Habituated Gorilla Families in Bwindi Impenetrable National Park – as of March 2020

Uganda, The Pearl of Africa, together with Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo are home to about 1,063 mountain Gorillas (total global population) with over 50% of them residing in Uganda’s Bwindi Impenetrable National Park and Mgahinga National Park.

In Bwindi, there are about 459 Gorillas comprising of 50 groups and 13 solitary individuals, as of 2018.

The Virunga Mountains area is home to 604 Mountain Gorillas as per the survey of 2018.

Mountain Gorillas are endangered species and attract over 30,000 tourists every year who visit East Africa for Gorilla tracking and Gorilla Habituation Activities.

What is the difference between Gorilla Tracking and Gorilla Habituation Experience?

In Gorilla tracking, tourists venture deep into the jungle, led by park rangers and guides, for a one-hour encounter with a family of Gorillas that they have been allocated. Only 8 people are allowed to visit a Gorilla family per day, meaning that only 8 permits can be issued. The families that are visited during Gorilla tracking are already habituated and can therefore tolerate the presence of human beings in their territory as long as they are not disturbed.

In the Gorilla Habituation Experience, tourists are allowed up to 4 hours to visit a Gorilla family that is semi habituated. This means that the family is still in the process of being made to tolerate the presence of humans in their territory. The identification of a family and the habituation process takes years, and when successful, the family is added to the list of groups that are open to Gorilla tracking activities. At the moment, the Gorilla habituation experience is only available in the southern part of Bwindi.

Bwindi Impenetrable National Park has 17 habituated Gorilla families, and 2 semi habituated Gorilla families.

The neighboring Mgahinga National Park currently has one habituated Gorilla family.

The Uganda Wildlife Authority issues Gorilla tracking permits on a first come, first served basis. Considering that availability of Gorilla tracking permits is very limited especially during the high season (July to October), it is recommended that you book your Gorilla tracking safari as early as possible. It is important to know the part of the vast Bwindi Forest where your allocated Gorilla group (from your permit) lives. With this knowledge, you can book a lodge which is located closest to the point where the trekking point begins. There have been cases where travelers have been booked at a lodge from where they have to drive for hours. Gorilla tracking begins early in the morning, thus the importance to book with a professional tour operator who understands the logistics. In Bwindi, the permits are allocated in 4 different sectors. These are Buhoma, Nkuringo, Ruhija and Rushaga.

Below, we have a look at some of the Gorilla families and their location.

Buhoma Sector – Central Bwindi:

The Buhoma sector is the most popular and most visited part of Bwindi. This is where Gorilla tracking began in 1993, and also the area where some of the first lodges in Bwindi are located.

MUBARE GORILLA FAMILY

This was the first Gorilla family to be habituated in Uganda. It currently consists of 9 members, including 1 Silver Back. It was fully habituated in 1991 and was opened for tourism in 1993. It was named Mubare after Mubare Hill, the area where they were first sighted by trackers deep inside the Bwindi Forest. The group initially consisted of 18 members but movement to other groups, loss of life during fights and death of young ones reduced the number.

HABINYANJA GORILLA FAMILY

Comprising of 18 individuals, the Habinyanja gorilla family is another one located in the Buhoma sector and has 2 Silver Backs. It was fully habituated in 1997 with the first tourists visiting in 1999. The name Habinyanja is derived from the Rukiga name “Nyanja” which means “a place with water’’. This is in relation to the family having first being sighted at an area in Bwindi near a swamp. “Mugirisi”, meaning old man was dominant the Silver Back in charge of the group when it was first sighted. After dying due to old age, his two brothers Mwirima and Rwansigazi took over and appeared to share power. For some reason, the family later split into two, with the one that followed the ever wandering Rwansigazi keeping the Habinyanja name while the one that stayed with Mwirima being called Rushegura. Rwansigazi was to later cede leadership to Makara, who is the current dominant Silver Back.

RUSHEGURA GORILLA FAMILY

Comprising of 18 individuals, the Rushegura family which splintered from the Habinyanja family is led by 1 Silver Back. It had begun with 12 members including 5 females and was opened for tourist visits in 2002. Mwirima, the Silver Back still retains the leadership of this group which is known to be people friendly. The family stays in the vicinity of Buhoma Village and the young ones do sometimes “pose” for tourists to take a better photo.

KATWE GORILLA FAMILY

This is the newest habituated Gorilla family in Buhoma- north of Bwindi, consisting of 7 members with one being a Silver Back.

NKURINGO GORILLA FAMILY

This family comprising of 19 individuals is located in the Nkuringo area of Bwindi Impenetrable National Park. In Rukiga, “Nkuringo means a “round hill”, and the group whose habituation process completed in 2004 was therefore named after the area it was first spotted. The hilly Nkuringo area is very popular especially for return tourists who have tracked other Gorilla families before. Before its habituation, the family could be spotted near the neighboring villages. It was also notorious for stealing bananas and other crops from farmers. This was one of the reasons it was habituated since some of the revenue collected through permits could be given back to the community, thus avoiding human- wildlife conflict.

