BITUKURA

BITUKURA

Gorilla Family

BITUKURA

Bitukura Group

13 MEMBERS: LAST UPDATED 31/01/2024

Bitukura group is found in Ruhija tourism sector of Bwindi Impenetrable National Park and is led by Silverback Mugisha. Mugisha replaced Ndahura after he passed away on 18th Dec 2016 following an accident – he fell from a tree. Habituation of Bitukura group started in 2006. Bitukura group is currently composed of 13 individuals: 2 Silverbacks,2 Blackbacks, 4 Adult females,1 Sub-adult male, 2 Juveniles and 2 Infants. Bituruka group is well known for multi-male tolerance in the group, sometimes with up to five adult males living in the same group at once.  Bitukura group likes foraging around Ruhija tourism station of Bwindi Impenetrable National Park and sometimes along the forest edges in the sector.

  • 2

    Silverbacks

  • 4

    Adult females

  • 2

    Blackbacks

  • 1

    Sub-adult females

  • 2

    Juveniles

  • 2

    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).

Bwindi Impenetrable National Park

Bwindi Impenetrable National Park

Situated in South-Western Uganda, Bwindi Impenetrable Forest is a large primeval forest at the edge of the Albertine Rift and the western branch of the East African Rift, at elevations ranging from 1,160 to 2,607 metres. The majestic forest is home to half of the world's population of mountain gorillas.