2 BABY GORILLAS BORN IN VIRUNGA NATIONAL PARK

2 BABY GORILLAS BORN IN VIRUNGA NATIONAL PARK

It is of common knowledge that DR Congo is one of the enviable countries that home the planet’s last remaining mountain gorillas. With more than just one park that furnish exclusive gorilla trekking experiences, DR Congo is included on the world travel map as the only country where both mountain and lowland gorillas are found.

Gorillas in DR Congo are found in Kahuzi Biega (lowland gorillas) and Virunga national parks, though Virunga is more famous because it’s a proud home of both the mountain and lowland gorillas. However, whichever park you choose, be sure of unmatched gorilla encounters.

Virunga national park is one of the most bio-diverse places on planet earth lying in the forested depths of eastern Congo that will never disappoint any visitor. Large impenetrable forests carpeting the huge Virunga series of Volcanoes harbor more than 500 gorillas, something that is so rare to find anyhow.

The park has eight habituated mountain gorilla families including the Kabirizi, Humba, Rugendo, Mapuwa, Lulengo, Munyaga, Nyakamwe, and Bageni with each group having a unique story to tell. All the groups are ready to receive visitors and offer memorable experiences on any gorilla safari in Congo.

The park being with quite a good number of gorillas more than Uganda and Rwanda, it recently still received two baby gorillas from the Rugendo and Humba families. It was great excitement when two newly born babies were discovered on 26^th of July 2018 by the park rangers who were checking on the wellbeing of all the gorilla families as their daily work.

Rugendo family initially had 29 members who now became 30 after a 19 years old Kayenga gave birth. The 8 years old Anangana’s new baby became the 15^th member in Humba family. Even before these new mothers gave birth, 7 more baby gorillas were born earlier this year making a total sum of 9 baby gorillas. This is good news to the tourism industry of the country as gorilla trekking is the major foreign exchange earner.

Over the past ten years, the habituated gorilla families in Virunga national park have played a major role in increasing the worldwide population of mountain gorillas with a significant rise from the 790 gorillas recorded in 2010.

Note that gorilla trekking permits in DR Congo are at 450 USD, which is much way cheaper than those of Uganda and Rwanda at 600 USD and 1500 USD respectively. Gorilla trekking in Uganda is done in its impenetrable forest of Bwindi national park and Mgahinga national park. In Rwanda, it is only done in Volcanoes national park. All these parks are comfortably positioned in the Virunga chained volcanoes.

Just because Virunga national park has been interrupted several political unrests, it would have been one of the most visited destinations in Africa because it’s a prime home for the largest number of mountain gorillas in the world.

However, with the continued efforts of the park management and the government, more strategies have been set up to ensure tighter security and safety of both the great apes and the park rangers.

Just in the near future, there will be no safer place for gorilla tours in Africa like Virunga national park in DR Congo.