There are 14 gorilla families in Rwanda’s Volcanoes national park of which 12 are fully habituated for gorilla trekking safaris. The other two are subject of scientific research through which conservationists study the primates and their relationship with other wildlife species in the Virunga ecosystem. According to Visit Rwanda, the 12 habituated gorilla groups in the park include Kwitonda, Sabinyo, Ugyenda, Karisimbi, Susa, Amahoro, Agashya, Hirwa, Igisha, Umubano, Muhoza, and Bwenge.
The social structure of the gorilla family can fluctuate over time due to births, deaths, and individuals joining or leaving the group. Typically, gorilla families consist of one dominant alpha male known as silverback, several females, and their offspring.
Kwitonda gorilla family
Kwitonda group formerly lived in Virunga national park in the eastern part of Democratic Republic of Congo between 1995 – 2002. The dominant silverback, Kwitonda, a Kinyarwanda dialect meaning “the humble one” in English was part of Rugabo gorilla family. However, due to competition for resources, he migrated to Volcanoes national park in Rwanda in 2003 to find a suitable environment to live in. The group roams within the dense forests which span across the slopes of Gahinga and Sabinyo volcanoes in Volcanoes national park borders. Rwanda offers a flexible program to track the Kwitonda group. Those staying at Singita Kwitonda Lodge have the convenience to begin their briefing and trek from the lodge. There’s no need to go to Kinigi given that the RDB rangers are the ones to come to the lodge. The gorilla group Kwitonda is composed of 17 members led by the dominant silverback Akarevuro, who became the leader following the death of Kwitonda silverback in 2012 due to old age. Among other group individuals include 2 silverbacks, 2 black backs, 2 infants, 2 sub adult males, 4 adult females, 2 juveniles, and 2 sub adult females.
Hirwa gorilla family
Hirwa gorilla family has been visited since 2006 and was headed by a single silverback named Munyinya until 2020, when a lightning strike claimed his life. Munyinya had a reputation for peacefully acquiring gorillas from other groups to expand his family. Hirwa is also among the few gorilla groups that has seen twin births. Isango Gato and Isango Gakuru, twins born to one of the adult females known as Kabatwa, grew up to be adult females and are still part of the group. After the death of Munyinya, the silverback Uburanga took over Hirwa group, which is now composed of 17 members of including 2 Blackbacks, 4 infants, 7 adult females, 1 sub-adult female, and 2 sub-adult males.
Ugyenda gorilla family
The Ugyende gorilla group is located on the slopes of Mount Karisimbi, Rwanda’s highest volcano. The group is made up of 11 members, including two silverbacks, and their name, Ugende, is a Kinyarwanda dialect meaning “always on the move,” referring to their tendency to wander about a fairly large area. Due to the nature of terrain, tracking the Ugende group can be challenging.
Bwenge gorilla family
Bwenge gorilla family is composed of 11 individuals led by a silverback Bwenge. The group’s home range is found around the Karisoke Research Center and Dian Fossey grave site in Volcanoes national park.
Igisha gorilla family
Igisha, with 35 members is the largest habituated mountain gorilla family in Volcanoes national park Rwanda. The group includes six silverbacks, 10 infants, 10 adult females, 6 juveniles, 2 black backs, 1 sub adult female and sub-adult male. According to IGCP, Igisha, which is the dominant silverback, detached from the Susa group with 23 individuals in November 2014.
Susa gorilla family
Susa group formed in 1974 and was among those that Dian Fossey studied during her time in Rwanda. The group grew from 7 to 41 individuals by 2009, making for the largest habituated gorilla family ever recorded in history of mountain gorillas. Among two adult females of Susa gave birth to twins twice with the set arriving in 2004 and the second in 2011. The baby gorilla twins; Byishimo and Impano that were born in 2004 lived on and grew into adults. Those born in 2011 only one survived into adulthood. During 2009, Susa split into two groups, one named Susa B (Karisimbi) and the other Igisha. The latter further split to form another group called Isimbi. Eventually, the original Susa group remained with 16 individuals. Kurira who was the dominant silverback vanished in May 2020. Now Susa group is led by silverback Impuzamahanga and is composed of 15 individuals including 2 silverbacks, 3 infants, 2 black backs, 3 adult females, 1 sub adult female and male and 2 juveniles.
Karisimbi gorilla family
The Karisimbi gorilla group broke from the original Susa group in 2009 and was formerly known as Susa B. The group consisted of 13 individuals at the time led by Nyagakangaga. During the 2010 Kwita Izina gorilla naming ceremony, the group’s name was changed to Karisimbi. The group had formed a new home range on the higher slopes of Mount Karisimbi, the highest volcano in Rwanda. Some gorilla members split from Karisimbi and formed their own group known as Isimbi. The most recent data from the International Gorilla Conservation Program states that it is unknown how many gorillas are still with Karisimbi. The group is believed to have migrated from Rwanda with 10 individuals including six silverbacks to the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo’s Virunga National Park in 2016.
