It’s delightful news for conservationists regarding the arrival of a baby gorilla in Bwindi Impenetrable Forest; Uganda’s prime gorilla trekking destination and home to almost half of the remaining mountain gorilla population in the whole world.
The exciting announcement was made via UWA’s social media channels: “We are pleased to share the first mobile image of the world’s newest Mountain Gorilla baby. Born to Furaha, a female adult of the Nkuringo family.
Mother, baby, and dad are in perfect health,” UWA announced on Saturday, April 20, in a post on X (formerly twitter).
The news of the birth of this baby gorilla has put Uganda Wildlife Authority (UWA), tour operators, and wildlife conservationists in a celebratory mood.
The arrival of a baby gorilla has increased the number of gorilla individuals in the Nkuringo family to 15.
The Nkuringo gorilla family was the first habituated gorilla family in the Nkuringo sector, located in the southern part of Bwindi National Park. “Nkuringo” is a local word meaning ‘Rolling hills’.
The group was named after the rolling hills where the group was first spotted. The family was opened for tourism in 2004 after a successful habituation of the Nkuringo gorilla family.
The Nkuringo family initially had many members; however, some broke away to form their own families. Previously, the Nkuringo Gorilla Group was led by a silverback called Nkuringo, who later passed away in 2008. After his death, two silverbacks managed to take over power: Rafiki and Safari.
Eventually, Nkuringo’s son, Safari, assumed leadership after a period of seven months. Under his leadership, the group welcomed a bundle of joy when the female gorilla Kwitonda gave birth to twins, Muhoozi and Katungi. Unfortunately, Katungi did not live to see his second birthday; he died at 18 months due to an illness.
In 2020, Rafiki who was the leader of the family then died due to poaching leaving the family in the hands of Rwamutwe. Recently, in March 2024, the Nkuringo gorilla family welcomed another baby gorilla, born to a female adult, Kwitonda.
Recently, another baby gorilla was born on February 2nd, 2024, to a female gorilla in the Mucecuru Bakiga gorilla group of the Rushaga sector. This group is primarily known for the Gorilla Habituation Experience, which is exclusive to Uganda, specifically in Bwindi Impenetrable National Park.
Bwindi Impenetrable National Park is currently one of the four places in the whole world where the endangered mountain gorillas reside.
It is also the only stand-alone mountain gorilla national park in the whole world. The other three national parks are simply the same forest shared among three countries but with different names; Uganda’s Mgahinga National Park, Rwanda’s Volcanoes National Park and the Democratic Republic of Congo’s Virunga national park.
It is the combination of Virunga national park, Mgahinga gorilla national park and Volcanoes national park that make up the Virunga conservation area.
Bwindi Impenetrable National Park remains the only park offering habituation experiences. This is more of a behind the scenes program that gives visitors a chance to see what scientists do to ensure that mountain gorillas see human beings as part of their environment. Unlike gorilla trekking that only gives you one hour in the presence of mountain gorillas, gorilla habituation allows you a maximum of four hours in the presence of mountain gorillas.
Bwindi’s gorilla population is divided into about 50 groups and 13 solitary individuals; however only 21 groups are habituated for tourism. These gorilla families are well distributed across the four sectors of the park.
The trek to meet the Nkuringo Gorilla Group takes approximately 3 hours. For adventurous trackers interested in more adrenaline-inducing activities, exploring the Nkuringo sector is the best option.