Gorilla Families in Rwanda
Gorilla Families in Rwanda , Gorilla trekking in Rwanda is done in the Virunga Conservation Area in the bamboo-covered slopes of the Virunga ranges in Volcanoes national park. Volcanoes national park comprises 12 gorilla families that are fully habituated and are open for trekking throughout the year while the others are habituated for research purposes. Each of these gorilla families open for trekking can be visited by a maximum of 8 people per day. On the day of gorilla trekking, these gorilla families are allocated to the trekkers by the park wardens at random but in case of any health complications, make it known to the park wardens for consideration before the allocations are done. The treks to the different gorilla families in Volcanoes national park are categorized as short treks, medium treks, and long treks. Gorilla families in Volcanoes national park include;
Susa Family
Also referred to as the original Susa, the Susa gorilla family is one of the oldest and most famous gorilla families in Volcanoes national park. This family is famous for having had the first set of surviving twins (Impano and Byishimo). The Susa family is led by a dominant silverback, Impuzamahanga. Initially, this group was the largest in Volcanoes national park with 41 members but later split into two forming the Karisimbi and Igisha group leaving the Susa group with a total of 16 members.
This is as well the hardest gorilla family to trek in Volcanoes national park since they reside high in the mountains.
Hirwa Family
This family was named after a local word Hirwa that means lucky one. This group was formed by members of group 13(Agashya family) and the Sabinyo group. The Hirwa group is composed of 16 member and 1 silverback and inhabits the foothills of the mount Sabinyo and mount Gahinga.
Agashya Family – Group 13
This gorilla family is named after the dominant silverback, Agashya that leads it. This name comes from a local word agashya that means news. The Agashya family was the first gorilla group to be habituated in Volcanoes national park and initially composed of 13 members that were led by a silverback called Nyakarima. Later he was overthrown by Agashya who became the leader of the group hence the name of the group. As of the moment, the Agashya family comprises 27 members with 1 silverback.
Amahoro Family
The Amahoro group is composed of 22 individuals that is; 4 Silverbacks, 7 adult females, 4 sub-adult females, 3 juvenile and 4 infants. This group is led by a dominant silverback called Gahinga. Initially, the Amahoro group was headed by a dominant silverback called Amahoro which means peaceful hence the name. Amahoro died at the age of 31 years and after his death the group split into two due to failure to agree on who should inherit the leadership between silverbacks Ubumwe and Charles who were his subordinates.
Karisimbi Family- Susa B
The Karisimbi group was formed in 2009 after splitting of the main Susa group. This group is also often referred to as the Susa B gorilla family. The Karisimbi family is led by a dominant silverback called Nyagakangaga who moved away from the original Susa group with 13 individuals after it divided. This group is named Karisimbi because it resides on the upper mountain slopes of mount Karisimbi making it one of the hardest group to trek.
The Karisimbi family comprises 16 members with 2 silverbacks.
Kwitonda Family
In the local dialect, the word Kwitonda means humble one. This name was derived from the character of the dominant silverback Kwitonda who was considered humble. The Kwitonda family originally inhabited Virunga national park in the Democratic Republic of Congo before moving to Rwanda’s Volcanoes national park. After the death of Kwitonda in 2012 due to old age, this group went under the leadership of a dominant silverback called Akarevuro.
The Kwitonda group comprises 23 individuals out of which 4 are silverbacks.
Bwenge Family
This mountain gorilla family comprises 11 members with 1 silverback. The group was named Bwenge after the dominant silverback Bwenge who led it while it experienced dark times whereby 6 of the infants in the group died. The name Bwenge is derived from a local word Bwenge that means wisdom.
The Bwenge family until to-date inhabits mount Bisoke near the Ugyenda group.
Sabinyo Family
The Sabinyo mountain gorilla family inhabits the slopes of mount Sabinyo and mount Gahinga. This group comprises 15 individuals including 2 silverbacks, 3 adult females, 3 black backs, 1 sub adult male, 3 juveniles and 3 infants. At the point of habituation, this group was called the Amavubi group due to the aggressive character of its members but later it came to be known as the Sabinyo group/family.
The Sabinyo group is headed by a dominant silverback called Ruhonda who is considered to be one of the largest and strongest silverbacks in Volcanoes national park.
Umubano Family
The Umubano gorilla group was formed after the splitting of the Amahoro group due to constant conflicts between the two silverbacks, Charles and Ubumwe. The word Umubano means live together in the local dialect. This group comprises 12 individuals that includes 5 silverbacks, 2 adult females, 1 black back, 1 sub-adult female, 1 juvenile an d 1 infant.
Muhoza Family
The Muhoza group was formed in 2016 by a dominant silverback Marambo with 2 adult females, 1 from the Hirwa group and the other from the Agashya group. This group comprises 22 individuals including 1 silverback, 9 adult females, 4 Juveniles and 8 infants.
Igisha Family
The Igisha group was named after the dominant silverback Igisha who split off from the Susa family and took along with him 23 other individuals to form this group. Currently this group comprises 36 individuals that includes 6 silverbacks, 10 adult females, 2 black backs, 1 sub-adult male, 1 sub-adult female, 6 juveniles and 10 infants making it the biggest habituated mountain gorilla group in Volcanoes national park.
Ugyenda Family
This gorilla family has 11 individuals and 2 silverbacks and inhabits the area between mount Bisoke and mount Karisimbi. The word Ugyenda in the local language means departure and was named so due to the roaming behavior of this group. The trek to this group is relatively difficult since the group is quite mobile.
Other gorilla families include;
Titus Family
This is one of the oldest gorilla families in Volcanoes national park that sprang during the times of Dian Fossey. This group was named after the dominant silverback Titus who was the only survivor of the gorilla group from Dian Fossey’s struggle against mountain gorilla poaching. This family inhabits the slopes of mount Karisimbi and mount Bisoke. The silverback Titus died in 2009 at the age of 35 years.
Urwego Family
This family is led by a black back called Urwego. It was formed in 2023 when the black back Urwego left the Kwitonda group with 8 other individuals. Up to-date this family is led by the black back Urwego hence the name. The Urwego family comprises 7 members including 1 silverback, 5 adult females, and 1 sub-adult female.
Due to the continued gorilla conservation efforts by the different stakeholders, the total number of mountain gorillas in Rwanda’s Volcanoes national park are continuously growing hence increasing the number of trekkers per day. Other than Rwanda, mountain gorillas can also be visited in DRC’s Virunga national park, and Uganda’s Bwindi Impenetrable national park and Mgahinga national park.
A gorilla safari to Rwanda can be done as a 1-day safari where you visit only the mountain gorillas or a multi-day safari where you can take part in other safari activities both in Volcanoes national park such as golden monkey trekking, and in other destinations such as chimpanzee trekking in Nyungwe national park and wildlife and boat experience in Akagera national park, among others.
