Mubare Gorilla Group

Mubare Gorilla Group

The Mubare Gorilla group the first group of the Uganda mountain gorillas  habituated in 1993 in Bwindi Impenetrable Forest National Park. First spotted by trackers around the Mubare hills in Buhoma Sector hence the name, Mubare Group.

The dominant silverback who first led the group has always been Ruhondeza. And back then he ruled a family with more than 18 gorillas. Over the years his family has shrunk in number as he shrunk in size. This is because the now aging monarch had not groomed a successor. 2009 was a very hard year for the Mubare Gorilla Group with a loss of three of its members. Early during the year, one of the adult females died of a fracture to the skull. She left behind a wee infant of six months whom the group tried to take care of. The baby killed by trackers one morning and found dead on Ruhondeza’s bed.

Currently, the group is proud of 12 individuals and it was once led by Ruhondeza. Who later passed on in 2013 when it aged and wasn’t in position to protect itself and the rest of the group members. This later weakened the group. At the time Ruhondeza passed on, this troop comprised of four individuals and later when the new leader took over. More new members were introduced into the group increasing it to 9 individuals.

In a few years, the group increased to 18 individuals, unfortunately due to conflicts with wild gorilla groups, most its members were taken including the one Ruhondeza who used to take care of everyone else in the family. Mubare lessened to a family of 5 individuals for many years till March 2013 that four other individuals including the new dominant silverback joined the group to increase its number to 9 individuals. The group is now settled and then increased to 12 individuals as of 2020. Today it still remains one of the fascinating groups to visit while on a gorilla safari to Bwindi.