Nkuringo, the elderly Silver Back leading this group died in 2008 leaving his two silverbacks known as Rafiki and Safari. Safari would take over the role of the dominant male since then.

BUSHAHO GORILLA FAMILY

This is another group found in the Nkuringo section of Bwindi. It comprises of 11 individuals.  These include a silver back, 1 black back, 4 female adults, 2 semi adult females and 3 infants. In 2012, park trackers learnt that some members of the Nkuringo family had disappeared. Among the, was Bahati, a Silver Back. Upon close observation, the researchers discovered that he was one of the Gorillas who had broken away from Nkuringo and joined Bushaho where he was now the Silver Back. The group was habituated and has been open for tourists visits since then.

CHRISTMAS GORILLA FAMILY

This is one of the newest habituated Gorilla families in Bwindi, found in the Nkuringo area. Its successful introduction has increased the number of habituated Gorilla families in Nkuringo to three. It is led by a dominant Silver Back named Christmas, since he was born on 25^th December. The group was therefore named after him. The group is believed to comprise of 9 members, although only 6 are regularly sighted during tracking. These are Christmas, three adult females, an infant and a black back.

RUSHAGA SECTOR – SOUTHERN BWINDI

NSHONGI GORILLA FAMILY

The habituation process of the Nshongi family begun in 2006 with the group being opened for tourism in 2009. Nshongi, which might be translated to mean “honey” was given the name after the deep red color of the River where it was first identified. At the time of successful habituation, this group had as many as 35 members (including 3 silver backs and 7 seven black backs which lived in harmony) which made it unique. Bweza was and remains the dominant Silver Back. However, fight for dominance among males led to many splinter groups afterwards. In 2010, some sections of the family broke away from Nshongi to form Mishaya group which was led by a Silver Back known as Mishaya. Several splinters led to the group remaining with 18 members at some point, later reducing to 7 individuals: 1 Silver back, 1 sub adult, 3 females, one sun adult and an infant. This family is found in the Rushaha sector, located in the southern part of Bwindi Forest.

NB: It is important to note that the group numbers keep on changing due to splitting, death and birth of new ones.

MISHAYA GORILLA FAMILY

This group split away from the Nshongi family, with Mishaya the silver back leading the group away. Mishaya is a known fighter who has always been good at fighting away attacking non habituated groups and winning new females to his group. During a serious invasion in 2011, a fight with a non-habituated Gorilla group left him and one of the infants in his group seriously injured. The Mishaya Gorilla family which is found in Rushaga, south of Bwindi had 7 members although some new Gorillas have been noted to join it in the recent past. Nshongi and Mishaya groups still live close to each other.

KAHUNGYE GORILLA FAMILY

This is yet another family located in Rushaga in the southern sector of Bwindi Forest. The Kahungye Gorilla family is among the recently habituated Gorilla families and was opened for tourism in 2011. The group was however to split within one year, forming another group called Busingye. Before the separation, Kahungye Group consisted of 27 members, 3 of them being Silver backs. Kahungye is a hill in Rushaga where the group was first sighted, thus given the name by researchers. Rumansi is the current dominating Silver Back, after reports that Gwigi broke away to form another group.

BWEZA GORILLA FAMILY

This group which broke away from Nshongi after several family conflicts consists of 9 members, one of the, being Bweza the dominant silver back. After the break away, The Uganda Wildlife Authority team thought that they would get back together. When this did not happen, they classified it as another Gorilla group and opened it up for tourist visits in December 2012.

BUSINGYE GORILLA FAMILY

This is a splinter group from the Kahungye family consisting of 9 members and which is led by Busingye, the silver back. Busingye, meaning “peace” split away to form his own family in June 2012. His ambitious nature and eagerness to fight other Gorilla groups is quite a contract to his name. Every time he comes across a wild gorilla family, he does not hesitate to display his power by protecting them and even grabbing a new female to his side. It is located in Rushaga sector, south of Bwindi.

Kutu gorilla family

Kutu gorilla family is located in Rushaga region of Bwindi Impenetrable National Park with 8 members and one dominant silverback as the head of the family.

Mucunguzi gorilla family

Mucunguzi gorilla family is located in the Rushaga sector with 8 members dominantly female; it broke away from Bweza family after a serious fight, and Mucunguzi, the Silver Back is the head of the group.

RWIGI FAMILY

The Rwigi family is a splinter faction from the Kahungye Gorilla Family. It is found in Rushaga in the southern sector of Bwindi forest and was unveiled for Gorilla tracking activities in April 2020. Rwigi the dominant silver back broke away from the Kahungye family after several quarrels with other Silver backs in the group. He left with a few females and juveniles to form his own family which has 3 adult females, 2 juveniles and an infant.

