KIGOMA

KIGOMA

Gorilla Family

KIGOMA

5 MEMBERS: LAST UPDATED 31/01/2024

Kigoma group is the newest group in Volcanoes National Park in Rwanda. It was formed on 31/12/2023 when Kigoma- the then lead silverback of Kwisanga group decided to leave the group with 4 individuals. Kwisanga group was famous for having two sub-groups at times, but this time Kigoma was determined to take that fraction of the group for good. It was a peaceful split and there was no interaction prior to it. The group is led by the dominant Silverback Kigoma. Kigoma is composed of 5 members including 1 Silverback, 1 Adult female, 1 Blackback, 1 Juvenile and 1 Infant.

  • 1

    Silverbacks

  • 1

    Adult females

  • 1

    Blackbacks

  • 00

    Sub-adult females

  • 1

    Juveniles

  • 1

    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.