The Nyakagezi gorilla family is the only fully habituated gorilla group in Mgahinga Gorilla National Park. The park is located in south western Uganda in Kisoro district. It is the smallest National Park covering an area of 33.7 square kilometers as well 3370 hectares.
With an existence of more than 9 mountain gorillas in this park, being the smallest park, it offers you a great opportunity to track the rare mountain gorillas in the wild. BOOK NOW
About the Nyakagezi Family
The Nyakagezi gorilla family is a formulate of 9 members; 4 silver backs, 2 infants, 2 adult females and 1 juvenile which is the dominant silverback. The separate members include Mathew and Mark (silverbacks), Nyiramwiza and Nshuti (adult females), Nkanda (juvenile), Mutagamba and Rukundo (infants). Mark took over leadership from his father Bugingo. Bugingo the oldest silverback is believed to be more than 54 years.
A rare but an interesting fact about the Nyakagezi group is that Bugingo still lives in the family. Yet in most cases, once the dormant silverback is overthrown, he is banished and dies in isolation or seeks refuge from other gorilla groups. For example in Mubare group in Bwindi Impenetrable Forest, after Kanyonyi took over leadership from Ruhondeza, the latter left the group and lived a solitary life until he died.
Tracking the Nyakagezi Family
Nyakagezi family is one of the easiest to track given the fact that it prefers a narrow home range for feeding, nesting, relaxing and recreation.
The Nyakagezi gorilla group was famous for their migratory behavior across the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and Rwanda. However, this gorilla group has today settled in Mgahinga Gorilla National Park in Uganda where tourists are assured of gorilla trekking experiences.
It is composed of nine (9) mountain gorillas that are easily identified by their names which include Baby Rukundo, Nvuyekure, Nshuti, Mutagamba, Bugingo, Mark and Mathew. The Nyakagezi gorilla group was once led by Silverback “Bugingo” for some period of time but amazingly, Mark is said to have succeeded overthrowing his leadership.
Though this group is mobile and crosses over to Rwanda and DRC, it is considered the easiest to track in Uganda because they are found in areas of lower altitude and prefer a small home range for nesting, relaxing and feeding (because of abundance of food).
Given that it is the only habituated gorilla family, since 2012 the gorilla family has been settled within the Mgahinga Gorilla National Park and the success rate to see these great apes stands at over 95% chances. Now it is easier to track this gorilla group because they have a permanent settlement unlike initially where they were always on the move.
Gorilla permits to Mgahinga Gorilla National Park
More and more tourists are now visiting the park to track this interesting group. Due to their mobile and unpredictable behavior, gorilla permits for Nyakagezi group have to be booked at the Uganda Wildlife Authority (UWA) park headquarters at Ntebeko. It is always important to first confirm within 24 hours to ascertain whether they are within the park or have crossed to other countries. Because it is the only gorilla group in the park, UWA sells only 8 gorilla permits for this park, per day.
Visiting the Nyakagezi gorilla group is not an experience that centers only on mountain gorillas but also an excitement built around the incredible three Virunga volcano summits, the gorge and then the magnificent flora. Indeed you will appreciate taking gorilla safari to Uganda’s most gifted remote national park.
Besides tracking the Nyakagezi group, tourists can engage in golden monkey tracking because this is the only park in Uganda where “Silver meets Gold”. Tourists will also enjoy the interesting Batwa trail, that takes you through the life of the “People of the Forest” who were hunter-gatherers. Then birding and mountain hiking to Mt. Sabyinyo, Mt. Muhavura and Mt. Gahinga.
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