Gorilla families of Congo, Congo is the only place in the world where one can see both lowland gorillas and mountain gorillas, the Democratic Republic of Congo is also blessed with many more abundant wildlife resources, fauna, and flora, Congo mountain gorillas are found in the Virunga National Park while lowland gorillas are found in Kahuzi-Biega National Park. Currently, there are only 8 (eight) habituated mountain gorilla families living in Virunga National Park.
But because of different civil wars in Eastern Congo, there has been instability in Virunga national park which has affected both mountain gorillas and lowland gorilla conservation so currently the only safe gorilla tracking destination is Uganda and Rwanda. If you are interested in gorilla tracking in Congo please contact us so that we can first find out for you the security situation before you pay any money to anyone.
Many park rangers of Virunga national park in Congo have lost their lives to poachers and different armed rebel groups, different groups take advantage of the insecurity to enter the park which has raised concern about the future of mountain gorilla and the wild animal and to other fauna and flora of Virunga national park.
Cong gorilla tracking permit price
Both mountain and lowland gorilla tracking permits cost $400 per person for non-residents and $150 for residents, for those who are planning to track gorillas in Uganda, gorilla permit costs $700 per person while Rwanda gorilla permits cost $1500 per person making Rwanda the most expensive gorilla tracking destination in Africa when compared to Uganda and Congo.
Mountain gorilla families of Congo in Virunga National Park
- Lulengog family
- Munyaga family
- Nyakamwe family
- Bageni family
- Kabirizi family
- Humba family
- Rugendo family
- Mapuwa family
- Humba gorilla family
This family has 10 individuals and it usually found near Bukima, the name Humba comes from the dominant silverback which separated from the Rugendo family.
2. Rugendo gorilla family
Rugendo is a former dominant silverback of this family but currently, this is led by a silverback called Bukima which separated from the Buhanga family, this family has 9 individuals.
3. Mapuwa gorilla family
This family is located close to the Uganda border and it is one of the biggest gorilla families in Virunga national park, currently, the Mapuwa family has 22 individuals, Mapuwa gorilla family is being led by a silverback called Mvuyekure who separated the Rugendo family.
4. Kabirizi gorilla family
Kabirizi is the dominant silverback, this family is located in the Bukima area/sector which is closer to Goma city. This family got its name from the Director of ICCN who died in the accident, before this family was known as the “Ndungutse” family before it was renamed.
5. Lulengo gorilla family
Lulengo family is led by the dominant silverback called Lulengo, it is also found at a place called Jomba near the Uganda border. Before this family was known as Musekura before the name was changed to Lulengo the current silverback in memory of a park Director who died due to the land mine. Lulengo gorilla family has 9 individuals.
6. Munyaga gorilla family
This family is led by Gasore dominant silverback and it has 7 individuals, this family name was given to this group after its former leader Munyaga who was succeeded by Mawazo, and then Gasore took over as the new dominant male of the family.
7. Nyakamwe gorilla family
Nyakamwe family has 11 individuals, Nyakamwe is the dominant silverback of this family, this group was formed in late 2014 when it splinted from the Humba gorilla family because Nyakamwe silverback had long time conflicts with Humba who is also a brother which led to their split.
8. Bageni gorilla family
This family contains 26 individuals making it the largest gorilla family n Virunga national park, Bangeni split from the Kabirizi family and because of its size, there are frequent challenges to the dominant silverback.
Lowland gorilla family in Kahuzi-Biega National Park
Talking about Gorilla families of Congo, Congo also has only one habituated lowland gorilla family led by a silverback called Kabirizi, lowland gorillas in Kahuzi-Biega National Park are found in the Bukima sector/area which closer to Goma City. This lowland gorilla family got its name from the former Director of ICCN who died in an accident because before it was called the Ndungutse family which was a dominant silverback, Ndungustse replaced his father Zunguruka who died of old age.
