
Last month Mubare group the oldest gorilla family in Bwindi Impenetrable Forest welcomed a new baby! The baby was born to mother Businza a female member of the group, about 2 weeks later another female member of the same gorilla family gave birth. The baby, whose sex and weight have not yet been made public because mums don’t expose newly born babies, was born by mother Karungi, the baby arrived in the afternoon.
Mubare gorilla family was the first habituated gorilla family in Bwindi opened up for gorilla trekking in Uganda in the year 1993 after a 2 years habituation process. The group is named after the beautiful Mubare hills where it was first sighted, till date the Mubare gorilla family is found within the Buhoma sector of the park.
The good news come as a success to the strong conservation efforts by the Uganda Wildlife Authority as well as all conservation partners. Mountain gorillas in the previous year were moved from the IUCN list of critically endangered species to endangered at least a step to success and this birth comes handy as an addition to this conservation success story.
Previously, mountain gorillas were known to total to about 880 individuals, however with the latest census from the Virunga Mountain parks, the gorillas are known to be about 1004 individuals. This total is not inclusive of latest census information from Bwindi National Park that could increase the numbers.
Bwindi Impenetrable National Park is known to have the highest population of habituated mountain gorillas and therefore a perfect choice for a gorilla trek in Africa.