The Twin Baby Gorillas in Rwanda
Twin Gorillas are two Gorillas born at the same birth session. The Hirwa Gorilla family in Rwanda’s Volcanoes National park has twin members which are so much monitored by rangers at the park.
Mountain Gorillas are Rwanda’s chief tourist attraction and Hirwa Gorilla family is so much visited to see the Baby Gorillas in this group. It should be clearly noted that, looking into the eyes of a baby Gorilla is the climax of the tracking safari in Rwanda. The mountain gorilla is listed as critically endangered by the IUCN and populations have become increasingly threatened by severe habitat destruction and rising human populations.
The occurrence of twins in the population of mountain gorillas is extremely unusual and the new arrivals in the Volcanoes National Park are only the fifth set of twins recorded for Rwanda’s gorillas. There are fewer than 800 mountain gorillas living in the wild, according to UK-based charity the Gorilla Organization. If other Gorillas give birth to twins, it means an increase of wealth in Rwanda due to the fact that the number of these gentle giants will increase hence more amazing.
The organization said the pair was born on February 3 to Kabatwa, a member of the Hirwa group of gorillas, who was reportedly proving to be an excellent mother. Emmanuel Bugingo, the Gorilla Organization’s programme manager in Rwanda, said: ‘It is very rare to hear of mountain gorilla twins, so we were all excited to hear the news from rangers. ‘The twins are both boys and we feel very positive about their future.
It is believed that on 3 February 2011, the fifth set of twins ever recorded in the history of Rwanda’s mountain gorillas. The last reported birth of mountain gorilla twins was in 2004, according to conservation group -The Gorilla Organization.
The gorilla mothers usually have only one baby every four years or so – which is one reason why they are so vulnerable – so twins give a rare double gain in one birth. The last mountain gorilla twins, born in 2004, were named Byishimo and Impano by the President of the Republic of Rwanda, Paul Kagame, at a gorilla naming ceremony in 2005.
The only other location where mountain gorillas exist is Bwindi Impenetrable National Park in Uganda, and scientists are considering elevating the few hundred remaining Bwindi gorillas to the rank of subspecies.
