Mgahinga national park
This is the second national park where the gorgeous mountain gorillas can be spotted. This offers a great experience since it is different from Bwindi since it is within the Virunga massif. The park protects over 100 mountain gorillas and has only one habituated gorilla family hence there are 8 gorilla trekking permits offered in this park.
Trekking in Mgahinga national park is sparked off by a brief meeting that avails tourists with rules and regulations before undertaking the adventure which lasts from 30 minutes to 7 hours depending on the gorilla family location.
- Nyakagezi gorilla family.
This gorilla group has been in existence since the establishment of this national park and it was named after the area called Nyakagezi where the group was first spotted by trackers. The group started its habituation journey in 1991 and in 1994, three years after it was available for trekking.
The current lead silverback is Mark and he protects the company with his brother Mafia.
Uniqueness of the family.
This gorilla family stays in the low land areas. Most of the gorillas prefer staying in steep slopes but this gorilla family is easy to trek.
It is among the families that were habituated first for gorilla trekking. The gorilla family was habituated in 1991 and open for trekking in 1994.
It has one of the past rulers still in the group after his leadership term. Bugingo was the lead silver at the time when the family was being habituated but he stayed in the group even after he was over thrown by Mark which is different from other gorillas.
Members in this group are travel enthusiasts. This is because they have a history of exploring Rwanda and D.R. Congo although they have spent some time without migrating.
The family flourishes with ten members that include five silverbacks – Mark, Mafia, Ndugutse, Rukundo and Bugingo. The females responsible for expanding the family are just two, Nshuti and Nyiramwiza and the babies of the family are Fred, Mutagamba and baby Nshuti is the youngest of them all.
Bwindi impenetrable national park.
The park once faced challenges that backlashed its tourism but they chose to scrape the barrel and up to date, Bwindi now teams with almost half of the mountain gorilla population that exist in the world. Diversity of these beauties has made gorilla trekking in this park easy given the different sectors that tourists can choose to trek from. The park is home to over 50 gorilla families and 13 solitaries but 21 families are open for tourism in the four gorilla sectors that are as right as rain for these creatures to stay in.
- BUHOMA SECTOR.
The roots of gorilla tourism in this park are the interesting history that Bwindi national park boasts about. This sector lies north of the park and it is the most visited because it offers easier trails to track than other sectors.
It was also the first sector to open for gorilla trekking in Bwindi, but now has five gorilla families including the following;
- Mubare gorilla family.
This gorilla family has stood through thick and thin with the park being the first habituated family and it has stood the test of time from 1991 to date. Mubare means hills and it was named so due to the various hills where the family was first found.
The king of the family is silverback Kanyonyi who succeed Ruhondeza after peaceful death in his sleep due to old age.
Mubare is the oldest gorilla family in Uganda. This gives visitors a chance to watch the successors of the golden family that was first trekked.
Number of family members.
Mubare family has faced various tragedies that have reduced number of its members and to date, there are only eight members in the group. This gives an encouraging sign that the family is getting back to its feet because it shines to the eyes of the tourists with the presence of an infant.
- Habinyanja gorilla family.
Nyanja means water and this family’s name came up after they were first spotted near swamp ponds. At the time of habituation that occurred from 1997 to 1999, the park was under the command of Mugurusi who was leading 30 individuals at that time. He couldn’t survive due to old age and this sparked off succession disputes between his sons Rwansigazi and Mwirima who initially were heading the family together.
Mwirima later managed to establish his own family with other gorillas that were fatigued with long standing conflicts and trackers retained Habinyanja name under their then ruler Rwansigazi.
The current overall silverback is Makara after the powers were delegated to him by their former leader, silverback Rwansigazi.
This was the second gorilla group to be habituated after Mubare, it started its habituation process in 1997 and in 1999, it was ready to be visited humans.
The group has registered one of the largest populations of all times. At the time of habituation, the group was under the care of Mugurusi and this old man, as his name suggest was commanding a total of 30 individuals.
Exploring is a family thing and it was the cause of separation between the two brothers, Mwirima and Rwansigazi. Capturing new catchy areas even beyond Buhoma is not a problem to this family.
The group is perfect with dozen members that comprise of two silverbacks, two black backs, three adult females, three sub-adults and two juveniles. Makara, Rwansigazi, Elsa, Hakato, Hamusini are among the known members of the family.
- Rushegura gorilla family
The name of the family originates from the area where the two brothers had their break up from since the area had a plant called ebishegura. This family was established by silverback Mwirima after he parted ways from his elder brother Rwansigazi over issues of traveling to far areas that he wasn’t comfortable with. Kabujuko had also grown and fled with some females to make his own family but he calmed down and lost confidence hence rejoining the family with ten females.
Lead silverbacks.
The founder of the group was silverback Mwirima but he was succeed by a strong blackback after his demise in 2014
Uniqueness of each family
Members in this family are not timid like most gorillas. They don’t shy away from people therefore tourists who trek this family are blessed with taking closer looks to them than they can get from other families.
