Gorilla Families in Bwindi Impenetrable National Park

Gorilla families in Bwindi Impenetrable National Park are the highest compared to the other three national parks that inhabit mountain gorillas. Situated in the South-Western part of Uganda in the districts of Kisoro, Kabale, and Kanungu with a total size of 321 square kilometers, Bwindi Impenetrable National Park inhabits more than a half of the total mountain gorilla population in the world.

With about 459 mountain gorillas, 19 gorilla families in Bwindi Impenetrable National Park are available for gorilla trekking every single day with only 8 persons per gorilla family and allowed only one hour with them once encountered. These gorilla families are the four different gorilla sectors of the park, say, Buhoma, Rushaga, Ruhija, and Nkuringo. Each habituated gorilla family has members that vary in ages and the families oftentimes have member size ranging from 5 to up to 30 or more, with dominant silverbacks as their head of the family. These gorilla families are given names, usually depending on their formation history, family location and the name of the dominant silverback. Below are the fully habituated gorilla families in Bwindi Impenetrable National Park that tourists can track;

Mubare gorilla family

This is the oldest and very first habituated gorilla family in Bwindi that was opened for gorilla trekking to tourists.
The family first had 12 members at the start with Ruhondeza as the dominant silverback and grew to about 18 individuals with time.
An attack on the family saw the taking of many female gorillas, something that greatly frustrated Ruhondeza that he quit the family and isolated himself till his death, his grave is near the Buhoma offices and tourists can visit
The family now has 9 members with 1 silverback
Mubare gorilla family is located in the Buhoma gorilla sector and is one of the easiest to trek

Habinyanja gorilla family

Habinyanja got its name from ‘Nyanja’ which means river or a place with water, where it was first sighted
The family had 30 individuals during the time of habituation but currently has 16 members
The peaceful split of the two brothers, Rwansigazi and Mwirima saw Mwirima leaving and forming the Rushegura gorilla family and Rwansigazi retaining the Habinyanja family
This family is in the Buhoma sector of Bwindi and is also among the first to be opened for gorilla trekking
The family currently has Makara as the lead silverback

Rushegura gorilla family

Also in the Buhoma gorilla sector, this family broke from Habinyanja in 2002 with only 8 members
Mwirima was an aggressor and he protected his family with his might
The five adult females in the family birthed a number of infants that saw the family grow to 19 members
Kabukojo is currently the leader of the family

Katwe gorilla family

This is the latest addition to the Buhoma sector, growing the number of gorilla families in Buhoma.
Katwe gorilla family has 9 members- 1 silverback, 2 black backs, 4 adult females and 2 infants.

Nkuringo gorilla family

The family was first led by Nkuringo the great silverback who left behind Rafiki and Safari as his sons
Safari took over the leadership of the family
The family has 14 members including 2 silverbacks
Nkuringo gorilla family is known for having twins, Muhoozi and Katungi, though Katungi passed on before he was 2 years
This gorilla family gives a challenging but rewarding hike in the Nkuringo sector

Bushao gorilla family

This family broke away from Nkuringo gorilla family
Has 8 members with Bahati as the lead silverback
The family can be tracked from the Nkuringo gorilla sector

Christmas gorilla family

This is one of the recently habituated gorilla families in Nkuringo gorilla sector of Bwindi
Has 9 members
Has one dominant silverback, Christmas, who was born on Christmas day

Bitukura gorilla family

Bitukura gorilla family has 14 individuals with 4 silverbacks
The family was habituated in 2007 and has 4 adult females, 2 juveniles, 3 infants and 1 little baby
The family at the start had up to 24 members but split up with time
Habituation of this gorilla family took only 15 months, and yet the exercise usually takes 2-3 full years
The family is located in the Ruhija sector of Bwindi Impenetrable National Park

Oruzogo gorilla family

Also in Ruhija, the family has 17 members with Bakwate as the only silverback
Playful juveniles and the joyousness of the members generally, has made the Oruzogo gorilla family famous among tourists

Kyaguliro gorilla family

Had 20 individuals who split into two to form the Mukiza gorilla family
Currently has Rukara as the lead silverback
There are ten members in this family- 1 silverback, 2 black backs, 3 adult females, 2 juveniles and 2 infants

Mukiza gorilla family

This is also in Ruhija sector
Formed when there was a split in Kyaguliro gorilla family
The family has 10 members, with mukiza as the dominant silverback, 4 adult females, 1 juvenile and 4 infants

Nshongi gorilla family

Nshongi gorilla family had the largest family of 36 members at the time of habituation but split with time to form other families
Currently has 25 family members, led by Nshongi as the lead silverback with 3 sub-silverbacks, 4 blackbacks, 7 adult females, 6 juveniles and 4 infants
The family is located in the Rushaga sector of Bwindi Impenetrable National Park

Mishaya gorilla family

Also in Rushaga sector, family was formed after a split in Nshongi gorilla family in 2010
Had 7 members during the split
Mishaya, the lead silverback is however an aggressive leader that saw the number growing to 12 members

Bweza gorilla family

Formed as a result of a split from Nshongi gorilla family
Currently has 11 members
Bweza is the lead silverback and had broken off with only 6 members
Located in the Rushaga sector of the park

Kahungye gorilla family

Has 17 members- 3 silverbacks, 6 females, 3 juveniles, 3 blackbacks and 2 infants
Is led by Rumansi as the dominant
Had previously had 27 members who split up to form the Busingye gorilla family
Lives in the Rushaga sector of Bwindi.

Busingye gorilla family

Busingye, which translates to “peace’ has an aggressive dominant silverback who picks fights and highly contradicts the family name
Has 9 members with 1 dominant silverback
Found in Rushaga

Bikyingi gorilla family

Bikyingi came into existence after members from Mishaya teamed up with wild gorillas to form a family
The family was then habituated and opened for tracking in Rushaga gorilla sector
The family has 21 individuals
Bikyingi, the dominant silverback, is really friendly

Rwigi gorilla family

Newly habituated gorilla family in Rushaga gorilla sector
Has only 6 members
Broke away from Kahungye gorilla family
It is led by Rwigi

Mucunguzi gorilla family

Mucunguzi, which translates to ‘savior’, is the dominant silverback of the family
This family broke away from Bweza gorilla family
Has 8 members and is predominantly female, which means the numbers will rise very soon due to births.
The family is available for gorilla tracking in Rushaga gorilla sector of Bwindi Impenetrable National Park

The above mentioned are the only fully habituated gorilla families in Bwindi Impenetrable National Park that tourists can opt to trek while on a gorilla trekking safari in Bwindi. With the number of gorillas in the park and the efforts rendered by the Uganda Wildlife Authority along with other conservationists and NGOs, more gorilla families will be habituated with time, and they will as well be protected and conserved for future generations. One needs to purchase a gorilla permit to be able to visit one of these gorilla families in Bwindi Impenetrable National Park, at a cost of $700 only for foreign non-residents, $600 for foreign residents and UGX250,000 for East African residents. These gorilla permits should be booked well in advance- they sell out very fast. Get in touch with any trusted tour operator to help you out together a fitting trip to see any of the above gorilla families in Bwindi Impenetrable National Park.