MUBARE GORILLA FAMILY WELCOMES ANOTHER BABY WITHIN A MONTH
The population of Mountain Gorillas in Bwindi Impenetrable National Park has increased after one of the female Mountain gorillas gave birth to a baby yesterday (Thursday, 7th November 2019). The baby, whose details (sex, name, and weight) have not yet been made public, was born by Karungi and arrived in the afternoon (about 13:30 hours).
This exciting news was announced by Uganda Wildlife Authority on its social media account and comes barely a month after the same gorilla family welcomed a baby. At the time of the announcement, both the mother and baby were said to be doing fine and in perfect health.
Mubare, found in the northern sector of Buhoma was the first gorilla group to be opened for trekking in 1993 after undergoing for two years habituation to make it accustomed to coming into contact with humans. This gorilla group was named after Mubare Hills where the members were first spotted and the process of habituating it started in 1991, the same year Bwindi was gazetted into a National Park.
At the time of habituation, Mubare Gorilla family was led by a fearless silverback known as Ruhondeza who unfortunately died in 2012 aged 50 leaving his son Kanyonyi as the leader. Ruhondeza led a group of over 18 members at the time of habituation but during his time in exile, the group size had dropped up to only 6 members which under the next silverback started growing again.
About Bwindi Impenetrable National Park
Extending for 320 square kilometers, Bwindi Impenetrable National Park is found in the south-west of Uganda in the districts of Kabale, Kisoro as well as Kanungu. The misty and forested Bwindi was gazetted into a National Park in 1991 then was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1994. Bwindi is one of the four World’s only Mountain Gorilla trekking National Parks and is home to more than half of the only surviving Mountain gorillas.
Mountain gorillas aren’t the only attractions in Bwindi but rather an icing on the cake in as far as tourism in the Park is concerned and have enabled the Park to develop into a popular tourist destination. Other mammals found in this Impenetrable National Park are elephants, chimpanzees, buffaloes, black and white colobus monkeys, bushbucks, duikers, olive baboons, and many others. Bwindi Impenetrable National Park is also an important Bird Area of Uganda with more than 350 species of birds including the Albertine Rift endemics as well as the Afro-Montane bird species among others.