They are humble members. It is as though the leader has trained morals in his members because they have a high level of calmness that aren’t common with ither creatures of their kind. These humble creatures pass through and wonder through neighboring homes, lodges and souvenir shops without causing chaos.
They are among the highly populated family members. How the family has managed to grow from just seven members to 16 is a secret that is best known by their lead silverback, Mwirima.
Rushegura is one big happy family that is made of two silverbacks, 6 adult females, one sub- adult female, 3 juveniles, 3 blackbacks and four infants.
- Katwe gorilla family.
This family was named after the famous hill called Katwe where it was first sighted by trackers. This family has gone through civilization for three years. This means that the gorilla permits issued by the park has increased by 8. Katwe is the head of the family.
Uniqueness of each family
This was the fourth gorilla family to be habituated. It took three years to habituate this gorilla family.
Nine individuals have the back of each other while in this family and it comprises of one silverback, 2 blackbacks, 2 adult females and two infants.
- Muyambi gorilla family
This is a splinter from Mubare and it was formed by Muyambi silverback in 2019.
Muyambi is the alpha and omega of this family.
This is the newest gorilla family in the sector. It was opened for gorilla trekking in 2019.
Number of family members
The family is made up of seven members with one silverback and it is in the quest of expanding its population as it received a new baby in May 2020.
- RUSHAGA SECTOR
This region is found in southern part of Bwindi national park and protects lives of five gorilla families. Traveling through this sector gives tourists an opportunity to steal sights of Gahinga, Muhavura, Virunga and sparkling views of Lake Bunyonyi.
- Nshongi gorilla family
‘Omushongi gwoboki’ means honey in Rukiga and this title was given to the river in Rushaga that resembles honey where the gentle creatures were first spotted. Then the name later was given to the lead silver back.
Uniqueness of each family.
The lead silverback is not the oldest in the group. Nshongi the dominant silverback is not the oldest male in the group which implies that the family stays in peace and harmony.
Number of family members
There are 24 members in the family where two are silverbacks. Nshongi the lead silverback and Kakono, seven blackbacks, 4 female adults, 5 juveniles and 6 infants.
- Busingye gorilla family.
Composition
The group name was named after the lead silverback Busingye and it was after the separation of the leader from Kahungye in March 2012.
Lead silverbacks
The protector of the family is Silverback Busingye.
Uniqueness of each family
It is less attracted to the borders of the park. Therefore, tourists interested in visiting it should keep their guard up while walking through the thickets of the bush since this family prefers foraging in the inner parts of Bwindi national park.
Number of family members
The family is comprised of nine members where there is one silverback, one black back, 3 adult females, two juveniles and three toddlers.
- Bweza gorilla family
The members in this family were once in Nshongi and Bweza maned up and thought of establishing his own family hence breaking off from Nshongi with some individuals to start over a new life in a new family.
Bweza is the commander in chief of this family and he has the roles of protecting and leading the family every day.
It is one of the most interesting gorilla families to watch. Tourists highly get lost in watching these creatures feed, play with each other in the family.
Number of family members
The park is on a nuclear system with only seven members that include their lead silverback Bweza and two rising stars.
- Mishaya gorilla family.
Mishaya group came into existence after Mishaya challenged Nshongi and broke away from the group with twelve members to form his own family. The group name was automatically given after the lead silverback.
Mwine succeeded Mishaya after his demise and took over the roles of protecting the family.
The group was known for their leader Mishaya who was a great warrior and would do anything just to protect his family and gather more gorillas in the family.
Number of family members.
There are 12 members in the group with four infants. The most popular personnel are Mwine, Bukunzi, Rutaro among others.
- Kahungye gorilla family
The family was first sighted in the vicinity of a hill called Kahungye hence the name of the area.
The family is part of the known families in Rushaga hence it gives tourists the opportunity to appreciate how these creatures relate with one another just like humans do.
Number of family members.
The family originally had 27 members but due to splits, but 13 individuals have chosen to continue spending their life in this family including three silverbacks.
- NKURINGO SECTOR
The southern part of the park blossoms with the flora and fauna found in the Nkuringo sector. the celebrity of the gorillas was Rakifi and he was found in this sector unfortunately he passed on in 2020. This sector came after Buhoma to be established and is the most challenging sector to hike hence its recommended to young and energetic tourists. Tourists steal glimpses of mountain Nyiragongo and Nyamuragira while in this sector.
- Nkuringo gorilla family
Nkuringo means round hill and hence this family’s name is derived from that. The park was opened in 2004 for tourism after four years of being habituated and a family of twenty members was under the leadership of Nkuringo. Nkuringo died in 2008 and it was a blessing in disguise for Rafiki because he became famous and known during his reign. Unfortunately, the celebrity succumbed to illegal gorilla poaching in 2020 and just like any other celebrated individual, he was mourned worldwide.
