Gorilla families in Uganda
Uganda is home to more than half of the entire world’s mountain gorilla population. Bwindi Impenetrable National Park has the largest number of mountain gorillas compared to any other park in Uganda. It has about 19 habituated mountain gorilla families scattered across the different sectors of the park such as Ruhija, Nkuringo, Buhoma, and Rushaga.
Mgahinga Gorilla National Park is home to over 100 mountain gorillas with only two habituated gorilla families, Nyakagezi and Hirwa. The Nyakagezi gorilla family is the only habituated gorilla family in Mgahinga. In October 2019, another gorilla family Hirwa was discovered in the park. Some of the habituated gorilla families in Uganda include the following:
Nyakagezi gorilla family
The Nyakagezi gorilla family is located in Mgahinga Gorilla National Park. It has 9 members that is 4 silver backs, 2 infants, 2 adult females, and 1 juvenile. Mark who is the dominant silverback took over leadership from his father Bugingo. Some of the other members the Nyakagezi gorilla family include the silverbacks Mathew and Mafia, the adult females Nyiramwiza and Nshuti, the juvenile Nkanda, and the two Infants Mutagamba and Rukundo. Bugingo who is believed to be more than 54 years is the oldest silverback and was the former dominant silverback until his son Mark took over power.
Hirwa gorilla family
The Hirwa gorilla family is located in Mgahinga Gorilla National Park. Hirwa is a Kinyarwanda word that means lucky one. The Hirwa gorilla family was recently discovered in the park in October 2019. The Hirwa gorilla family split from the Susa gorilla group of Rwanda after a misunderstanding between Munyinga the silverback and the dominant silverback of the Susa gorilla group. Munyinga migrated with two adult females and started a family. The Hirwa gorilla family once had 17 members but unfortunately, 4 members that is 3 adult females and 1 infant were stuck by lightning and died. The family now has 13 members.
Mubare Gorilla Family
This family is one of the oldest families located in the Buhoma sector of Bwindi Impenetrable National Park. It consists of 10 gorilla individuals with 1 silverback. The mubare gorilla family was habituated in 1998 in Mubare hills and started with 12 individuals led by one silverback Ruhondeza but later grew to 18 individuals. This family lost many individuals due to fights with other gorilla families which also led to the death of Ruhondeza. In March 2013 the Muhare gorilla family had only 5 individuals but it has now increased to 11 individuals. Mubare gorilla family has 6 adult gorillas, 1 teenager, 3 toddlers, and 1 silverback Kanyonyi.
Habinyanja Gorilla Family
This family is located in the Buhoma sector of Bwindi Impenetrable National Park and consists of 17 individuals with one silverback. Habinyanja family had over 25 individuals with several males and this led to fights for dominancy between the males. These fights led to the splitting of this big family into two families that is Habinyanja family and the creation of the Rushegura family.
Habinyanja family got its name from “Nyanja’’ which means source of water in the local language Rukiga because it was first sighted near a swamp pond in Bwindi in 1997. Later in the year 1999 it was visited and trekked for the first time by tourists. This family has 17 individuals including 1 blackback, 5 adult females, 1 sub-adult, 3 juveniles, and 6 infants. This family is under the leadership of Makara the Silverback.
Rushegura Gorilla Family
This family is located in the Buhoma region of Bwindi Impenetrable National Park. It broke away from the Habinyanja family and it has 19 individuals which are led by one strong silverback Mwirima. This family came into existence after breaking off from the Habinyanja family which had over 25 gorilla individuals but split because of internal conflicts between the silverbacks.
The Rushegura gorilla family came together in 2002 with 12 individuals including 5 females. This family got its name from the local language “Ebishegura” which means a tree species that was abundant in the home area of the new family. In 2010 the Rushegura family increased from 12 to 19 individuals led by the calm silverback Mwirima a brother to Rwansigazi a former silverback of the Habinyanja family. This family is considered the calmest family in Bwindi due to interaction with the villages nearby and in the forest camps.
Bitukura Gorilla Family
Located in the Ruhija sector, the Bitukura family is one of the most peaceful and playful gorilla families in Bwindi Impenetrable National Park which makes it easier to relate with. This family once had over 24 members but because of internal disputes, some individuals chose to willingly leave. This family now has 13 individuals: 5 silverbacks, 4 adult females, 2 juveniles, and 3 infants, and was first habituated in July 2007. This process of habituation was shorter about 15 months compared to other families that take 2 years.
