Uganda Gorilla Safari Facts

A highlight of any adventure seeking traveler, Gorilla tracking is an adrenaline rising experience that will take you through challenging tropical rainforest to meet up with these gentle giants for an hour of exhilarating interaction. Please note that the gorilla tracking is subject to availability of permits at the time of booking.
There are 11 habituated Gorilla groups in the Bwindi and Mgahinga Conservation area open for visitor tracking.The groups are found in five clusters; Buhoma area in the North,Rushaga area to the South East of Bwindi Impenetrable Forest, Nkuringo and Rushaga area in the South of Bwindi as well as the Mgahinga area which is part of the Virunga massive shared between Uganda,Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Buhoma Area of Bwindi Impenetrable Forest National Park.
Visitors can comfortably track three Gorilla groups from Buhoma where the first Gorillas where habituated in the period between 1991 and 1993. Gorilla families are mostly named after the places where they are first sighted which is the case with the Mubare Group named after the Mabare Hills in proximity with Buhoma.
The Mubare Gorilla Family Group consists of only five members from the original eighteen members at the time of habituation in 1993. The group members are one adult female known as kashundwe,two sub adult females known as Muyambi and Malaika as well as a baby infant born to Kahundwe. Ruhondeza the dominant male of the group passed on a year ago.
The Rushegura Gorillla Family group is also found in the Buhoma area of Bwindi Impenetrable Forest National Park. Opened for gorilla tracking in Buhoma in 2002 after two years of habituation which simply means the process of adapting the Gorillas to humman presence. This Gorilla family ranges over a wide area of the Bwindi Impenetrable Forest National Park and often calls at the Buhoma camps such as the Gorilla Forest Camp,Buhoma lodge,the Uganda Wildlife Authority park headquarters at Buhoma and even the Batwa village nearby. This Gorilla Family currently consists of 19 members one silverback named Mwirima,a black back called kabukojo,five adult females namely;Kyirinvi,Kibande,Buzinza,Nyamunwa,Karungyi,one sub adult male named Kalembezi,one sub adult female called Ruterana,five juveniles;Nyampazi,Kafuruka,Kibande baby,Karungyi baby,Kanywanyi,five infants namely;Kyirinvi baby,Buzinza baby,Nyamunwa baby,Kibande second baby and Katabazi.
The third group is the Habinyanja Gorilla Family habituated between 1997 and 1999 when it was opened up for tourism in Uganda to track mountain Gorillas in the Buhoma area of Bwindi Impenetrable Forest National Park.The group ranges a wide area of the Bwindi forest and its fringes that includes areas like;Nyamishamba,Kahororo and Rubona making the Gorilla Tracking experience for this group rather unpredictable in terms of the the time spent tracking the Gorillas.This Habinyanja Gorilla Family comprises 27 members that include;Makara the dominant Silverback,Maraya the groups only blackback after the death of Mizano the other black back that was killed by poachers after getting caught by a snare,six adult females namely;Binyonko,Nyabuche,Nyamuhango,Rukundo,Kisho and Rugyendo,Kavuyo a sub adult male and Ruyombo a sub adult female,Malaika a juvenile female,two juvenile males Hamusini and Elisa,five infants namely;Binyoko baby,Rukundo baby,Rugyendo baby,Kisho baby and another Binyonko baby as well as Nyabuche baby a new born.This gorilla family is found in the Buhoma area of Bwindi Impenetrable Forest National park and open for tracking on your visit to Uganda.
Ruhija Area of Bwindi Impenetrable Forest National Park.
The Bitukura Gorilla Family is located in the Ruhija area of Bwindi Impenetrable Forest, a recently habituated group and named after the red like water flowing in a nearby stream,the leader of the group is Ndahura the second youngest of four silverbacks. Apart from Ndahura the other three Silverbacks always move with two blackbacks forming alliances whenever the need arises.An alliance exisits between Silverbacks Rukara and Rukumu and another between the two blackbacks Mugisha and Obia which always manifests itself whenever there are squabbles between the larger males. This gorilla family comprises 13 members namely;Ndahura the dominant Silverback,Karamuzi the second silverback,Rukumu and Rukara the third and fourth Silverback,adult females;Betina,Ruhara and Kamuga,black backs Obia and Mugisha,Juveniles Twakire and Kabandize who emmigrated from the Kyaguliro group as well as infants Kadogo and Mubwindi.
Recently the Oruzogo Gorilla Family group was opened up for tracking and another group named Kyaguliro is currently undergoing research and habituation for possible tracking in the Ruhija area of Bwindi Impenetrable forest National park.
Rushaga area of Bwindi Impenetrable Forest National Park.
This is a great location south of the Bwindi Forest and mostly accesible from Kisoro and Kabale towns. There are curently four families open for Gorilla tracking in this area including;Mishaya,Nshongi,Kahungye and Busingye.
