This family is situated in the Ruhija – Buhoma areas of the Bwindi Impenetrable National Park. It’s known that Bwindi is home to a few remaining world’s endangered species of Mountain gorillas as listed by UICN, and also one of the gorilla parks in Uganda and Africa at large. The Mountain gorilla’s habituation process started some two decades back with the first group to be habituated in 1991. Years that followed after many groups were habituated and the end of 1999, there were some groups ready for habituation.
Families that were habituated in the late 2000’s are still currently being referred to as new families although their respective members are already used to humans. The Oruzogo family was habituated in 2009 and opened up for visitors in 2011 (after the habituation process of 2 years) deep in the jungles of Bwindi Impenetrable forests.
The Oruzogo young ones have exhibited playful energy skills to the given tourist groups that occasionally visit the family, this has kept the visitors entertained through the trekking experience in the thickets of Bwindi. Oruzogo shares the same areas with famous families such as the Bitukura family and the Kyaguriro family. The Kyaguriro family was preserved for research. For example this conservation institute known as “German Max Planck Institute of Evolutionary Anthropology” has been studying and observing the Kyaguriro family for some good time.
About Oruzogo Gorilla Family
This family derives its name from a plant which in the local language is known as the ‘Oruzogoto’ within its home range. Silverback Bakwate (Meaning he’s a first learner and intelligent) is the leader of the family, another Silverback Busungu (Short tempered), Kaganga (He has a protruding crest), Otaka (Is small and peaceful) and Bwoba (Who’s a coward) all are blackbacks in the Family, Mutesi (Calm and relaxed), Kakobe (She resembles a baboon with an elongated nose), Kashundwe (Has a mole in her nose), Nyakiina (A hole-like depression on her nose bridge), Birungi (She beautiful) all are adult females of the group, Kashura, Karimi (found of licking his tongue), and Kirombe who’re juveniles and Kanywani (friendly), Katoto (Small) and Buchura (Who’s the youngest) all infants of the family. Recently, the family welcomed a new family member making it to a total of 17 family members.
Like earlier stated, the Oruzogo family is extremely exciting because of its playful juveniles and the young ones who impress a lot of tourists in the Ruhija area. To really keep time in the morning to go for the tracking activity, one should book for a room in Ruhija but rather not Buhoma because Buhoma is a bit far and it’ll take a couple of hours drive to start up the activity in the morning.
For tourists who intend to trek any particular group in the Bwindi Impenetrable forests and Mgahinga jungles, the gorilla tracking permits are prices at $600USD for Foreign Non Residents (FNR – Foreign people who are not staying or Working in East Africa), $500USD for Foreign Residents – Foreigners who are either staying or have acquired East African work permits) and Shs. 250,000/= for East African Community residents (EAC).
Tracking permits are available either online on the Uganda Wildlife Authority website or the park headquarters in both Bwindi and Mgahinga for each desired gorilla group in the gorilla parks.
