within Virunga National Park.
Conservationists at Virunga National Park – a UNESCO Heritage Site and one of the four mountain gorilla sanctuaries in the world, say her latest offspring represent a significant boost for efforts to protect the endangered species.
Thanks to anti-poaching patrols and community programmes – supported by the European Union and UNESCO – the number of mountain gorillas in Virunga have slowly increased over the past decade. This successful gorilla conservation journey is well documented by the IUCN and other partners, leading to their status being upgraded from “critically endangered” to “endangered” in 2018.
Virunga National Park is one of the only four mountain gorilla habitats in the world, spanning 7,800 sq km, the forested park is home to an astonishingly diverse landscape – from active volcanoes – Virunga Massifs and vast lakes to rainforest and mountains.
The park is situated in a conflict – prone part of Democratic Republic of Congo, Africa’s oldest and largest national park and was set up as a protected area 100 years ago to protect mountain gorillas with fewer than 1,100 left in the wild. Mountain gorillas are only found in the Virunga National Park in DR.Congo, Bwindi Impenetrable National Park and Mgahinga Gorilla National Park in Uganda and Volcanoes National Park in Rwanda.