Gorilla trekking is one of the world’s most intriguing and awe-inducing wildlife experiences. Many people consider it a once-in-a-lifetime trip (though many then go back to experience it again), prompting much anticipation and preparation. The latter can run the gamut from physical training, as the trekking can sometimes be strenuous, to learning about the gorilla families in the region where they will be traveling. It is in that spirit that we are sharing information, courtesy of the International Gorilla Conservation Programme, on the many gorilla families found throughout Uganda and Rwanda.
This information is not static. Much like us, gorilla families evolve and change. Babies are born and elders die. Young adults leave their families to make their way in the world. Family conflict may lead other members to leave. Gorilla families in the same territory might have a run in causing a dispersal of members. The dynamics are exciting and ever-changing. What we are sharing here is a snapshot, but gives a great idea of the huge variety of gorilla family composition, the constancy of change and some of the everyday dramas of gorilla life. If after learning about the families you are intrigued by a particular group, you can request to trek to see them on your gorilla safari, though it is not possible to guarantee that they will be available to trek on a given day.
Shongi family, 13 individuals with one silverback
The group was so named because it was first found close to the Nshongi River. When it initially welcomed visitors in September 2009, it had 36 members, making it the largest habituated gorilla tribe in Uganda. The massive gorilla family had seven black backs and three silverbacks, who coexisted peacefully until splitting in 2010. Today, the Shongi group is composed of 13 members including one silverback, one blackback, four adult females, one sub-adult female, one sub-adult male, one juvenile and four infants.
Mishaya family, nine individuals with one silverback
This group broke off from the sizable Nshongi group led by the silverback Mishaya in July 2010. In April 2011, they came upon a wild gorilla family that had not been habituated, and they were all wounded, including a two-year-old who was in the group. Fortunately, the Mountain Gorilla Veterinary Project’s doctors took care of them and they completely recovered. Mishaya is currently composed of nine individuals including one silverback, five adult females, one juvenile and two infants.
Bikingi family, 15 individuals with one silverback
The habituation of the Bikingi gorilla group began in the first several months of 2012 after their run in with the Mishaya family when members of the Mishaya family mixed with some non-habituated gorillas. The group is currently composed of nine individuals including one silverback, two adult females, three blackbacks, two sub-adult females and one sub-adult male.
Kahungye family, 15 individuals with one silverback
The Kahungye group is led by silverback Kasigazi. The group derives its name from a hill in Rushaga where it was first spotted. The group currently has 15 individuals including one silverback, four blackbacks, four adult females, one sub-adult female, one juvenile and four infants.
Bweza family, 14 individuals with three silverbacks
Originally part of the Nshongi gorilla family, then the Mishaya gorilla family, silverback Bweza decided to leave the group to found the Bweza family. The gorilla family was habituated then became accessible for tourism in December 2012. Bweza group is composed of 14 members including three silverbacks, one blackback, four adult females, one sub-adult female, one sub-adult male, one juvenile and three infants.
Busingye family, 17 individuals with one silverback
In June 2012, silverback Busingye cut relations with the Kahungye family and formed his own family. Their silverback Busingye, whose name means “peace,” ironically delights in opposition and has successfully fended off attacks from groups of wild gorillas while seizing females to add to his own gorilla family. Busingye is composed of 17 individuals including one silverback, seven adult females, two sub-adult females and seven infants.
Kutu family, 20 individuals with one silverback
Kutu group is found in Rushaga Sector and is led by silverback Ndugu. Kutu is one of the newly habituated groups. The group is composed of 20 members including one silverback, one blackback, eight adult females, one sub-adult, two juveniles and seven infants.
Mucunguzi family, 15 individuals with one silverback
The Mucunguzi gorilla family is a newly adapted gorilla family. The third and youngest silverback in the Bweza gorilla troop at the time was given the name Mucunguzi, which translates to “savior.” The Bweza family’s breakup led to the formation of the Mucunguzi group. The group is currently composed of 15 individuals including one silverback, seven adult females, two sub-adult females, four infants and one juvenile.
Mubare family, seven individuals with one silverback
The Mubare group located in Buhoma sector is the oldest habituated gorilla group in Bwindi Impenetrable National Park and is led by silverback Maraya. The group is composed of seven individuals including one silverback, three adult females, one juvenile and two infants. The group is uniquely known for single male leadership and strong male intolerance to intra-male competition.
Habinyanja family, 13 members with one silverback
The Habinyanja family is led by silverback Makara. Habituation of the Habinyanja group started in 1996 and in February 2002 the group split into two, leading to the formation of Rushegura group. Habinyanja derives its name from a local word ‘Nyanja’ which means ‘a place with water,’ as the place where the group was first seen is near a swamp. The group is composed of 13 individuals including two silverbacks, four adult females, four blackbacks, two sub-adult males and one infant.
