The Lulengo mountain gorilla family was first known as the Musekura gorilla family, but its name was later changed to Lulengo in memory of the Virunga National Park Technical Director who was killed by a land mine.
Today, the Lulengo group has 9 members, including 1 silverback, 3 adult females, 1 sub-adult male, 3 babies, and 1 juvenile. The number of individuals in a gorilla family often changes from year to year due to births, deaths, and other reasons.
Lulengo, the leading silverback of the group, was born in the Rugabi gorilla family. His father, Rugabo, was killed by poachers during the Great Lakes refugee crisis in 1994. The Lulengo group can be visited in the Jomba area, near Bunagana, which is close to the Congo-Uganda border.
The Democratic Republic of Congo is one of the three African countries where you can see the endangered mountain gorillas, along with Uganda and Rwanda. Mountain gorillas are a sub-species of the Eastern gorillas.
Mountain gorillas are the largest primates in the world and share about 95% of their DNA with humans. This close connection is one of the reasons many people choose to travel to Africa to see them, even though it can be expensive. Gorillas live in groups of about 5 to 30 individuals. Each group is led by a silverback, an adult male who is responsible for leading and protecting the group.
Gorillas are calm and gentle animals but can become dangerous if they feel threatened or unsafe. Before a gorilla attacks, it will usually give warning signs such as beating its chest, thumping the ground, making loud calls, or tearing nearby plants. If the threat does not back down, the situation can turn into a serious fight.
