Conservationists in the Democratic Republic of Congo have welcomed the rare birth of twin mountain gorillas in Virunga National Park, one of the world’s most important sanctuaries for the endangered species.
The twins were discovered on Saturday by community trackers, who found their 22-year-old mother, Mafuko, cradling her newborn sons in the forest. Park officials say both the mother and the infants appear healthy and are being closely monitored during the critical early weeks.
Twin births among mountain gorillas are extremely uncommon, accounting for an estimated 1% of all births, although exact figures are difficult to confirm.
Virunga National Park, located in eastern DR Congo, is Africa’s oldest national park and was established a century ago to protect mountain gorillas. Fewer than 1,100 of the primates remain in the wild, and they are found only in the Virunga region and neighbouring protected areas in Rwanda and Uganda, according to the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN).
The last recorded birth of mountain gorilla twins in Virunga occurred in September 2020. Mafuko herself previously gave birth to twins in 2016, but both infants died within a week.
Young gorillas depend entirely on their mothers for survival, making the early stages of life particularly dangerous, especially in a region affected by poaching and the presence of armed groups. Park authorities say extra protection and monitoring measures have been put in place to improve the twins’ chances of survival.
Female gorillas have a pregnancy period of about eight and a half months and usually give birth only once every four years.
Mafuko’s own life story reflects the challenges faced by gorillas in the region. Born in 2003 into the Kabirizi family, she lost her mother to armed attackers at the age of four before later joining the Bageni family. She has since given birth five times.
Virunga, a Unesco World Heritage Site covering nearly 7,800 square kilometres, is known for its dramatic landscapes, ranging from volcanoes and lakes to dense rainforest and mountains.
Thanks to sustained anti-poaching patrols and community-based conservation programmes supported by partners including the European Union and Unesco, mountain gorilla numbers in Virunga have gradually increased. In 2018, this progress led the IUCN to reclassify the species from “critically endangered” to “endangered”.
Conservationists say the birth of Mafuko’s twins is a rare and encouraging sign for the future of mountain gorillas.
