All mountain gorillas in the different gorilla destination belong to a certain gorilla family or group also called a tribe. A gorilla family comprises of 10 to 30 members headed by a dominant silverback gorilla. A group can have more than 1 silverback but the oldest is always the head, the father of the group and the prominent member of the group. A face to face encounter with these rare creatures in the wild living just like man in a social environment, is incomparably the most emotional experience that you shouldn’t miss out life. With 10 habituated gorilla groups set for tourism in the Volcanoes National Park, you certainly have a reason to visit the Land of a Thousand Hills to achieve that long time dream. The Habituated Gorilla Groups in Rwanda are divided into Two Gorilla Families;
For research Purposes: there are 2 additional groups for you to carry out your research which include the Pablo Shida and the Beetsme Group and for Tourist Purposes.
The Habituated Gorilla Groups for gorilla trekking adventures in Rwanda include:
The Susa Gorilla Group – Susa A group
For adventure lovers, the Susa “A” gorilla family should be a must for you to trek. This group was followed by Dian Fossey while she was on her research. The Susa group derived its name from River Susa that flows via the gorilla family’s home range. This comprises of 28 members of which 3 are silverbacks. It was once with the largest number of gorillas counting about 42 but due to break off, most of the members joined the new group known as the Susa “B”. This troop also features the playful Impano and Byishimo the twin gorillas in the family. It is also from this troop that poppy who features as one of the ancient habituated gorillas by Dian Fossey at the time originated.
The Karisimbi Gorilla Group
This is also known as the Susa “B” Gorilla Group. It broke away from the Susa “A” troop. It comprises of 15 individuals and mainly sighted around the Karisimbi slopes. If you wish to engage in active hikes then this is the right group for you to track. However, note that the members of this group tend to roam as far as the Karisimbi caldera and this means that you may need a whole day to track through to find this group. But things have been eased where by trackers are usually sent to the jungle to find out the location of these gorillas before the next group of tourists are set off to the forest for their trek.
Sabyinyo Gorilla Group
For tourists who are looking for simpler gorilla groups to track look not further than the Sabyinyo gorilla group. This is headed by Guhonda silverback the renown hugest and most powerful of all the silverback gorillas in the Volcanoes National Park. Guhonda had a close challenger and the rival known as Ryango. Where as Sabyinyo gorilla group comprised of few individuals, it is exceptionally stunning to strike your imaginations while on safari in Rwanda. The 8 member group features one silverback gorilla, 3 adult females, one non adult male, two juveniles and one baby and this group is easy to spot because they stay near the parks edge. This Gorilla group derives its name from Sabyinyo which means “Old man’s teeth” Volcano around which they live.
Kwitonda Gorilla Group
This is made of 18 individuals. The word “Kwitonda” in Kinyarwanda means humble. It features two silverbacks and one black back gorilla. This group is also famous to have moved from gorilla groups in the Democratic Republic of Congo, DRC. They live around the slopes of Mount Muhabura but tend to move mainly with in a wide geographical area and ranges of extended distances thus making it one of the most challenging troop to track.
Umubano Gorilla Group
The word Umubano denotes “Neighborliness” and the group features 11 individuals with one silverback, 1 sub adult male, 3 adult females and 6 babies. This gorilla group split from the Amahoro Family after Charles challenged Ubumwe silverback gorilla which led him to take some of the gorillas from Ubumwe’s group. Charles was mature enough and hence he couldn’t Succumb to the orders of Ubumwe and the only thing he had to do was to challenge him for days, weeks and months till he overpowered him and ended up taking some of the group members to create his own. Since then, he has had some respect from Ubumwe although some times they meet there are no fights hence a humble group to interact with while on a safari as it requires less effort to reach them.
Hirwa Gorilla Group
The word “Hirwa” means the lucky one. This gorilla group originated on 17th June 2006 when trackers sighted a cluster of individuals from different groups of Sabyinyo family and Group 13 and hence creation of a small troop this made it lucky to have more individuals joining them voluntarily and now it stands on its own with 16 member individuals that include the silverback, adult females, sub adult females as well as twins.
Amahoro Gorilla Group
The word “Amahoro” denotes peaceful and this troop features 17 individuals with one silverback, 2 black backs, 5 babies, 2 juveniles, 2 sub adult males. This group is headed by Ubumwe silverback, who has always demonstrated the quality of being peaceful while leading this group even after Ubumwe loosing a few of its group members to Charles. The Amahoro gorilla group lives at the slopes of Mount Visoke and hiking to encounter this group in the wild requires some physical fitness as it involves climbing steep slopes.
Gorilla Group 13 – The Agashya Gorilla Group
This is also popularly known as Agashya Gorilla Group. It was during that period of habituation that this group had 13 individuals that it derived its name as Group 13. Currently, it is proud to be a group of about 25 individuals which includes 1 silverback, 12 adult females, 2 sub adult females, 3 juveniles and 7 babies. Before it was led by Nyakarima silverback but when Agashya killed his strength he overtook him after long fight. Agashya went with all the members on top of the volcano and Nyakarima never tried following them. Agashya then kept expanding the group up to the current number. For any attack or even when visitors go to track this group, Agashya becomes suspicious and what he does is only move on top of the volcano with the group members, thus making this Gorilla group difficult to track.
Ugenda gorilla group
The word “Ugenda” in Kinyarwanda means being on the move and was used as a result of its migratory behavior which also makes it very difficult to track on some days. The group comprises of 11 individuals with 2 silverback gorillas.
Bwenge gorilla group
The word “Bwenge” means Wisdom. The gorilla group is composed of 11 individuals with one silverback gorilla. The group is mainly found around Mount Karisimbi slopes and it is led by Bwenge silverback gorilla. This group was created in 2007 after Bwenge left his original family and was joined by several female gorillas from other groups. However, this troop has had misfortunes especially when they lost 6 young gorillas although the 2 successful births tried to regain the group’s strength. This group also offers breathtaking hikes; it straddles within 600 meters which also tends to be muddy and slippery making it a bit challenging for tourists to trek through it.
In conclusion, gorilla trekking in Volcanoes National Park is only possible in any of the above Gorilla habituated groups in Rwanda. Only one habituated family is assigned to a group of eight tourists to track every day and the same is done on with Uganda gorilla families. Each gorilla group features distinct trekking experiences and history. Tracking a particular gorilla group in Rwanda has its own Challenges and opportunities. Incase one doubts their overall fitness levels, Porters are available and can be paid to help you enjoy your encounter with the Gorillas. Gorilla Groups in Rwanda move to different locations each day as they build new nests for a particular night. However all these make Gorilla trekking experience worth exploring while on a Rwanda safari.