NOHELI

NOHELI

Gorilla Family

NOHELI

4 MEMBERS: LAST UPDATED 22/02/2022

Noheli group is found in Volcanoes National Park in Rwanda and is led by the dominant Silverback Noheli. Noheli group was formed on 7th November 2021 when three females left Isimbi and Susa groups to join the then lone Silverback, Noheli. One of the females joined with an infant and shortly after the group was formed, two other adult females had babies. Noheli group faced the biggest interaction ever when lone Silverback Matsiko attacked the group and grabbed three females. Dominant Silverback Noheli fled the dreadful fight while adult females Umuco, Umwe and Ruhuka were forcefully taken by Silverback Matsiko. Matsiko had left Igisha group on 15th August 2019 to be alone, but he probably changed his mind later! Silverback Matsiko took these females on 18th November 2023, and they have not been seen anywhere until today. Silverback Noheli has not been found as well since the incident. Today Noheli group is composed of 4 individuals including 1 Silverback and 3 adult females.

  • 1

    Silverbacks

  • 3

    Adult females

  • 00

    Blackbacks

  • 00

    Sub-adult females

  • 00

    Juveniles

  • 3

    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).

Volcanoes National Park

Volcanoes National Park

In the far North Western Rwanda lives the Volcanoes National Park that protects the steep slopes of magnificent mountain ranges – home of the endangered mountain gorillas and a rich fountain of montane ecosystems, which embrace evergreen bamboo forest, open grassland and swamps. Volcanoes National Park is named after the chain of dormant volcanoes making up the Virunga Massif: Karisimbi – the highest at 4,507m, Bisoke with its verdant crater lake, Sabinyo, Gahinga and Muhabura.