On Valentine’s Day, (14th February 2023) a mature female gorilla in Ruhija sector in Bwindi National Park gave birth to a healthy baby gorilla. The Mukiza gorilla family is headed by Mukiza, the dominant silverback, and includes the adult female gorilla Tomvi (baby mom).

The field team officers have been attempting to get to the newborn and observe it, but the baby is being fiercely guarded by the father and mother, according to the Uganda Wildlife Authority (UWA), the organization in charge of the conservation of all protected areas. According to UWA officials, the Mukiza gorilla family now includes 19 members due to the newborn baby.

Also, they credited the tiny bundle of happiness to the active, curious, and diligent efforts of many years of effective conservation. We commend the Uganda Wildlife Authority for its ongoing, relentless conservation efforts to ensure that these already endangered species of apes don’t become extinct as we visit Uganda. The mother and baby are both in good health as reported by the UWA officials.

This is the breakup of the Mukiza gorilla family in the Ruhija gorilla area of northern Bwindi. There is one male silverback named Mukiza, six adult females, three sub-adults, three juveniles, and four youngsters.

The Bwindi Impenetrable National Park is the only gorilla destination in Uganda and Africa with the greatest concentration of mountain gorillas, and it is home to roughly 20 gorilla families. To track these groups in their native habitats, the park issues roughly 152 gorilla permits per day.

Given the group’s increased size, the birth of the new infant in the Mukiza family will greatly impact the protection and monitoring of these gorillas in the Ruhija region.

It should be mentioned that there are 4 gorilla families in the Ruhija sector, and 32 tracking licenses are provided daily for this area. The Bitukura, Mukiza, Kyaguliro, and Oruzogo families are among them. Every family receives 8 permits per day, for a total of 32 permits every day.

Visitors who pay for gorilla tours in Uganda are charmed by their distinctive habits and their similarity to humans because they share about 98 percent of the same Genes. Visitors enjoy hiking in large families with many members, and now that Mukiza has grown by one, it will definitely gain popularity and draw more visitors.

NOTE: The 331km long Bwindi Impenetrable National Park is located in the southwest of Uganda and is made up of lowland and montane forests. The park is around 520 km away from Kampala, and getting there take 8 to 9 hours. The forest’s primary residents are mountain gorillas, but there are also other wildlife attractions like birds (there are over 350 kinds), and other creatures that live there but are infrequently seen during gorilla trekking tours in Bwindi Impenetrable National Park.