The Mishaya Gorilla Family is a great group to track in this area after it split from the Nshongi group in 2010. The Nshongi group consisted of 33 members before Mishaya a dominant Silverback lead a group of 8 members to break away and form a new family. The Mishaya family members consist of  one dominant Silverback called Mishaya,two adult females Bakunzi and Mwiza,two juveniles Rutaro and Mize and five infants;two Mwiza babies,one Bakunza baby and two unidentified infants.
Also located in the South western part of the Bwindi Impenetrable Forest is the Nshongi Gorilla family once the largest habituated Gorilla family with 33 members before reducing to 25 members after a family feud. The family is named after the Nshongi river that flows through this part of the forest. At its launch, the Uganda Wildlife Authority invited Hollywood celebrities to grace the event as part of the online Friend a Gorilla Campaign.Family members include; Nshongi the dominant Silverback,Kakono the second Silverback,seven black backs;Bweza,Matama,Busasa,Bwire,Munnywa Kutu and Tinfayo,five adultfemales;Munini,Shida,Bukojo,Nyampundu and Bwiruka,five juveniles; Tindatine,Mahoro,Mureba,Rurehuka and Mucunguzi,six infants;kazani,katono,Mukiza, Ninsiima,Bwiruka baby and one rotary infant.
Curently tourists can also visit the Busingye Gorilla Family in the Rushaga area of Bwindi Impenetrable Forest National park.
The Nkuringo area of the Forest in the South west of Bwindi is more demanding than other areas but compesates this with a more rewarding experience. Named after a spherical hill were  the Nkuringo Gorilla Family was habituated, it presents the toughest Gorilla tracking experience in Uganda. The family has 19 members and was once led by Nkuringo a guiding Silverback before passing on and relinshing leardership of the group to Safari another Silverback. Tracking the mountain Gorilla in Uganda and in particular the Nshongi family offers you a unique chance to view four silverbacks in one family i.e Safari,Rafiki,Bahati and Kirungi. Other members of the family include four adult females;Kwitonda,Mama Christmas,Samehe and Kasotora,three blackbacks;Christmas,Posho and Karibu,one juvenile female Kuhirwa,two juvenile males;Kwesima and Magara as well as five infants;Rwamutwe,Muhozi,Tabu,Furaha and Kiiza. We highly advise that visitors confirm to be in reasonable shape to track this Gorilla Group.
Tracking the mountain Gorilla at the Mgahinga Gorilla National Park in Uganda.
The park boasts of one habituated Gorilla family, the Nyakagezi Group whose range encompasses the three borders of Uganda,Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo. Tracking the mountain Gorilla in Mgahinga Gorilla national park can be combined with tracking Golden Monkeys, climbing Volcanoes,nature and wildlife hikes, the Batwa walk,Cave exploration and birding.
The Nyakagezi Gorilla Group at a glance-It is the only resident habituated Gorilla group in the Mgahinga Gorilla National Park. The group is also a roaming nomad often moving to Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo. The movements of the group is mostly influenced by the availability of food. They have now recently moved to Uganda and judging by the food stocks on the Uganda side, they should surely stay for a while. Gorilla doctors often check on the health of the mountain Gorillas to remove snares, one such a case is explained by Doctor Fred one of the resident Gorilla doctors that has seen a terrible snare removed from one of the babies of this group. Snares are a living reality of the cruelty to Wild animals in Africa much as organisations like the Uganda Wildlife Authority do all they can to conserve for generations.
The nine members of the group include; Mark the dominant Silverback, two other Silverbacks Bigingo and Mafia,two adult females; Inshuti and an unidentified female,two blackbacks;Rukundo and Ndugutse, two infants; an unidentified baby,Inshuti baby whose snare was removed by the Gorilla doctors that make house calls in the forest and restore the health of injured Gorillas. The reason for the small number of the group is the loss of family members to other Gorilla groups on several interactions as the group stradles the Rwanda and Democratic Republic of Congo borders.
Gorilla Tracking Guidelines at Bwindi and Mgahinga Gorilla National Parks.
Gorilla tracking can be a day long activity, you will need long trousers re-inforced with gators,a long sleeved shirt, a hat, cotton gloves, a rain jacket,sunscreen and a backpack to carry your packed lunches,water and any extra camera equipment.  Visitors are advised to carry two litres of water on each trekk. You will meet the trackers at the Visitor reception before setting off in the forest. The trackers are experienced local guides using sophiscated gadgets like GPS locators combined with intuition to locate your Gorilla Family basing on the previous day’s sighting and subsquent Gorilla nest for the day. Enjoy your time with these gentle giants in the Bwindi Impenetrable Forest National Park and UNESCO World Heritage Sight.