Bwindi Mountain Gorilla groups
Bwindi Mountain Gorilla groups
Bwindi only is a home to over 400 mountain gorillas which can be tracked in a group of 8 members per group and currently there about 10 gorilla groups which have been habituated to the presence of human beings and can be viewed at close quarters. This means that 88 people track these endangered species per day. Let us examine one by one of these bwindi gorilla groups
Buhoma area of the park
Buhoma is the location for the main Park Headquarters, it is located on the northwestern side of the forest its where most of the accommodation at the park are located and buhoma has three gorilla habituated groups one is;
Rushegura
Rushegura is regarded as the number one group visited out of Buhoma to the west of the forest; it is among the larger Groups of Gorillas with treks usually starting out on foot from the park headquarters. The group was formed in 2002 for gorilla tracking within the buhoma region and a determined silverback named Mwirima separated from the Habinyanja group with seven other family members forming their group. The group has succeeded since under his leadership although he died a couple of month back and now is led by the blackbuck Kabukojo with now 19 members. The group has so many adult females about 6, 3blackbuck and 5 juvenile and 5 infants the group has great reproductive potential and mating is regularly observed.
Mubare Gorilla Group also called the M Group:
This group is located in the Buhoma region of bwindi and it is known as the first habituated gorilla group in Uganda and the oldest being created in 1998. At first the group had 12 family members how ever some members moved to other different groups, and other died during fights including the leader, Ruhondeza and the group reduced to only 5 family members. In 2013 four other gorillas have joined the Mubare gorilla family and there are now nine family members as members of other groups have become part of the Mubare group recently. When the group reduced to 5 members, the tour operator and the visitors avoided using the group although this came to pass as the group now has five members with a strong silverbuck who has now taken charge of the group. The word Mubare refers to the area where the group was first discovered in Bwindi Impenetrable Forest. This group is very easy to track as they can be tracked from the buhoma area of the park
Habinyanja Gorilla Group also referred to as H Group:
This is also another group within the Buhoma area of the park and is regarded as one of the earlier habituated groups in the Buhoma area of Bwindi Impenetrable Forest and was habituated in 1997 and uncountable visitors around the world have come to track in this group to stay at least one hour with the gorillas in the ancient forest. Habinyanja Group derives its name from a Rukiga word “Nyanja” which means “a place with water” The group was first discovered near a swamp in Bwindi Impenetrable. To arrive at the starting point, you sometimes need to drive for 45 minutes towards the neck or 30 minutes to reach the trail head at Nyamishaba village. Currently speaking the group has 18 members with Makara including the dominant silverback that is responsible to take charge of the group. It usually takes a full day – five hours or more to track the Habinyanja Gorilla Group. They daily move and roam over a wide range in the forest so some level of physical fitness is needed.
Ruhija Area of Bwindi Impenetrable Forest:
This sector has several gorilla groups let us examine one by one
The Oruzogo Gorilla Group:
This group can best be tracked from the Ruhija area of Bwindi Impenetrable Forest and it’s one of the newly habituated gorilla groups in bwindi being created in December 2009; it is the largest group within the impenetrable forest with 22 gorilla members including 2 silverbacks and is led by a dominant Silverbuck called Tibirikwata who dominates the group. this group is one of the popular visited groups within the park not because of the size but because of the playful energy exhibited by the juveniles and toddlers in the group that keep visitors entertained to say the least. It is recommended to inquire from your tour operator to book you into a lodge in the Ruhija area which is an hour drive time from Ruhija and that would mean leaving your lodging at 6:00 am in order to reach Ruhija at the right time for a short briefing about the gorilla trekking before heading to the jungle.
Bitukura Gorilla Group:
It takes more than two years to habituate gorillas however the Bitukura group was ready to receive visitors with in 15 months making it the most group to learn quickly. The group currently has 14 members. The group consists of four silverbacks led by dominant Silverback Ndahura the 2nd youngest silverback being the leader, the group lost three members who joined other groups, although it is slowly recovering up with a newborn arrived recently on the scene and the family generally looks happy. In order to track the Bitikura Gorilla Group, it is best to stay in the Ruhija area of the park, if you do stay in Buhoma you have to leave quite early in order to make the gorilla tracking orientation in time.
RUSHAGA AREA OF BWINDI IMPENETRABLE FOREST:
Rushaga is presently the least developed area for tourism that however most likely will change in the near future, especially when the new gorilla groups come on line and one will be able to track 5 different gorilla families out of Rushaga. One can also stay in the Nkuringo area and take a relative short drive to track gorillas in the Rushaga area.
