Gorilla Families in Virunga National Park, DR Congo

Virunga National Park is one of the three national parks in the central African region that protects endangered mountain gorillas that free-range on the slopes of the Virunga Mountains. The park is on the side of DR Congo, sharing habitat with Volcanoes National Park on the Rwanda side and Mgahinga National Park on the Uganda side. About half of the world’s endangered mountain gorilla population occupy the Virungas living in small families.

Mountain gorillas live in small patriarchal social structures led by a dominant male silverback in their natural setting. While the family may have other silverbacks, all family members must submit to the dominant one or face a brutal dismissal. The dominant silverback fights for their security, plans and leads foraging routes and family activities, and retains all mating rights. Adults that stick around trust his protection ability, and female usually leave to avoid inbreeding. 

Researchers and primatologists collaborating with the Congo government have habituated a few mountain gorilla families living in Virunga National Park for tourism. Now rangers can escort any visitor above 15 years into the Virunga forests to find a habituated gorilla group and spend an hour with the gorillas.

Gorilla habituation is a painstakingly slow and expensive process where a troop is gradually introduced to human presence. Usually, after about two years, the troop is ready for tourism. The process occurs within the park with minimal disruption of the mountain gorilla’s daily activities. Each gorilla in the troop is identified by its unique nose print and given a name during habituation. Rangers who escort tourists in the forest know each gorilla by name and easily isolate an individual and tell you their character.

Habituation is the best way to monitor and understand gorillas’ behavior and prepare them for ecotourism that contributes highly to the conservation budget. Habituation supports the healthy growth of the mountain gorilla population and the Virunga National Park’s conservation. Today the growing gorilla population is out of the IUCN’s critically endangered zone, with just above one thousand individuals.

Here we take an in-depth look at the gorilla families in Virunga National Park and how you can see them.  

Kabirizi Gorilla Family

Kabirizi Family was habituated in 1994 in the Bukima sector. Most of the family members left the Zunguruka troop to join Kabirizi. Its first leader, after habituation, died of old age, leaving the son Ndungutse to take on leadership until he lost his life to poachers in 1997.

Buhanga, Ndungutse’s son, took leadership after his father’s demise until he was murdered in a deadly clash with another silverback on February 2nd, 1998. Matriarch Nsekuye briefly led the group, passing on her interim leadership to Muyanga in the same year. She later died in April 2010. 

In four years following 1998, the number of individuals in the Kabirizi gorilla family expanded to 36 members. However, many family members did not stick for long before being attacked and split up by another silverback leaving only 21 individuals.  

Currently, the Kabirizi Family has grown to about 24 members, and it’s one of the gorilla families in Virunga National Park that visitors enjoy watching.

Bageni Gorilla Family

Silverback Bageni leads Bageni Gorilla Family. Bageni grew up in his father’s troop, Kabirizi, and acquired a silver back in 2010. Three years later, he fought his father for dominance and got away with 20 individuals to start his own. Among the individuals he managed to snatch from his father were females, including Kamoso, his mother Mapendo, a young adult Ntamuculira, and another silverback, Kanamahalagi.

Today, the Bageni family has 46 members strong, including three silverbacks, thirteen adult females, one Blackback, seven sub-adult females, one sub-adult male, and 10 Infants.

Mapuwa Gorilla Family

Mapuwa gorilla family is led by silverback Mapuwa. Mapuwa used to dwell with his father, Rugendo, until 1995. Later that year, he ditched his father’s troop to become a solitary male in the Virungas.

It took him three years of clashing with several other gorilla families to gain confidence from females and start his own troop. He snatched two females from Lulengo, others from Kwitondo and Rugabo families.

Mapuwa Gorilla Group more than doubled during the decade following 2020 to about 22 members. Mapuwa lost the leadership to a younger silverback, Mvuyekure, in 2017, was exiled briefly and later rejoined the group as a submissive male. 

Today, the Mapuwa gorilla family lives around the Jomba area with 26 individuals, including three silverbacks, one Blackback, eight adult females, three sub-adults, and eleven young ones.

Rugendo Family

Rugendo gorilla group lives in the Mikeno sector between Virunga National Park’s Bukima and Bikenge areas. Silverback Bukima leads the troop. 

Rugendo was among the first habituated gorilla families in Virunga National Park in 1995. In the early years after habituation, Silverback Rugendo left the group until rebels killed him in 2001. Rugendo has fathered many prominent Silverbacks in Virunga, including Mapuwa, Humba, Mukunda, Ruzirabwoba, Mburanumwe, Kongomani, Nyakamwe, Baseka, Lubutu, and Bahati. 