Bikyingi Gorilla Family (Habituation Experience)

Bikyingi Gorilla Family is one of the newest habituated groups located in Rushaga sector, in Bwindi Impenetrable Forest. It has 15 individuals including 1 silverback. Bikyingi, the only silverback and leader of the group was given the same as his group, and has been noted to be very friendly to all his young ones. The habituation process of this family began in 2012, and together with the Bushaho Gorilla family also found in southern Bwindi, they are the 2 Gorilla families available for the Gorilla Habituation Experience.

Bwindi National Park is home to many more Mountain Gorillas and the number keeps on increasing as a result of tireless conservation efforts in Uganda. However, the above are the only habituated Gorilla groups currently that inhabit Bwindi Impenetrable National Park.

RUHIJA SECTOR

ORUZOGO GORILLA FAMILY

Located in the Ruhija sector of Bwindi, The Oruzogo family is the largest with 19 members. These include 4 Silver Back. Bakwate is the dominant silver back in this group. This group completed the habituation process in 2011 when it became open for tourism. By that time, it had 25 members led by Tibirikwata, the dominant silver back. The numbers have been changing since then as a result on splitting, death and new births.

BITUKURA GORILLA FAMILY

This is another Gorilla family found in the Ruhija sector. Named after River Bitukura, a River where it was first sighted, the group currently consists of 14 members including 4 Silver Backs. It was opened for tourism in October 2008 with the habituation process having began in July 2007. This is remarkable as the process took 15 months compared to the average period is 2 years. This was made easy by their peaceful co- existence with the neighboring Kyaguriro family, with whom they interact. This means that the Uganda Wildlife Authority trackers would occasionally come across this family. The family began with 24 members but the numbers have kept on changing due to break aways, death and new births. It has however remained one close knit family.

KYAGURIRO GORILLA FAMILY

This group was amongst the first Gorilla families to be habituated back in 1995. It has a fascinating history due to fights and take overs that have led to many splinter groups. Found in Ruhija on the eastern side of Bwindi National Park, the group was initially reserved for research. It was however opened for tourism due to a high demand for Gorilla tracking permits. It currently has 9 members led by Rukara, one of the 2 silver backs.

MUKIZA GORILLA FAMILY

This family that has 12 members is a splinter group from the Kyaguriro family. It is located in the Ruhija sector of Bwindi Forest National Park. Mukiza is the only Silver Back with the other members being adult females, black backs and juveniles. Rukara, an immigrant silver back from the Bitukura Gorilla family invaded the Kyaguriro family and took charge of part of the family. The constant feuds that followed led to Mukiza breaking off to form his own Mukiza family. This family is the latest addition to the list of habituated Gorilla families in Ruhija.

MGAHINGA NATIONAL PARK

NYAKAGEZI GORILLA FAMILY

This family is found in Mgahinga National Park in southern Uganda, and the only habituated group in this park. This family of 10 Gorillas inhabits the Virunga volcanoes “the mountains that cook” in what is part of the Virunga massif. The Virunga volcanoes are shared between Uganda, Rwanda and the Domestic Republic of Congo, with about 80 Gorillas inhabiting the Ugandan part of the volcanoes. There were times in the past (over 6 years ago) when the Nyakagezi family would cross over to Rwanda. This has however not been recorded in recent years, especially after the take over of the group by Mark, the dominant Silver back and his brother Mafia after Bugingo who is their father retired. However, Bugingo had a tendency of leading the family to Rwanda and that is why you might find that information elsewhere.

How to book your gorilla tracking permit and safari.

One way is to book directly with the Uganda Wildlife Authority’s online portal. However, we recommend that you book with a seasoned and reputable tour operator like Essenia Safari Experts Ltd. This is because we tailor make your safari not just to cover Gorilla tracking, but we also combine with our leading safari attractions in Uganda, Tanzania and Kenya while offering professional logistical guidance and competitive prices.

At the moment, A gorilla tracking permit costs USD 600 per person until 30^th June 2020. From 1^st July 2020, the price will increase to USD 700.

Gorilla Habituation Experience in Bwindi Impenetrable National park currently costs USD 1,500 per person until 30^th June 2022. When approved subject to availability, only 4 people are allowed to visit the allocated family per day, and they spend up to 4 hours with the Gorilla family.

Besides the mountain Gorillas, Uganda is also one of the best countries for Chimpanzee Tracking and Chimpanzee Habituation Experience. This is mainly done at Kibale Forest National Park. Presently, a Chimpanzee tracking permit costs USD 150 per person until 30^th June 2020. From 1^st July 2020, cost for Chimpanzee Tracking will increase to USD 200 per person.

For a Chimpanzee Habituation Experience, current cost of permit is USD 200 per person. From 1^st July 2020, a Chimpanzee Habituation Experience permit will cost USD 250 per person, valid for 6 hours inside Kibale Forest National Park.

Our contacts: reservations@esseniasafaris.co.ke // www.esseniasafaris.com +254723775749 (calls and Whatsapp)