Rare twins born to mountain gorilla family in Virunga National Park
The twin boys appeared to be healthy when they were spotted, officials said.
Rare mountain gorilla twins have been born in the Democratic Republic of Congo’s Virunga National Park, officials have said.
Community trackers responsible for monitoring the health of mountain gorillas discovered the newborn twins, the first births recorded in 2026 and a rare event for the endangered ape.
Park officials said that after further investigation, it was confirmed the twins had been born to adult female Mafuko, and were two boys – with both appearing to be in healthy condition at the time they were spotted.
Their births bring the Bageni family of gorillas to 59 individuals, the largest group in Virunga National Park, and “represents a major event” for the family and ongoing conservation efforts to increase the gorilla population in the reserve, a statement from the park said.
“Twin births among mountain gorillas are rare and present additional challenges, particularly during the early months when infants are entirely dependent on their mother for care and transport.
“Following the births, additional monitoring and protection measures will be deployed to closely observe the twins and support their health and survival during this critical early period,” the statement said.
Their mother Mafuko was born into the Kabirizi family in 2003, and stayed with the group after her mother was killed by armed individuals when she was four.
During the split of the Kabirizi family in 2013, she joined the Bageni family, and now aged 22, she has given birth to a total of seven babies, including a set of twins in 2016 who died a week after birth, officials said.
Mountain gorillas, one of the two subspecies of eastern gorillas, are found in two populations in mountainous forest areas straddling between the Democratic Republic of Congo, Uganda and Rwanda – with an estimated population of around 1,000, up from 400 individuals in the 1980s.
