Gorilla Groups in Ruhija Sector: Gorillas of Ruhija Uganda

Set within the Eastern part of Bwindi Impenetrable National Park is Ruhija, one of the four gorilla trekking sectors making up Bwindi. This sector is home to four fully habituated gorilla groups that include Mukiza, Oruzogo, Bitukura and Kyaguliro, but only the first three are open for trekking while the last one is reserved for gorilla research studies. When compared to the other three sectors, Ruhija has the least number of gorilla permits with only 24 gorilla permits available each day. This makes this sector less thronged by trekkers thus maintaining its authenticity and naturalness.

Ruhija Hill towers at an elevation of 2500 meters above sea level and also Bwindi’s highest point, Rwamunyonyi peak standing at 2650 meters above sea level is found in this sector thus making Ruhija sector the coldest region of the Park. The four gorilla families in Ruhija are interesting and worth trekking and before even setting off for your gorilla trekking trip, it would be exciting to first understand more about them. Therefore provided is the detailed information on the four habituated gorilla groups in Ruhija Uganda Gorilla Sector;

Kyaguliro gorilla group

Kyaguliro Gorilla Group was first habituated in 1995 but no permits were availed for trekking it and was instead reserved for research purposes by the German Max Plank Institute of Evolutionary Anthropology since 1998. During the time of habituation, this group was led by Zeus who was unfortunately overpowered by Rukina in 2004 to become the dominant silverback until his death in April 2015. Rukina is said to have been born in 1984 and was named Rukina meaning “playful” in the Rukiga dialect due to his exuberant nature as a young adult.

He is also believed to have fathered his first offspring in 2002 while still a subordinate silverback and interestingly has over 10 offspring during his time as the leader of Kyaguliro group. During his time, he had lured over four females from other families into Kyaguliro and spent a lot of time interacting with females and infants. By the time of his death, he had grown the group to 21 members including 8 adult females and was taken over by Mukiza, an amateur young silverback. However, Mukiza’s tenure was short-lived when another stronger and more experienced immigrant silverback-Rukara from Bitukura group raided the once calm and peaceful Kyaguliro group. This angered Mukiza who took some females to form his own group in 2016. Kyaguliro is currently made up of only 10 members that include 1 silverback, 3 adult females, 2 blackbacks, 2 juveniles and 2 infants.

Mukiza gorilla group

Led by Mukiza, this gorilla group is the break-away group from the once large and peaceful Kyaguliro Group. After the passing of Rukina the dominant silverback of Kyaguliro in 2015, Mukiza a young inexperienced silverback took over. However, his reign was short-lived when Rukara another more powerful silverback from Bitukura challenged and overpowered him. This made Mukiza to leave his natal group to form his own family, named after him. This group was formed in 2016 and since the members were originally from an already habituated group, it didn’t go through the mandatory habituation process but was instead closely monitored by UWA Park Rangers. It is made up of 10 members including 1 silverback, 4 adult females, 1 black-back and 4 infants.

Bitukura gorilla group

Bitukura is another fascinating gorilla group in Ruhija sector, habituated in 2007 and opened for trekking in 2008 after a period of only 15 months, making it outstanding. Habituation process to make mountain gorillas used to human presence lasts 2-3 years and for this group to take only 15 months, it makes visitors curious to discover more about it. Bitukura Group was named after the River where it was first seen and at the time if discovery had over 24 members. The group is generally applauded for its calm and peaceful nature, hence the reason for the short habituation period. Ndahura was the dominant silverback of Bitukura from the time of habituation until 2016, following his death. This 28-year old silverback is said to have fallen 50 meters from a tree while trying to feed on chrysophylum fruits. There are presently about 14 members including 3 silverbacks in the family.

Oruzogo gorilla group

Oruzogo is another interesting-to-trek gorilla group in Ruhija sector with 17 members including 1 silverback (known as Bakwate), 5 adult females, 2 blackbacks, 2 juveniles and 5 infants. It was opened for trekking in 2011 and is presently known for its frisky juveniles and infants that usually take visitors’ breath away.