Gorilla trekking in Uganda all started out with Mubare Gorilla Family Group in Buhoma Region of Bwindi Impenetrable forest National Park.
Mubare Gorilla Family was the first gorilla group to undergo habituation in Bwindi Forest. The group was named after a hill called Mubare where it was first sighted by the rangers at the start of the habituation. The official habituation of this gorilla group started on 15th October in 1991 and it received its first official visitors on 13th October 1993 (2 years later).
At the time of habituation, Mubare gorilla family had only 12 individuals. However, the population steadily grew to 18 members by the year 1996. The group was led by a powerful silverback gorilla named Ruhondeza and through that time, his group fought many wild groups, attempting to safeguard its members but in silence lost several individuals. An example of this was when Makare broke away from Katendegyere group – which is now completely disintegrated – sustained five fights and took only 2 individuals. After each of these fights, the family had to move for a moment to areas around the park offices in Buhoma.
Since 1996, Mubare Gorilla Family has been dropping straight down at high speed. Some cases include: when the oldest female gorilla named Bukumu had 5 failed fights and this made her disappear which left us to possibly argue that she died. There were also other 2 blackbacks gorillas along with Bob who also disappeared and up to now, no one knows the whereabouts of them.
Although it has been reported that gorillas only feed on the peels of the banana plant, this group recently was observed to be removing the peels and feeding the fruit before it is ripe. Up to this date, Mubare Gorilla Family gets together peacefully with other habituated groups like Habinyanja, Rushegura without any fight.
In March 2012, Mubare Gorilla family was attacked by an unhabituated male and because Ruhondeza was too old to fight back and protect his family, he was forced out of his group and then he decided to live a solitary life until he died on 27th June 2012 in Rubona village near Bwindi Forest National Park. He could not trust going back to the forest, but he felt more comfortable spending his last days in a human community.
Ruhondeza during his regime was so jealous and very protective that he would not allow anything to happen to any of his family members. He was also very friendly to the extent that he allowed human beings to be around his family because if it was not the case, gorilla tourism would not have been there to date.
When he died, he was buried at Bwindi Forest Park headquarters in Buhoma by the Uganda Wildlife Authority and the organization will make a monument out of his grave for remembrance.
The Mubare gorilla group as of August 2012 had 5 Individuals namely: Kanyonyi, who is now the leading silverback and he is in charge of security, determines group movement and disciplines errant members. Other members include Muyambi which is a black back gorilla, Kashundwe and Malaika which are the adult females and Kashundwe who is a baby.
Who is Kanyonyi? Mubare gorilla family
Kanyonyi is the biological son and heir to the glorious throne of the late Ruhondeza – leadership of the famous Mubare Gorilla group. Kanyonyi is named after the little stream where he was born in 1996.