The Bitukura gorilla family got its name from the river they were first spotted and it shares a close bond with the Kyaguriro family. Bitukura family has 4 silverbacks but it is led by the second youngest silverback Ndahura. Ndahura inherited power from Karumanzi who is aged and can’t defend the family.
Kyaguriro Gorilla Family
This family consists of 15 individuals including 2 silverbacks. It is located in the Ruhija sector of Bwindi Impenetrable National Park. This was habituated in 1995 and it is the most treasured family group because it is reserved for research. This family was led by Rukina a silverback but unfortunately on 7th April 2015 at the age of 31, he was struck by lightning and died. He was replaced by a younger silverback Mukiza but due to his inexperience, he was overthrown and banished from the family by an immigrating adult silverback Rukara.
Mukiza Gorilla Family
Named after its silverback, the Mukiza gorilla family is located in the Ruhija region of Bwindi Impenetrable National Park. It consists of 10 individuals: 4 adult females, 1 sub-adult, and 4 infants, and led by Mukiza the silverback. This was formed after Mukiza the silverback from the Kyaguriro family was overthrown and banished by an immigrating adult silverback Rukara from the Bitukura family. Mukiza broke off the Kyaguriro family with a sizeable number of its individuals and started the Mukiza gorilla family.
Katwe Gorilla Family
Katwe Gorilla Family is located in the Buhoma sector in Bwindi Impenetrable National Park. It comprises 9 individuals, 1 silverback, 2 blackbacks, 4 adult females, and 2 infants. It is the newest habituated gorilla family having gone about 3 years of habituation. In August of 2018, the Katwe gorilla family was opened for regular trekking.
Oruzogo Gorilla Family
This family is located in the Ruhija region of Bwindi Impenetrable National Park and it consists of 25 individuals who are led by Tibirikwata the silverback. it was recently found by the Uganda Wildlife Authority in 2011 and is the second habituated gorilla family in the Ruhija sector. The Oruzogo gorilla family got its name from the ‘Alchornea hitela’ a vegetation they often forage and feed on and it is known locally as ‘Oruzogo’. In 2011 the eldest females in the Oruzogo family Ntumurungi and Musi gave birth and later in 2013 Kankoba also gave birth to twins hence the large number of individuals in this family.
The Oruzogo family is one of the most popular visited families by tourists in Bwindi not just because of the size but also the playful character and energetic juveniles and toddlers in the group.
Nkuringo Gorilla Family
The Nkuringo gorilla family is located in the Nkuringo region of Bwindi Impenetrable National Park and it consists of 11 individuals. It got its name from the local word ‘Nkuringo’ meaning ‘round hill’. It’s a word from the Rukiga language, referring to the hill where the group was first sighted. In 1997 this family once had 17 individuals and it was the first gorilla family to be habituated in the entire south of Bwindi after the 2year habituation process. They were first habituated because they kept wandering into people’s farms and destroying their food.
The alpha silverback was also named Nkuringo but he died in April 2004. Leadership of the family was shared for a short period between two silverbacks, Rafiki and Safari but later Safari became the alpha in November of 2014. The family was later gifted with a set of twins Muhoozi and Katungi but unfortunately, Katungi succumbed to illness before the age of 2 years.
A very unfortunate incident happened on June 1, 2020, when poachers killed the famous 25-year-old Rafiki gorilla silverback. A month after the death of Rafiki, the family stabilized with 11 individuals under the leadership of the new silverback Rwamutwe.
Bushaho Gorilla Family
Bushaho Gorilla Family is located in the Nkuringo region of Bwindi and it consists of 9 individuals including the silverback Bahati. This family was formed after it broke off from the Nkuringo family in 2012 with the silverback Bahati leading out a sizeable number of individuals to a parallel family.
This family was later habituated and named Bashaho the topo name of the locals where the family forages most after close monitoring of the behavior of the new parallel family.
Conclusion
Uganda has the largest population of mountain gorillas in the world and they only stay in Bwindi Impenetrable National Park and Mgahinga Gorilla National Park. Mountain gorillas are social beings and they live in families scattered across many sectors of the national parks. Taking on a gorilla safari in Uganda will leave you amazed and in awe about these incredible primates.