Gorilla Groups in Bwindi Impenetrable National Park- Rushaga Sector

Rushaga Sector -Southern Bwindi Forest.

Mishaya Gorilla Group

This gorilla group is composed of 10 dare devils led by Silverback Mishaya. They aren’t afraid of pushing themselves to the limit even when it seems like the odds are not in their favour. They are always swinging from one canopy to the next in search for wild fruits that know how to set their taste buds on fire. Mishaya family separated away from Nshongi group in 2010 which was the largest by then. The leader of the family (Mishaya) died after an obstruction of the intestinal gut and Tinfayo – a former member of the Nshongi gorilla family took over the leadership with 1 adult female (Shida) and her infant (Rotary). “Tinfayo” means carefree in the local Rukiga language. The individual members include; 1 Silverback, 1 Black back, 4 Adult females, 1 Sub-adult female and 3 infants

While Gorilla males weigh as much as 136 to 195 kg (300 to 430 lb.), adult females weigh about half 68–113 kg. Despite their weight, they hardly fall off trees because they are always at the top of their game and make very well calculated moves. This offers you a more spiced up adventure as opposed to being bored out watching gorillas on the floor all the time. The group of 10 members is named after its highest ranking alpha male, Mishaya. If you are wondering about where to see gorillas in Uganda, this might just be it.

Nshongi Gorilla Group

Many Tourist used to avoid tracking this group which is headed by Silverback Bweza. It’s 8 members were very adventurers and used to move a lot. Trying to catch up with them was a cat and mouse game. However, all this now in the past. Their life started to take a new twist in mid-2017 after they started registering new births of infants.

This forced them to settle down in their home along Nshongi River where they were discovered around 1999. The name Nshongi is adopted from the Nshongi River, found in the range where the group feeds from. This change of lifestyle has played a key role in lessening the exposure of their babies to fights led by gorilla groups in other parts of the forest. As such, you now have a good chance of seeing them without much difficulty.

At one time, this Nshongi gorilla group was the largest with 35 members but some wrangles developed and many members left.  Now the family comprises of one Silverback, three adult females, one infant, one sub-adult and two juveniles fully habituated ready for tracking.

Busingye and Kahungye Gorilla Groups

Many rival gorilla groups shy away from confronting these two families as they are always prepared for the worst. Their silverbacks have established a system in which all muscular males form a ring around the groups’ babies and females. Throughout the day, one or two of their members spend much of the day in trees, in an effort to see any gorillas intruding their territory. This makes it hard to take them by surprise. Thanks to this extra conscious character, they have never lost any of their members in a fight.

If you plan on visiting Busingye in particular, brace yourself for an unforgettable mingle with its 12 individuals inclusive of 3 jovial infants. Busingye is the dominant silverback and his name means ‘peaceful’ in the local language.  It’s ironic because his behavior is a far from peaceful as he has led several brutal attacks on other gorilla families to expand his family size.

On the other hand, Kahungye has 13 individuals led by dominant Silverback Gwigi. The name Kahungye comes from the hill where the group was first sighted.

Bweza Gorilla Group

Bweza Gorilla family is led by Kakono, an ambitious Silverback who is on a mission to become the most authoritative gorilla king in Rushaga region. Well knowing this can best be achieved if he has the support of the two silverbacks in his group, he has granted them unlimited mating rights with the group’s 4 adult females. This is very unusual considering Alpha males are never liberal to that extent regardless of how desperate they are.

Lucky for Kakono, the trick is doing wonders. Not only have the silverbacks withdrawn their intentions to challenge his leadership, they are fond of sneaking into other groups in an effort to woo females to join Bweza group.

The gorilla group consists of 4 blackbacks, 2 infants, and 1 sub-adult. There are also ambitious juveniles aspiring to settle down and start families. This mix will give you the pleasure of getting a deeper understanding of how gorillas behave as they go through different stages in life. Bweza family split from Nshongi group in 2013

Bikingi Gorilla Group

This is the only gorilla group that is still under the process of habituation in Bwindi and if your heart is beating for an adventure that is more rewarding than gorilla tracking, then gorilla habituation will rejuvenate your sense of wonder. It comprises of 12 wild individuals that are currently being psychologically prepared to accommodate all visitors regardless of their physical outlook or race. These include 2 silverbacks, adult females and young ones. During this 4 hours’ adventure, you will witness what happens behind the scenes before gorillas are opened for tourism. The gorilla trek has been well researched and put together to wow you with lots of encounters tourists miss out on during gorilla tracking. For instance, you will walk on paths that no tourist has used before and also collect data about individual members of the group. The experience is worth as you have more time with the giant lovely apes. Book your Gorilla Habituation experience with us today.