MAPUWA

MAPUWA

Gorilla Family

MAPUWA

26 MEMBERS: LAST UPDATED 22/02/2022

Mapuwa group is found in Jomba area of Virunga National Park in DRC and is led by the dominant Silverback Mvuyekure. Mapuwa group was formed on August 1st, 1998, by the Silverback Mapuwa when he grabbed 2 females (Kagofero and Kanepo) from Lulengo group to form his own group. Mapuwa is a son to the Silverback Rugendo and evolved in Rugendo group. In August 1995, Mapuwa left Rugendo group at the same time as his brother Ruzirabwoba for solitary life. In 2017, the group split into two. Mvuyekure (a Silverback among the group) went away with most of the group members and formed its own group (Nvuyekure) leaving Mapuwa with only 3 individuals. And in March 2019 these two groups (Mapuwa and Mvuyekure) ranging in the same area interacted and joined again under the leadership of Mvuyekure (most probably due to the elderly age of Silverback Mapuwa). Mapuwa group is composed of 26 individuals including 3 Silverbacks, 1 Blackback, 8 Adult females,3 Sub-adults, 3 Juveniles and 8 Infants.

  • 3

    Silverbacks

  • 8

    Adult females

  • 1

    Blackbacks

  • 3

    Sub-adult females

  • 3

    Juveniles

  • 8

    Infants

About mountain gorillas

The eastern gorilla is a large hominid with a large head, broad chest, and long arms. It has a flat nose with large nostrils. The face, hands, feet and breast are bald. The fur is mainly black, but adult males have a silvery “saddle” on their back. When the gorilla gets older, the hair on the saddle of the back becomes white, much like the gray hair of elderly people. This is why the older males are called silverbacks. Grauer’s gorilla has a shorter, thicker, deep black fur, while the mountain gorilla has a more bluish color. The mountain gorilla is slightly smaller and lighter than Grauer’s gorilla, but still larger and heavier than the western lowland gorilla and the Cross River gorilla. Males are much larger than females. A full-grown male eastern gorilla typically weighs 140–205.5 kg (309–453 lb) and stands 1.7 m (5.6 ft) upright.

The goal of the International Gorilla Conservation Programme (IGCP) is to ensure the conservation of mountain gorillas and their regional afromontane forest habitat in Rwanda, Uganda and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).

Virunga National Park

Virunga National Park

Located in the Albertine Rift Valley in the Eastern part of the Democratic Republic of Congo, Virunga National Park is Africa’s most biodiverse protected area that protects 1/3 of the wild mountain gorillas, over one thousand species of mammals, birds, reptiles and amphibians.