Amahoro Family

Amahoro Gorilla Family / group in Volcanoes national park- Amahoro is a Rwandese word meaning peace is one of the gorilla families in Rwanda. Amahoro is thus a peace full family and those that have managed to track this gorilla family will testify that indeed all members are very peace full. This group is led by the dominant silverback called Ubumwe which means togetherness. If one is looking for a gorilla families that is likes peace and togetherness, then it has to be Amahoro mountain gorilla family. More often Amahoro gorilla group has been observed roaming on the slopes of Mountain Visoke and those trekking it should expect a medium to harder but awesome experience.

Amahoro gorilla family currently has seventeen individuals including Ubumwe the dominant silver back, two black backs, five juvenile gorillas, five adult females, and four young gorillas. Mountain gorilla families keep on changing in terms of members so feel free .

Formerly known as the 13 Group, Agashya gorilla family had 13 members living together as a family but due to better conservation methods by the government of Rwanda, the group has expanded to 25 Members. This gorilla family is named after Agashya who is the dominant silverback and the leader of the group.

Agashya gorilla family has one dominant silverback, twelve mature females, three juveniles and seven young gorillas thus twenty five individuals in total. Initially, Agashya gorilla group was headed by a silverback known as Nyakairima but after a deadly fight, Agashya overpowered him and took over the leadership. Nyakairima left with no choice had to leave the group. Agashya silverback was very ambitious having expanded the group from 12 members to 25 members. Agashya gorilla group is normally found in the foothills of mountain Mgahinga and Sabinyo and once in a while this group moves uphill. It is believed that Agashya is so protective that when ever he senses danger, he will direct the whole gorilla group to move from downhill to uphill

Another gorilla group in Volcanoes national park Rwanda

Hirwa gorilla family / group

This family of gorillas was formed when Munyinga, the Silverback (aka the head honcho) kept getting into trouble with the Susa Family Silverback for mating with his women. So he left taking 2 of the females with him. He then moved to a new territory on the slopes of Mount Sabyinyo and collected other females along the way. I wanted to ask him his secret but since I don’t speak gorillas I knew he would not tell me. What makes this family further lucky is that one of the births resulted in a rare set of gorilla twins!

Mount Sabyinyo is an extinct volcano in the Virunga Mountains. On the other side of its 12,000 foot summit is the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The mountain carries the local nickname “Old Man’s Teeth” because its serrated summit resembles worn teeth in a gum line in contrast to the perfect conical summits of the adjacent mountains in this range.

Hirwa gorilla family / group is usually closer than most families and we were lucky to find them within an hour. The trackers found the gorillas on a steep slope and we came upon them as they were napping (except for one of the twins who kept bothering everyone wanting to play).