Gorilla groups in Virunga National Park in Congo
- Kabirizi Gorilla group
- Humba Gorilla Group
- Rugendo Gorilla Group
- Mapuwa Gorilla Group
- Lulengo Gorilla Group
- Munyaga Gorilla Group
- Nyakamwe Gorilla Group
- Bageni Gorilla Group
Kabirizi Gorilla group:
Gorilla groups and families in Virunga National Park. This group is led by Kabirizi the powerful but humble silverback. They are found in the Bukima section near Goma. The group gets its name from the Director of ICCN who died in a traffic accident. This Congo gorilla group was initially known as the “Ndungutse” group after Ndungutse the dominant silverback. Ndungustse replaced his father Zunguruka who died of old age. Unfortunately Ndungutse was shot dead in 1997 after being caught in crossfire between government and Rwandan rebel forces. These events and others like infighting and rivalry paved way for Kabirizi a wild gorilla to take over the group. However a new young but ambitious silverback Masibo has now emerged and threatens to undermine Kabirizis leadership. You can read about how the allocation of gorilla groups is done.
Rugendo Gorilla Group:
Gorilla groups in Congo. This group is named after its former great leader Rugendo but is now led by silverback Bukima originally from the Buhanga group. Bukima now leads one of the oldest (1989) habituated gorilla groups in the park. Although the group now contains 9 members, it was not always so. There have been great changes in the group, especially after Rugendo the former leader fought his son Humba (leader of Humba group). The group had 18 memebrs but Humba left with 10 members after the fight. Rugendo remained with 8 members but was killed during clashes between the Congolese army and a Rwandan rebel group. Rugendo is credited for fathering many of the great silverbacks who went on to lead their own groups in the park.
Mapuwa Gorilla Group:
The Mapuwa group is composed of 22 individuals and is located in Jomba near the border with Uganda. Mvuyekure currently leads this group after taking over from Mapuwa the son of Rugendo. Mapuwa had left his father Rugendo with two females Mafaze and Jicho to start his own family under difficult hurdles. Mapuwa had to fight frequently to protect his family but also to acquire new members to his group. He had to deal with Pilipili, a strong silverback in the park to remain the dominant silverback. Apart from the leadership of Mapuwa and now Mvuyekure, the group has also grown because of new births. The group has 2 other silverbacks, 4 juveniles and 5 babies.
Lulengo Gorilla Group:
This group has 9 members and is now led by Lulengo the dominant silverback. The group can be found in the Jomba nearing Congo’s border with Uganda. The group has an interesting and long history since it was habituated. The group was known as Musekura before it was changed to Lulengo the current silverback and also in memory of a park Director who lost his life to a land mine. Lulengo came to lead the group after his father Rugabo (of the Rugabo group) was killed by poachers. There are 9 members in the Lulengo group.
Munyaga Gorilla Group:
Gasore is the current leader of the group composed of 7 members that includes juveniles and babies. The group was named after its former leader Munyaga who was succeeded by Mawazo and then Gasore the current dominant male. This group was the last to be discovered by park wardens in 2008. The Munyaga group resides in the Bukima sector of the park and is loved by visitors because of the female Bilali, her set of twins and Kadogo the bald headed silverback.
Nyakamwe Gorilla Group:
Gorilla families in Congo.
Bageni Gorilla Group:
The Bageni group contains 26 individuals and is the largest group in the park.