Rugendo died, and his son Senkwekwe extended his legacy until poachers killed him and five other gorillas in 2007. The group stayed without a leader for some months until 2008, when a solitary silverback, Bukima, took leadership with the utmost ease. 

Rugendo gorilla group has 13 individuals, including 3 Silverbacks, 2 Sub- adults, 4 Adult females, 1 Juvenile, and 3 Infants.

Lulengo Gorilla Family

Lulengo gorilla group has 11 individuals, including one silverback, one Blackback, 2 Sub-adults, three adult females, 2 Juveniles, and 2 Infants. 

The group ranges between Virunga National Park’s Bikenga and Jomba areas led by silverback Lulengo. The group’s habituation started in 1985 with Rugabo silverback as the dominant male. Nine years later, the group was attacked by porches, killing Rugabo and two other adult females. Rangers managed to rescue a juvenile from the poachers and subsequently arrested and imprisoned them.

In the aftermath, Lulengo, Rugabo’s son, took over the leadership of the twelve remaining troop members. Lulango’s rein has been featured with clashes with other gorilla families in Virunga National Park, including Mapuwa and Rugendo and in the process losing family members.

Munyaga Gorilla Family

You’ll find the Munyaga gorilla family in the Bukima area following Silverback Mawazo’s leadership composed of twelve individuals, including three silverbacks, three adult females, one sub-adult, two juveniles, and three Infants. 

Munyaga gorilla family disappeared in 2007 for the whole year following the Rebels’ occupation of the area. It reappeared in 2008 with the new leader, Mawazo, who still dominates the family today. 

Humba Gorilla Family

The Humba gorilla family lives around Virunga National Park’s Gatovu and Bikenge areas under Silverback Humba’s leadership. Humba split from his father, Rugendo, with six individuals to start his family in 1998. Interestingly, his younger brother tagged along.

Humba’s family expanded rapidly and by 2014, had reached 16 individuals. Unfortunately, brotherly love did not last long enough; the two brothers, Humba and Nyakamwe, roughed it up and split the group. Nyakamwe walked away with a 10-member strong new family, leaving his brother with the shame of defeat.

The group has steadily increased in numbers over the years under silverback Humba. Today it has 15 individuals, including two silverbacks, four adult females, four juveniles, and five Infants.

Nyakamwe Gorilla Family

Nyakamwe gorilla family has 15 members, including three silverbacks, four adult females, two sub-adults, three Juveniles, and three infants. 

The group split from the Humba gorilla group in 2014 with ten individuals and lives around the Bukima area.

Baraka Gorilla Group

Barak is one of the gorilla families in Virunga National Park in its final stages of habituation but pen for tourism. It lives around the Gikereri area under the dominant leadership of Baraka silverback. 

The gorilla group has about 19 members with an ongoing task to identify the individual members. 

Wilungula Gorilla Family

The Wilungula gorilla family ranges around the Kikereri area and is one of the new habituated gorilla families in Virunga National Park.

Wilingula has about 42 individuals, including four silverbacks. Identification of all members is still ongoing.

Cost of Gorilla Trekking in Virunga

A gorilla permit in Virunga National Park costs USD 450 per person. Compared to $700 in Uganda and $1,500 in Rwanda, DR Congo offers the cheapest gorilla trekking experiences.

To get your permit, book directly with Virunga Foundation in Virunga National Park, a bureaucratic process many avoid, or a licensed local tour operator like Encounter Africa Safaris. Send us an email at info@gorilla-tracking-uganda.com; we promise to make the process very simple for you.

Not considering the price of the gorilla permit, the cost of your gorilla trekking safari in Virunga will include accommodation ($100 to $300) and transfers.

How To Get To Virunga National Park

You can reach Virunga National Park through Goma, a one-hour’s drive from the park entrance. Goma has regional flights that make easy connections between Goma and Kigali (Rwanda), Entebbe (Uganda), and Addis Ababa (Ethiopia) using Uganda Airlines, Ethiopian Airways, and Rwandair. 

One can also drive 4-6 hours from Kigali International Airport, crossing the Rwanda-DRC border at Gisenyi to reach Virunga National Park.

Best Time To Go

Virunga National Park is open all year through. However, the best time for gorilla trekking is between June to September and December to February, when it’s the dry season. Since Virunga National Park sits in the tropical region and at a high altitude, it could rain at any time. The chances of rain during the wet season are very high. Unless you intend to brave the experience, avoid the rainy seasons.

DR Congo’s Virunga National Park dares travelers to brave the insecurity and get the best rewards of trekking in the most untouched rainforest. Virunga’s rainforests are spectacular, with impressive encounters no other destination can match. Send us an email at info@gorilla-tracking-uganda.com to help you plan your DR Congo safari.