Endangered mountain gorilla gives birth to rare twins in Congo: “Major event”

A endangered mountain gorilla gave birth to twins Virunga National Park in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, whose remarkable biodiversity has long been threatened by the region’s litany of conflicts.

Less than one percent of mountain gorilla pregnancies result in twins, according to scientists, with the DRC recording an earlier case in 2020, also in the UNESCO-listed Virunga Reserve. In social media postthe park called it a “rare and remarkable event.”

“The two newborns are both male,” Methode Uhoze, head of the park, told AFP by telephone on Thursday.

“Despite the challenges, life triumphs,” the Congolese Institute for Nature Conservation, which manages the DRC’s national parks, said on social media, posting a photo of the mother with the two tiny babies in her arms.

According to the guardsA team of trackers spotted the twins on Saturday, with surveillance and protection measures in place to increase their chances of survival.

The twins were born to a 22-year-old female named Mafuko, who is part of the Bageni mountain gorilla family, the park said. The family now has 59 members, the largest on the reservation.

Mafuko gave birth to a total of seven newborns, including a pair of twins in 2016, but the twins died a week after birth, the reserve said.

Mafuko was born into the Kabirizi family in 2003 but her mother was shot dead in 2007, according to the park. In 2013, the Kabirizi family separated and Mafuko joined the Bageni family. Three years later, his sister Tumaini joined the family, the park said.

“The birth of these twins represents a major milestone for the Bageni family dynamic and for ongoing conservation efforts aimed at supporting the continued growth of the endangered mountain gorilla population within Virunga National Park,” the reserve said in a statement. statement.

Virunga Park, inaugurated in 1925, has the distinction of being the oldest nature reserve in Africa.

Spanning 3,000 square miles near the borders with Rwanda and Uganda, the reserve includes territory controlled by the M23 militia.

The M23 seized swathes of eastern Congo with Rwandan support and has expanded its influence in the region in recent months.

The Virunga forests are also believed to have served as a hideout for fighters from the Allied Democratic Forces, who have pledged allegiance to the Islamic State jihadist group.

It is estimated that just over 1,000 mountain gorillas live in the wild.

According to reserve authorities, Virunga Park was home to 350 great apes in 2021.

Eight more mountain gorilla births were recorded in Virunga in 2025, according to park spokesperson Bienvenu Bwende.