Rushegura family, 16 individuals with one silverback
Rushegura group was named after a tree species ‘ebishegura’. Rushegura group is also known for foraging closer to Bwindi Impenetrable National Park’s headquarters (Buhoma) and for visiting local community gardens around its home range. The group is composed of 16 individuals including two silverbacks, two blackbacks, five adult females, one sub-adult female, two sub-adult males and four infants.
Katwe family, eight individuals with two silverbacks
The Katwe family is led by the silverback Mahaane. It’s a combination of habituated gorillas from other groups and formerly unhabituated gorillas. The group name is derived from the topo-name of the hilltop/locality where initial habituation of the group began. The Katwe group is composed of eight individuals including two silverbacks, three adult females, one blackback and two infants.
Muyambi family, Six individuals with one silverback
The Muyambi gorilla family was established in the early months of 2019 when Myambi left the Mubare family. The group is composed of seven individuals including one silverback, four adult females and two infants.
Binyindo family, nine individuals with one silverback
Binyindo is the latest gorilla family added to the gorilla tourism families in the Buhoma sector of Bwindi Impenetrable National Park. The group was monitored by the rangers and researchers for three years before opening for tourism. The group currently has nine individuals including one silverback, five adult females, two juveniles and one infant.
Nkuringo family, 14 individuals with two silverbacks
The name Nkuringo, which in the native Rukiga language means “round hill,” suggests the spherical hill where this group was first discovered. This family used to move into the lower slopes’ village communities, which turned out to be a problematic for the residents because they would eat crops like sweet potatoes, bananas and other farm goods. The group is currently composed of 14 members including two silverbacks, two blackbacks, six adult females, one juvenile and three infants.
Bushaho family, eight individuals with one silverback and one blackback
Led by Silverback Bahati, the Bushaho family was formed following several individual gorilla dispersals from Nkuringo group around 2012. The group is composed of nine individuals including one silverback, one blackback, three adult females, one sub-adult female, two juveniles and one infant.
Christmas family, eight individuals with one silverback
The Christmas group is led by silverback Christmas. The Christmas group is the latest addition of habituated families to the southern sector of Nkuringo. The group currently has eight individuals including one silverback, two adult females, two sub-adult females, one sub–adult male and two infants.
Posho family, 17 individuals with one silverback
The Posho group is one of the newly habituated gorilla families and it derives its name from posho, the local word for cornmeal that the trackers mainly eat during the habituation process. The Posho group is composed of 17 individuals including one silverback, eight adult females, one sub-adult female, one sub-adult male, two juveniles and four infants.
Bitukura family, 14 individuals with four silverbacks
This gorilla family was given its name when it was first founded in the Ruhija section of Bwindi National Park, close to the Bitukura River. It took the group only 15 months to become habituated, compared to the normal timeline of two years. According to reports, the habituation development was sped up and was the result of the close connection that developed between the Bitukura and Kyaguriro families, which allowed the former to regularly interact with rangers from the Uganda Wildlife Authority. After succeeding silverback Karamuzi, who retired after nearly 40 years of leadership, the leading silverback Ndahura is not the oldest but rather the second youngest. The Bitukura group is currently composed of 13 individuals including two silverbacks, two blackbacks, four adult females, one sub-adult male, two juveniles and two infants.
Oruzogo family, 11 individuals with one silverback
The first time this family welcomed guests was in 2011, when Tibirikwata the silverback presided. Several births within the same household have caused the family’s size to increase over time, though a split when silverback Kasimali left the group with gorillas has reduced the size to its current 11 members. This group currently has 11 individuals including one silverback, six blackbacks, two adult females, one juvenile and one infant.
Nyakagezi family, nine individuals with four silverbacks
Within the constraints of Mgahinga Gorilla National Park, the Nyakagezi family has complete independence. The sole family under surveillance in Mgahinga National Park is led by silverback Mark with help from silverback Ndugutse. To watch this group, treks can be done from Ntebeko. The Nyakagezi group is composed of nine individuals including four silverbacks, two adult females, one juvenile, and two infants.
Agashya family, 25 individuals including one silverback
The Agashya family is formerly known as group 13 but recently changed its name. Led by the dominant silverback, Agashya, the name means “news.” Currently the group has about 25 members with one silverback, 12 females, three juveniles and seven babies.
Amahoro family, 22 individuals including four silverbacks
Amahoro group is led by dominant silverback Gahinga and is composed of 22 members including four silverbacks, seven adult females, four sub-adult females, three juveniles and four infants.
