Uganda Gorilla Families : Uganda is a good destination where tourists can visit and get a chance to glance at large numbers of the endangered mountain gorilla species therefore making it the best place where gorilla trekking activities are best done. However, gorilla trekking in Uganda is only takes place in two places and these are; Bwindi impenetrable national park and Mgahinga gorilla family. Gorilla trekking is one of the top most interesting activities that have attracted many tourists to travel to Uganda while planning to go on a safari and this has also contributed a lot towards the improvement of the tourism industry in the country.
Mgahinga Gorilla national park is located in the Southwestern region of Uganda in Kisoro district and it covers a total surface area of about 34 square kilometers and it was first gazette as a game reserve in 1930 and it was later introduced to the public and referred to as a national park in 1991 with an aim conserving and securing a safe place for these endangered mountain gorilla species. Mgahinga Gorilla national park share boarders with other countries like; Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo hence giving a chance to the gorillas to have free movements whereby they are able to cross from one country to another.
Bwindi impenetrable national park is also located in the Southwestern region of Uganda in Kanungu district covering a total surface area of about 321 square kilometers and this national park was first gazette as a game reserve in 1991 and then later it was named and added on the list as a national park by UNESCO world Heritage in 1994. This national park is considered as a good place for gorilla trekking activities because it is a home to over 400 endangered mountain gorilla species and 19 habituated gorilla groups/families, which are found within four sectors which include; Buhoma sector, Ruhija sector, Rushaga sector and Nkuringo sector and each of these sectors hold numbers of the endangered mountain gorillas. More so, Bwindi Impenetrable national park is not only a home to the mountain gorillas but also a home to around 348 bird species, 220 butterfly species and 120 mammal species such as; cape buffalos, leopards, elephants, antelopes and many others.
Uganda Gorilla families.
There is a number of many gorilla families/ groups in Uganda which attract many tourists and always available to be trek at any time people come to the country on their safari. In addition, these include;
Mishaya Gorilla family.
The Mishaya Gorilla group is located in Rushaga sector in Bwindi Impenetrable national park and a dominant silver back who was named Mishaya after the Nshongi gorilla family introduced it. However, their leader Mishaya was later found dead in the park in 2014and unfortunately the cause of his death has never gone noticed until today. Currently, a dominant named Mwine is leading Mishaya gorilla group and this gorilla family started up with only 12 members.
Mubare Gorilla family.
Mubare Gorilla family/ group is located within Buhoma sector which is found in Bwindi Impenetrable national park and the word mubare is a Rukiga word which means a pile of stones and in Rukiga it is pronounced as “Amabare”. More so this gorilla group derived its name from the Mubare hills which are famously known as the first place where the endangered mountain gorilla species were first seen and this Mubare gorilla group is led by a dominant silver back who was named Ruhondeza who died in 2012 and today, this gorilla group is led by a dominant silver back who is named Kanyonyi who contributed a lot to the great improvement to this group and this is noticed whereby the number of the species increased to 13.
Nshongi gorilla family.
Nshongi gorilla family is well known as the largest gorilla family in Uganda found in Bwindi Impenetrable national park. This gorilla family is made of 25 members and two silverbacks are leading it. In 2009, the Nshongi gorilla family was introduced into the industry of Uganda and the name Nshongi means “the deep honey is like the colour of the river” and the it named Nshongi because of its strategic location because it was spotted near the river.
Nyakagezi gorilla family.
Nyakagezi gorilla family is located within Mgahinga gorilla national park and the mountain gorilla species within the gorilla family always had a tendency of crossing over from one country to another however, they now finally settled in Uganda. A dominant silver back who is named Mark is leading Nyakagezi gorilla family. In addition, it is noticed that it always not easy for tourists trekking gorillas of the group because of their unpredictable random movements within the park.
More so, apart from the above mentioned gorilla families, there are many more other groups available that tourists can trek while on their gorilla trekking safari in Uganda and these include; Bweza gorilla family, Kyaguriro gorilla family, Busingye gorilla family, Kahugye gorilla family, Bitukura gorilla family, Habinyamja gorilla family, Oruzogo gorilla group, Nkurigo gorilla group, Rushegura gorilla group and many others.