Lead silverbacks
The family is commanded by a black back called Rwamutwe which means stubbornness after the unsodden demise of Rafiki the favorite of most individuals all over the world.
This family has been famed by the presence of Rafiki. This gorilla was loved by almost everyone hence his demise was mourned by everyone in the world that knew about him.
The park extended its premises because of this family. It was found of foraging on local farms hence UWA relocated members in the surrounding area to create a buffer zone.
It was the first habituated gorilla family in the southern region.
The family has a dozen of members that includes four blackbacks, four adult females and four infants who might turn out to be the re-birth of the late celebrated Rafiki.
- Bushaho gorilla family
The existence of this family group has been as a result of some members who broke off from Nkuringo family creating a partnership with some unhabituated members.
Bahati is the overall leader of this gorilla group.
Uniqueness of each family
It was the 3rd gorilla family to be habituated in the Nkuringo sector.
Number of family members
With just eight individuals in the family, the group has three adult females, one sub-adult female, one blackback, one juvenile and one infant.
- Christmas gorilla family
This is the second group to be habituated in this sector.
The leader of this gorilla group is Jesus’s birthday twin called Christmas.
The leader of this group was born on Christmas day. It is a rare blessing for one to share a birth date with Jesus hence this is one of the beautiful things that the group boasts about having.
Number of family members
The family has eight members but only six are usually available for trekking because one mother joined with her son and they were not fully habituated so they shy away from humans. It has one silverback, two adult females, one sub-adult, two juveniles and two babies.
- Posho gorilla family
The familiarization of this group to humans is still underway and tourists should eagerly wait for exposure of 14 brand new gorilla species in terms of exposure to humans. The leader of this unique gorilla group is called Magara.
Uniqueness of each family.
The family is still under habituation therefore tourists should expect a lot of exhilarating situations when the family is later opened for tourism.
Number of family members
The family is still under habituation and has a number of 14 members during the process.
- RUHIJA SECTOR.
This is in the eastern part of the park and is the quietest of all the sectors maybe because it has only three gorilla family’s open for tourism. This sector is gentle and loves aged individuals because its landscape is not as hilly as Nkuringo and Rushaga.
- Bitukura gorilla group
This is among the gorilla families that had the huge number of members where it originally had 24 but the numbers kept on reducing to 14. Karamuzi was the former leader of the family before he was overthrown by the youngest silverback. Unfortunately, the life of this former leader came to an end due to old age at the fourth level of age groups. This group name was derived from a river that finds its way through Bitukura forest.
Ndahura is the masculine individual of the family after over powering their former leader.
Uniqueness.
Their habituation didn’t take long since they were habituated for only 15 months deviating from the recommended two years. This is because they are friends with members from Kyaguriro gorilla family hence they adopted some civilization techniques from them.
The family is composed brightly of 13 members. It has four silverbacks, three adult females, two blackbacks, one juvenile and two infants.
- Oruzogo gorilla group
The family has been blessed with bundles of joys repeatedly after most of the females like Nta Murungi, Musi gave birth in 2011. The family still counted more blessing and recorded more joy when Kakobe threw down two bouncing babies at the same time. The head of this family is called Tibirikwata
The family has many infants that give endless bundles of joy to tourists. They give a drive to tourists to ninth heaven from their dazzling playful acts, tantalizing feeding patterns among others.
Number of family members
The group is a huge one with 22 members with the commonly spotted being their group leader Tibirikwata, the giant gorilla called Kaganga, Busungu the short tempered one and Bwoba the coward.
- Kyaguriro gorilla group
The existence of this family is based on the sacrifices that were made by Zeus who died in exile after being banished by Rukina who was also struck by lightning in 2015.
Lead silverbacks
The lead silver back of this group isn’t well established since Mukazi who led after the death of Rukina was ambushed by Rukara from Bitukura to cause a family separation. `
Uniqueness of each family
This gorilla family was habituated but not available for gorilla trekking. This is because this family was reserved for research purposes but with the increased demand, it was opened up in 2016.
It is the oldest group to be habituated in Ruhija. This is because the family went under the civilization process in 1999.
Number of family members
The family has ten members that include one silverback, 3 adult females, 2 blackbacks, 2 juveniles and 2 infants.
- Mukiza gorilla group
Composition
It was formerly known Kyaguliro B and it was a splinter from the main Kyaguliro and just as their former family members, they prefer foraging deep in the forest.
Lead silverbacks
The leader of this defiant group is Mukizi who was once a leader of the original Kyaguliro group.
Uniqueness of each family
This gorilla group is not open for tourism. This is because Manx Planc Institute use it for their research purposes of evolutionary anthropology.
Number of family members
The group is expanding in numbers after the birth of two new babies. The family is made up of one silverback, seven adult females, one sub-adult, one juvenile and one infant.