Hirwa family, 17 individuals including one silverback
Known to have the second ever surviving set of twins (Isango Gakuru and Isango Gato born to Kabatwa) after the main Susa group, Hirwa group is led by the dominant silverback Uburanga. The Hirwa group is known for its strength and maintaining its status and respect from other gorilla groups. The Hirwa group is currently composed of 17 individuals including one silverback, seven adult females, two blackbacks, one sub-adult female, two sub-adult males and four infants.
Igisha family, 36 individuals including six silverbacks
Igisha group, formerly part of Susa group, is led by dominant silverback Igisha and is currently composed of 36 individuals making it the largest habituated mountain gorilla group in Volcanoes National Park. The group includes six silverbacks, 10 adult females, two blackbacks, one sub-adult male, one sub-adult female, six juveniles and 10 infants.
Isimbi family, 22 individuals with one silverback
This group is currently one of the largest in Rwanda and lives on the slopes of Mount Karisimbi. The group broke away from the Karisimbi family in 2012 after it grew too large. It is led by dominant silverback Muturengere, and is composed of one silverback, six adult females, one sub-adult male, three sub-adult females, five juveniles and six infants.
Kigoma family, five individuals with one silverback
Kigoma group is the newest group in Volcanoes National Park in Rwanda. It was formed in late 2023 when Kigoma, the then lead silverback of Kwisanga group, decided to leave the group with four individuals. The group is led by the dominant silverback Kigoma and is composed of five members including one silverback, one adult female, one blackback, one juvenile and one infant.
Kwisanga family, 10 members including one silverback
One of the newest groups in Volcanoes National Park, Kwisanga was formed in May 2021 and is led by dominant silverback Lisanga. The group includes 10 members – one silverback, four adult females, one blackback, two sub-adult males and two infants.
Kwitonda family, 17 individuals with three silverbacks
This group of gorillas means “humble one” in Kinyarwanda and is descended from gorilla groups in the Democratic Republic of Congo. They reside on the Mount Muhabura slopes, but their inclination to roam over a large geographic area can make tracking them challenging but fascinating. They are led by dominant silverback named Akarevuro and are composed of three silverbacks, four adult females, two blackbacks, two sub-adult males, two sub-adult females, two juveniles and two infants.
Muhoza family, 22 individuals with one silverback
Formed in 2016, this gorilla family is led by dominant silverback Marambo and includes one silverback, nine adult females, four juveniles and eight infants.
Urwego family, seven individuals with one silverback
The Urwego group is led by blackback Urwego. The group was formed in early 2023 when blackback Urwego left Kwitonda group with eight individuals. He continues to exhibit control and great leadership of the group. Trackers say his back hair has started to turn grey and they hope he will be a silverback soon. Urwego is composed of seven members including one blackback, five adult females and one sub-adult female.
Sabyinyo family, 15 individuals including two silverbacks
Sabyinyo is led by dominant silverback Gihishamwotsi. During habituation, the group was named Amavubi (wasps) due to their aggressive behavior. The name was later changed to Sabyinyo after the mountain where the group was first seen. The group currently consists of two silverbacks, three adult females, three blackbacks, one sub-adult male, three juveniles and three infants.
Susa family, 15 individuals with three silverbacks
Susa is an old and famous group in Volcanoes National Park named in 1974, initially comprised of seven individuals. Before splitting up in 2009, it was the biggest ever recorded group with 41 members. Today, Susa has 15 members led by silverback Impuzamahanga. Membership includes three silverbacks, three adult females, two blackbacks, one sub-adult female, one sub-adult male, two juveniles and three infants. Susa is known to have the first set of surviving twins in the history of mountain gorillas in 2004 and later in 2011.
Umubano family, 11 individuals with five silverbacks
Umubano group broke away from the Amahoro group and their ranges overlap, but they continue to coexist in harmony. The group’s name in Kinyarwanda means “live together.” They are led by dominant silverback Charles and include five silverbacks, two adult females, one blackback, one sub-adult female, one juvenile and one infant.
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Photos courtesy AAC Tanzanite Circle Member Lynn R., AAC Journey Specialist Diana Garcia Hernandez, AAC Marketing Director Beth McCabe, AAC President Kent Redding and Anisha B.
Source: International Gorilla Conservation Programme. Please visit www.igcp.org/families for updates.
The Dian Fossey fund continues to conduct study on additional Rwandan gorillas including members of the Isabukuru, Mafunzo and Musilikale families. To learn more about some Rwanda gorilla family trees, visit https://gorillafund.org/learning-fun/gorilla-family-tree/.