Amahoro gorilla family
Amaharo is the second largest gorilla family in Rwanda with 22 members including 4 silverbacks. The group was habituated in 1996 and opened for visitation in 2000. Two years later, Amahoro who was the dominant silverback lost his life at age 31. There were two silverbacks; Charles and Ubumwe under Amahoro’s command that fought for dominance. Eventually, the group was split into two separate groups of which the one led by the silverback Charles was later renamed Umubano. The main Amaharo group now consists of 22 members including 4 silverbacks including the dominant silverback Gahinga, 4 infants, 3 juveniles, 7 adult and 4 sub adult females.
Umuhoza gorilla family
Muhoza gorilla family formed in December 2016 when the dominant silverback Marambo seized 2 adult females from the existing Hirwa. Another female gorilla joined Muhoza from the Agashya group, making a total of 4 members in 2020. The family has been increasing through natural processes, as more individuals were born. Now, the Muhoza group consists of 22 individuals including the dominant silverback Marambo, 8 infants, 9 adult females, and 4 juveniles.
Sabinyo gorilla family
The Sabinyo gorilla family’s home range encompasses the slopes of Mount Sabinyo, one of the most challenging volcano hikes. The habituation of the group was quite challenging due to the nature of terrain and the silverback Guhonda’s aggressive behavior towards the habituators. As such, the group was first nicknamed ‘Amavubi’ which means a wasp sting pain referring to the amount of hard work and effort that was required to open the group for visitation. The silverback Guhonda formed its group by grabbing members from several groups. For instance, when group 13 lost its silverback Murithi, Guhonda grabbed 3 individuals. The number has since multiplied to 15 which include 2 silverbacks, 3 black backs, 3 infants, 3 adult females, 3 juveniles, and 1 sub adult male. The dominant silverback of Sabinyo known as Gihishamwotsi, assumed leadership after Guhonda vanished from the group in 2020.
Umubano gorilla family
Umbubano gorilla family split from the Amaharo group in 2001. At the time, the silverback named Ubumwe made a peacefully broke away. Interestingly, the two groups remained in the same home range and kept on interacting with one another without any violent clashes. For instance, they would meet and feed together and then leave each other when night fall came. Now, Umubano group is led by silverback Charles and consists of 12 members including 4 silverbacks, 1 infant, 2 juveniles, 1 black back, 2 adult females, and 1 sub adult female.
Agashya gorilla family
The gorilla group Agashya is composed of 25 members led by the dominant silverback Agashya with the home range on the slopes of Mount Sabinyo. At the time of habituation, the group was named Group 13 and consisted of 13 members. The Silverback Nakayima was the group’s original leader, but when his son Agashya took control, the name was changed.
In addition to the fully habituated gorilla families, there are other groups that are residing in Volcanoes national park including Isimbi, Kwisanga, Urwego, Noheli, and Kigoma. According to the IGCP, these groups are undergoing long–term studies that aim to understand the behavior, health, population, genetic diversity of mountain gorillas. The information gathered from these studies is then utilized to inform conservation purposes.
Isimbi gorilla family
Isimbi group formed following the split of Karisimbi in 2012 and had 7 individuals led by a silverback Getty. A year later, Getty died due to infectious pneumonia and the group was taken over by Muturengere, which was still a black back at the time. Muturengere became a silverback and has managed to raise its family from 7 to 22 members including 6 infants, 1 sub adult male, 5 juveniles, 6 adult females, and 3 sub adult females.
Kwisanga gorilla family
Kwisanga gorilla family formed in May, 2021, making for one of the newest in Volcanoes national park. There are 10 individuals including the dominant silverback Lisanga, 1 black back, 2 infants, 4 adult females, and 2 sub adult males.
Urwego gorilla family
Urwego gorilla family recently came into existence when a black back of the same name split away from Kwitonda group in April 2023. Black back gorillas are young adult male gorillas that are typically between 8 to 12 years old. They rarely lead their own groups given that their role is to assist the dominant silverback in protecting the group from potential threats, such as predators or rival males. This adds to the overall security of the group. According to RDB rangers, Urwego has mastered the skills necessary to lead his own group which is composed of 7 individuals including 5 adult females and 1 sub adult female.
Kigoma gorilla family
The group recently formed when the dominant silverback Kigoma split from the Kwisanga group in December 2023. Kwisanga formerly had two sub groups that existed as a single group. The silverback took advantage of that gap to start its own group with only 4 individuals. Now, Kigoma gorilla family is composed of 5 individuals who include 1 silverback, 1 infant, 1 black back, 1 adult female and 1 juvenile.
Noheli gorilla family
Noheli, the dominant silverback of the group was originally a lone silverback until it three adult females joined him in November 2021. These female gorillas originated from different groups, such as Susa and Isimbi of which one of them arrived with a baby. The others having given birth following their mating with Noheli, the number increased to 4 individuals including 1 silverback and 3 adult females. When Noheli had just established himself, he was ambushed by a lone silverback named Matsiko, who made him run away from his family. Matsiko took three females; however, these haven’t been seen. The silverback Noheli also disappeared and there’s no information regarding its whereabouts.