Nshongi Gorilla Group
This is an interested group to track in it is one of the bigger familiarized gorilla groups in Bwindi Impenetrable Forest with over 25 gorilla in a familyand the group was habituated in 2009. Nshongi gorilla group was named after the River Nshongi which flows in that area. This group is usually found in a large forested area where you can see other primates such as the black and white colobus monkey, baboons chimps species of birds, butterflies and rich thick rainforest of bwind so this group is worth visiting
Mishaya Gorilla Group
This is another group in the Rushaga area where gorillas can be tracked in their natural settings with an ever increasing number of gorilla families. This group separated from the Nshongi gorilla group and presently this group consists of about 10 gorilla members by the time of writing, although the group is subjected to change at any time like in human as new members tend to be born or die. The leader of Mishaya Gorilla Group in Bwindi Impenetrable Forest was reported dead last week and he was about 28 years. The group was in a battle with another un-habituated gorilla group and some members of the group were treated for injuries. Silverback Mishaya had lived only half his life in the Bwindi National Park in southwestern Uganda.
Kahungye Gorilla Group
This is another Rushaga gorilla group being made ready for tracking in 2001. The name Kahungye comes from a hill in the Rushaga area where the gorillas were discovered. The group has family members of about 27 individuals that are very active and full of life, the family is led by a dominant Silverback Gwigi, which means “door” in the local language. This gorilla group is Located in Kisoro, a drive which takes about 9-10 hours drive from Kampala Uganda’s capital and it’s largest city to reach Rushaga. You can stay at Gorilla Safari Lodge, or Kisoro Traveller’s rest In if interested.
Busingye Gorilla Group
This is another group found in the Rushaga sector of the park and they are tracked safely in their natural habitat. The Busingy gorilla group is a newest family which was ounce part of Kahungye gorilla group although they split and form their group an event that happened in August 2012. By the time of writing the group had 9 members led by a dominant male silverback. Since it’s a new group critical observation is carried out to see whether one time this group would go back to Kahunge gorilla group but this seems not to happen and currently there are 8 permits which are issued every day in the Rushaga area of the park and due to the fluidity of the situation, at the present time permits for the Busingye gorilla group are being handled at the local Uganda wildlife office in Rushaga although this will change with time and we will update you.
Bweza Gorilla Group
This is also one of the newly habituated gorilla groups which were created in the mid 2012 and it broke away from the Nshongi gorilla group family, it set up a household in the Rushaga area of Bwindi Impenetrable Forest. It broke away because of the enormous size of the Nshongi group and the increasing number of silverbacks. This group was easy to habituate by the Uganda wildlife Authority since it had broken a way from a formerly habituated family. This group consists of 7 members comprising of (1 silverback, 3 adult females, 1 juvenile and 2 infants). This group is now ready to book because it is one of the versatile and exciting groups one can visit for a memorable time while in Bwindi’s Impenetrable park for gorilla tourism
Nkuringo part of Bwindi Impenetrable Forest:
There is only one gorilla group in this area of Bwindi Impenetrable National Park.
Nkuringo Gorilla Group
This is another group which can be tracked safely in their natural habitat; this gorilla family was created in 2004. It is a drive of about 9-10 hours from the capital Kampala to this part of the park depending on stopovers you will make, weather conditions and the like. The major reasons for the habituation of these gorillas were because of the problems they created for the local communities by destroying crops and other products.The community is now benefiting directly from tourism and it formed a protection for the gorillas as well. Tracking in this Group takes a bit more energy and stamina so some level of physical fitness is called for and it is regarded as the toughest trek in Uganda. Yet there are not many complaining about being exhausted, ounce you’re in a jungle you cant miss watching them and it is regarded as a not to be forgotten experience. This gorilla family consists of 14 members including (4 silverbacks, 2 black backs, 3 adult females, 2 juveniles and 3 infants) and it was named after the Rukiga word for “round hill”. You will encounter uncommon gorilla twins in this group which today are toddler.
GORILLA GROUP IN MGAHINGA GORILLA NATIONAL PARK:
Nyakagezi Gorilla Group:
The Nyakagezi Gorilla Family is the only habituated gorilla group in Mgahinga Gorilla National park and this park only has a total of over 80 mountain gorillas that live in Mgahinga National Park in Uganda. This group tends to migrate to the democratic republic of Cong or Rwanda in search of different adventures although ever since they returned back in the park in 2012 they have stayed a while. It is recommended to tourist to first confirm with their tour operators that it will in the park 24 hours before scheduled tracking.
