Hirwa Gorilla Family In Mgahinga Gorilla National Park : Hirwa Gorilla Family is one of the best destinations to travel to for gorilla trekking activities while in Uganda and it is located within Mgahinga national park, which is considered as the second best place to travel to and trek mountain gorillas in the country after Bwindi Impenetrable national park. And this national park is located within the Southwestern region of Uganda in Kisoro district hence considered to be among the smallest national parks in the country covering a total surface area of about 34 square kilometers. more so, this national park was known to have only one habituated gorilla group however, in 2019, the Hirwa gorilla group also found its settlement within the park. Hirwa gorilla family derived its name from a Kinyarwanda word, which is means “the Lucky one”. More so, this gorilla group happened to have originated from Volcanoes national park, which is found in Rwanda and then fully settled in Mgahinga Gorilla national park. In addition, Hirwa Gorilla group is known to be among the smallest gorilla groups in the country, which is made up by nine members, and they consist of three adult females, one silverback, two sub adult females and three babies.
Hirwa Gorilla family/group is highly considered to be among the lucky gorilla groups compared to the others and the unique part about it is that, it is noted to be the only gorilla group that managed to give birth to twins. During in 2011, the twins were born among one of the female gorilla group, which was commonly referred to as “Kabatwa”, and these twins were named as Isango Gakuru and Isango Gato. The Hirwa Gorilla group was led by a dominant silverback named as Munyiga and this group also managed to have been in existence after the troublesome fights that occurred between the Susa Family and Munyinga due to his habits of mating with all the females from this gorilla group.
The Hirwa gorilla family is also famously known to have been inhabited the slopes pf Mount Sabinyo that is known to be an extinct volcano that is about 12000ft tall and it is found within the Virunga ranges. More so, this mountain was nicknamed as the “old man’s teeth” and it was named so because the peak of this mountain looks like the worn out teeth which does not resemble like the peak with the Virunga.
Trekking Hirwa Gorilla Family.
Mountain Gorilla trekking within Mgahinga Gorilla national park is always considered the easiest compared to the trekking in Bwindi impenetrable national park. The Uganda Wildlife Authority whose responsibility is to ensure that they protect all the national park in the country is managing Hirwa Gorilla group. In addition, for tourists who have their big interest in travelling to Uganda to trek the Hirwa Gorilla group are always encouraged to purchase a gorilla trekking permit in advance in order to avoid any incovinicies during the right period of the trekking. In addition, these permits are always charged at a fee of about 700 USD per person.
However, before the trekking tourists are always encouraged to arrive at the park headquarters where they first go through the registration process and later they are being given short briefings about the rules and regulations that they should follow while trekking this group and some of these include;
- Tourists should avoid maintaining direct eye contact with the mountain gorillas most especially the silverback because to the specie it may seem as a sign of disrespect, which may lead it to be violent, hence leading to harm.
- Avoid eating and drinking while in the presence of the mountain gorillas.
- For individuals who want use their phones and cameras to take pictures and videos of the mountain gorillas, are always encouraged to disable the use of the flashlights.
- The trekkers are advised to keep a distance of 7 meters while in the presence of the mountain gorillas in order to avoid any harm.
- More so, trekkers are advised to lower the tones of their voices while in the presence and many others.
Later, tourists are being put in groups with a maximum of eight people and each group is being given a park guide whose role is to guide the trekkers through because they are very familiar with many parts in the park and they are to ensure about the safety of both individuals and the animals. And after the species in the gorilla group are being located, tourists are always given an hour to spend with them and it during this period of time that tourists get to learn about the behaviours and characters of the mountain gorillas such as; individuals get to watch how these species eat and feed their young ones, grooming each other, playing, moving, and also see how they display their gestures among others. However, trekking the Hirwa Gorilla group also is suitable for individuals who are physically fit and are in a good health condition because this activity may tend to be tiring because it involves people to hike and walk through dense forests.
Contact our trusted tour operators in case of more information about the Hirwa Gorilla family and Book with tours and travel companies such as; Achieve Global safaris who offer the best tour packages while on Gorilla trekking safari in Uganda.
