Largest Gorilla Group in Volcanoes National Park Splits! | International Gorilla Conservation Programme (IGCP)International Gorilla Conservation Programme (IGCP)

Igisha – the biggest habituated mountain gorilla group in Volcanoes National Park, with 40 individuals has divided!  According to the trackers, on 28^th August 2025, Silverback Humura, formerly the second in command left Igisha group along with 24 individuals, leaving the original Igisha group with 15 members under the leadership of dominant Silverback – Igisha.

Since the split, Igisha group went out of daily monitoring for at least 2 months until it was re-discovered by rangers in Gitebe area. Rangers say that it is common and harmless for gorilla groups to split when numbers grow to about 40 and beyond. “Usually when the number of gorillas in a group grows to 40, they split. We have seen this in the past with groups like Susa, it is nothing to worry about. We are happy that we found Igisha group and all is well,” says Damascene Hakizimana, Monitoring and Research Warden at Volcanoes National Park.  

Prior to the split, rangers noticed that the group was always divided into two during feeding time, one fraction would range from at least 500 meters away under the supervision of Silverback Humura and another stayed with Silverback Igisha. Volcanoes National Park management confirms that the two groups are now considered independent and are visited differently. The original group with 15 members is named Igisha and the fraction with 25 members has been named Humura, after the dominant Silverback’s name.

“We are certain that the groups will not unite as one again. This we can tell from the different ranging areas the groups have settled for,” says the Monitoring and Research Warden. Currently Igisha’s home range is Butaka while Humura group has settled in Kabatwa, close to Isimbi group.

We will keep you posted about how the groups thrive after this major split.