Volcanoes National Park

Country:
Rwanda

Conservation status:
National Park,
part of Virunga Conservation Area

Area:
120 km²

Height:
Karisimbi: 4507 m,
Visoke: 3711 m,
Mgahinga: 3474 m,
Muhavura: 4127 m,
Sabinyo 3637 m

Gorillas:
Virunga Conservation Area:
ca. 604 mountain gorillas

Gorilla tourism:
possible

Rwanda, Volcanoes National Park - tourist groups

  Feb. 2008 Sep. 2008 Feb. 2009 Mai 2009 Aug. 2009 Dez. 2009 Mai 2011 Jan. 2014
Suza A 38 40 40 40 41 28 30 28
Karisimbi (Suza B)           15 16 15
Amahoro 17 18 16 16 17 16 18 17
Umubano 9 9 9 10 11 11 12 11
Hirwa 12 18 13 12 11 12 16 9
Sabinyo 8 8 9 9 9 10 12 8
Gruppe 13 (Agashya) 23 25 24 24 26 22 25 25
Kwitonda 16 17 17 16 18 19 21 18

Rwanda, Volcanoes National Park - research groups

  Feb. 2008 Sep. 2008 Feb. 2009 May 2009 Dec. 2009 May 2011 Nov. 2012 Jan. 2014
Pablo 43 43 43 45 47 47 43 7
Shinda 26 29 28          
Isabukuru 5 7 7 9 10 11 11 16
Titus 10 10 10 7 6 7 9 ?
Kuryama 12 14 14 15 15 15 14 ?
Bwenge 9 11 11 10 11 11 9 11
Inshuti   4 4 6 6 7 ? ?
Ntambara       10 11 11 12 17
Ugenda       19 12 14 9 11
Urugamba         6 5 ?  

Life History Patterns of Female Gorillas

The concept of net energy balance is familiar to all of us: we eat too many calories and we gain weight; we exercise a lot without changing caloric…

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Mountain Gorilla Population Growth

New research from the Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund analyses more than 50 years of demographic data to examine factors influencing variability in the…

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Strengthened Human-Wildlife Conflict Measures Restore Hope in the Virungas

Regardless of the scotching sun and laborious work, a delighted face is the perfect description of Jean Bosco Ntawukibiwabo, as he works on a 3 m deep…

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Motherless Gorillas Beat the Odds

Researchers at the Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund have used more than 50 years of data from Rwanda to discover how maternal loss influences young gorillas'…

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Increased Gorilla Density May Lead to Increased Aggression

The number of mountain gorillas on the Virunga Volcanoes has increased continuously for four decades now, as was shown during the last censuses. The…

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Memories - Working with Two Mountain Gorillas in the Cologne Zoo

Brian Batstone with Coco

The two mountain gorillas from the Virunga Mountains in Rwanda, Coco and Pucker, arrived in the Cologne Zoo in May 1969. At that time it was a very…

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Gorillas in our Midst: the Current Whereabouts of Coco and Pucker

Pucker in her diorama setting in the FMNH (© Janne Granroth)

Dian Fossey's famous book Gorillas in the Mist (1983) contains several memorable episodes from her years of studying the mountain gorillas in the…

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Number of Virunga Gorillas Increased again!

In 2015 to 2016 another gorilla census was conducted in the Virunga Volcanoes - and as the censuses before, the result was very positive again. It…

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Silverback Sagas: Dominance Struggles Among Male Gorillas

When powerful silverbacks jostle for dominance within a group, they can sustain very serious injuries with their long canine teeth. Over the last 30…

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DFGF Celebrates 50 Years of Karisoke

It is 50 years now that Dian Fossey established the Karisoke Research Center to study the little known mountain gorillas in the Volcanoes National…

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Two Silverbacks Die in Rwanda

The 21-year-old silverback male Umushikirano (Rano), leader of Titus group in Volcanoes National Park, was found dead on July 28, 2014 by trackers.…

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The Work of Art of Conservation

[Translate to Englisch:] Schüler der Rushubi-Schule in Musanze, Ruanda, singen ein Friedenslied

Art of Conservation (AoC) is pleased to celebrate our first 7 years of successful creative learning and community development programs about…

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The 2011 Kwita Izina

Performance at the Kwita Izina (© Gabriele Müller-Jensen)

Rwanda demonstrates how much the country values its few remaining mountain gorillas. Every year, Kwita Izina is celebrated in June. All mountain…

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Human Metapneumovirus Infection

Mararo grooming her sick son Impundu (© Magdalena Braum)

The genetic relatedness of mountain gorillas and humans has led to concerns about interspecies transmission of infectious agents. Human-to-gorilla…

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Changing Ecological Conditions

[Translate to EN:] Cyril Grüter auf dem Gipfel

The mountain gorillas of the Virunga Volcano Massif have been the subject of intense research and conservation efforts by the Karisoke Research Center…

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Employee Health in Kahuzi-Biega

A ranger has his EHP health check (© MGVP)

Historically, the Mountain Gorilla Veterinary Project (MGVP), in collaboration with host country national wildlife, natural resource and/or tourism…

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Rapid Decline in the Largest Group of Mountain Gorillas

Interaction between the Pablo group and Beetsme’s group (© Veronica Vecellio, DFGFI)

Pablo's group is the largest habituated group of mountain gorillas in the Volcanoes National Park, Rwanda, or anywhere in the world. The group was…

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Training of HuGo Members

In the villages close to the gorilla national parks in Uganda and Rwanda, HuGo (Human-Gorilla Conflict Intervention) teams are working to improve the…

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Sweaters for Rangers

[Translate to Englisch:] Wildhüter des Kahuzi-Biega-Nationalparks mit neuen Pullovern (© Carlos Schuler)

The rangers of the Kahuzi-Biega National Park, of the Mikeno Sector in the Virunga National Park and of the Volcano National Park received green…

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Rain Jackets for the Rangers

[Translate to EN:] Wildhüter in Ruanda mit ihren neuen Wachsjacken

In the Mikeno Sector of the Virunga National Park and in the Volcano National Park the rangers received high-quality rain jackets from us.

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Rain Jackets and Backpacks for the Rangers

Rangers received urgently needed equipment from us.

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Respiratory Diseases in Mountain Gorillas

Another Twin Birth in Kahuzi-Biega

Situation in the Parc National des Volcans