Rwandan Gorilla Families.
Gorilla Families in Rwanda: Mountain gorillas in Rwanda are found in Volcanoes National Park, which is also known as Parc National Des Volcans in French. Volcanoes National Park is located in the northwestern part of the Musanze village. Virunga National Park in the Democratic Republic of Congo and Mgahinga National Park in southwestern Uganda. Volcanoes National Park is the oldest national park in Africa.
Gorilla trekking in Volcanoes National Park on a Rwanda safari is a major activity that is carried out by visitors on different habituated gorilla families, which include:
- Sabyinyo family, this group was named after Mount Sabyinyo, which is one of the Virunga volcanoes that translates to ‘old man’s teeth’. The Sabyinyo family is one of the most accessible and easy-to-trek gorilla families due to its location on the slopes of Mt Sabinyo. It consists of 9 members, including 1 silverback, 3 adult females, 1 non-adult female, 2 juveniles and one baby. The group is dominated by Guhonda, the silverback who is one of the oldest, most powerful and largest silverbacks in Volcanoes National Park.
- The Susa family is the biggest gorilla family with the oldest gorilla, which was born in 1976. Susa is also known as Susa A, which is one of the first gorilla groups that Dian Fossey studied when she was still doing her research in Rwanda. The Susa group lives in the lower base of Mt Karisimbi and is one of the hardest-to-trek gorilla families, though it is interesting due to the high altitudes where it’s normally found. Susa derives its name from the river Susa, which originates from the Virunga volcanoes, where it was first sighted. It consists of 28 members with 2 silverbacks and is dominated by Kurira, hence sometimes referred to as the Kurira group.
- Igisha family, this is also known as Susa B, and that Igisha silverback, who is the leader of the group, split from Susa A in 2014 and moved with 23 members. The Igisha family lives on the upper slopes of Mt Karisimbi and is composed of 30 members, including 5 silverbacks, 7 adult females, 2 blackbacks, 3 subadult females, 5 juveniles and 8 infants.
- Umubano family, this is a gorilla family that was split from Amahoro due to disagreements and inabilities between Charles and Ubumwe silverback. The group consists of 11 members, with 1 silverback, Charles, who is the leader of the group; 1 sub-adult male; 3 adult females; and 6 infants. The two families of Charles and Ubumwe live in peace, and sometimes when they meet, they don’t stage a fight.
- The Agashya family, whose local name ‘Agashya‘ means ‘news‘, is the leader of the group. After habituation, the group had 13 members and was led by Nyakirima, who was later overthrown by the Agashya silverback, who is security-conscious for his family. The family lives on the slopes of Mt Sabyinyo and Mt Gahinga; it consists of 25 members, including 1 silverback, 12 adult females, 4 juveniles and 7 babies.
- The Amahoro family; the name ‘Amahoro’ means ‘peace’; hence, the family is known for its peaceful ways, and therefore, it keeps losing members to other families. The group lives on the slopes of Mt Visoke and Karisimbi and comprises 17 members, including 1 silverback, 2 blackbacks, 5 adult females, 5 juveniles and 4 young babies. The group is dominated by the Ubumwe silverback and is hard to trek because of its location, which requires long hikes.
- Hirwa family: the name Hirwa means ‘lucky one‘, and it was established in 2006 with members who came from the Sabyinyo family and the Agashya family. The group lives between Mt Sabyinyo and Mt Gahinga and is known for producing twins in 2011. It consists of 9 national park members, including 3 adult females, 2 subadult females, 3 babies and one silverback, Munyinga, a subadult, who is also a leader of the group.
- Muhoza family: This gorilla family is led by Muhoza, a silverback who split from the Hirwa family and went with 2 adult females to form his own group in 2016. The Muhoza group is now comprised of 11 members, including one silverback, 6 adult females, 2 subadult females and 2 infants.
- The Kwitonda family, the group derived its name from the Kwitonda silverback, which was the dominant silverback before it died in 2012 at the age of 40 years. The group originally lived in the Democratic Republic of Congo in 2003 and later moved to Volcanoes National Park. The group is comprised of 18 members with 4 silverbacks and inhabits the slopes of Mt Muhabura; hence, it is one of the hardest families to trek, as it keeps moving to far areas in the forest.
- Karisimbi family: the group was first known as Susa B because it split off from the Susa group in 2009 and later changed to Karisimbi in 2010. The group consists of 16 members, led by the Nyagakangaga silverback, and lives on the upper slopes of Mt Karisimbi, which sits at an altitude of 4507 m and is the highest peak in the Virunga volcanoes, which makes Karisimbi the hardest group to trek in Volcanoes National Park.
- The Isimbi family, this gorilla family split from the Karisimbi group in 2012 and was led by Getty, the silverback, who later died in 2013 due to pneumonia. After his death, the family was led by a blackback silverback, Muturengere, with the help of an adult female, Poppy, who is said to be the oldest female gorilla in the Isimbi family. The group is now comprised of 18 members, including 7 adult females, 1 silverback, 4 juveniles and 6 infants.
- The Ugenda family is one of the gorilla families in Volcanoes National Park that hardly settles in one place, in that it is always on the move in search of food, hence its name, Ugenda, which means ‘mobile’. The group lives on the slopes of Mt Bisoke and comprises 11 members with 2 silverbacks.
- Bwengye family, the group was open in 2007 for gorilla trekking, which is one of the popular groups in that some of its members featured in the Gorillas in the Mist film, which was documented by Dian Fossey in 1988. After habituation, the family lost 6 members, which affected its expansion, but currently it is comprised of 11 members and lives on the slopes of Mt Bisoke. The
- Titus family, the group was habituated in the days of Dian Fossey and is one of the oldest groups in Volcanoes National Park. It was named after the dominant silverback Titus, who was born when Dian Fossey was still carrying out research on mountain gorillas at Karisoke Research Centre. Titus’ family was murdered by poachers when he was still young, and he was the only one left. Titus died of natural causes at the age of 35 years in 2009 and is known as the most successful because he had many offspring. Titus’ family lives on the slopes of Mt Karisimbi and Visoke, consists of 7 members and is set aside for research in that it is only available for trekking when there is a shortage of gorilla permits in Volcanoes National Park.
- The Pablo family is a gorilla group that is followed by the Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund and hence is reserved for study purposes and is only accessed by researchers and scientists. The group is composed of 13 members.
Volcanoes National Park is one of the best tourist attractions with the endangered mountain gorillas, which give you great and interesting experiences during your gorilla trekking safari in Rwanda.
