Bwindi Impenetrable forest National park staff, UWA and the general tourism fraternity in Uganda are in great celebration as they welcome the birth of the 5th baby Gorilla in Rushegura Gorilla group. The birth marks the 5th baby in a short period of just six weeks in this Covid 19 period. This raises the number of the group individuals to 18 in a very short period. The new born baby Gorilla was born to the mother called Ruterana on 31 August 2020 marking her 3rd offspring. Ruterana was born in Jan 2002 and gave birth to her first offspring when she was 12. Ruterana first gave birth in 2012 but lost the baby to Pneumonia in two weeks, she gave birth again in 2016 and the baby survived and was named Rushokye. Rushokye Ruterana’s offspring) couldn’t hide the excitement as she was seen so close to the mother welcoming the new baby in the morning when it was born.
Rushegura gorilla family
Rushegura is one of the Gorilla families in the Buhoma sector of Bwindi impenetrable forest National Park. The family was formed after the break off from the main family Habiyanja at a place called Rushegura which explains the origin of the group’s name Rushegura. The separation happened in 2002 and the group was immediately opened for tracking since the gorillas had been habituated in their previous group.
Rushegura was under the leadership of the late Mwirima at the time of breakup from Habiyanja. Mwirima separated from his brother after disagreements Rwansingazi who was leading the group at the time and was known for taking the group to distant places yet Mwirima preferred shorter distances. This led to a serious disagreement and Mwirima left with some members to form his own family. Mwirima and Rwansigazi were both sons of Mugurusi.
Rushegura was also known for crossing to DRC since it was at the border with Congo. Th family is however settled now in the Buhoma sector and is always available for tracking. We must note that the Covid 19 lockdown has given the Gorillas enough time to bond together with such results of several births.
Rushegura can be tracked from the park main headquarters or start by a 15 minutes’ drive to the trail head where the tracking exactly begins.
Other Gorilla families in Buhoma sector
Katwe, Habiyanja, Mubare and Muyambi gorilla groups. These groups can be tracked throughout the year as you share on the great history of these gorilla families.
