Twin mountain gorillas born in Virunga are being closely monitored

Twin male mountain gorillas have been born to a female known as Mafuko in Virunga national park in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo. Rangers first spotted the newborns on 3 January and have monitored the mother and infants daily. Jacques Katutu, head of gorilla monitoring in Virunga, said he was moved by the sight, noting he has seen dozens of newborns in his 15 years as a ranger.

"Watching Mafuko holding two babies was both moving and filled me with responsibility, given the twins’ extreme vulnerability," he told the Guardian. The twins are reported to be healthy for now, but twin births in mountain gorillas are extremely rare and present significant survival challenges, with about a quarter of infants dying from disease, trauma or infanticide.

The males were born into the Bageni family, Virunga’s largest group, which now has 59 members. Mafuko previously gave birth to twins in 2016 but neither survived more than a few days. Conservation efforts have raised mountain gorilla numbers from barely 250 in the 1970s to above 1,000 by 2018, and specialist veterinary care has been credited with preventing dozens of deaths; one study attributes half of the population increase to vets.

At the same time, the DRC section of the Virunga massif remains dangerous for rangers, with more than 220 killed in the park over the past 20 years amid activity by groups such as M23 and other militias.

Key Topics

World, Mountain Gorilla, Virunga National Park, Drc, Mafuko, Bageni Family