Hirwa group is found in Volcanoes National Park in Rwanda and is led by the silverback gorilla Munyinya.  Hirwa gorilla group came into the limelight on the 17th of June 2006 when trackers witnessed its formation by the merging of some members from two different existing families, namely from Group 13 and Sabyinyo making a very small group then. As luck would have it, other gorillas joined the group and now Hirwa has 9 individuals: 1 Silverback; 3 Adult females; 2 Sub adult females and 3 Babies.

Some members of the Hirwa gorilla group are twins, born in 2011 to Kabatwa. Mountain gorilla twins are very rare and there are only three pairs in Rwanda’s  Volcanoes National Park as of to date.

But now, having met ‘our’ group, I needed to understand gorilla families, where they live, and who they are.

Despite being the newest gorilla group on the block, Hirwa exhibits strength and holds its own amongst all the other established groups.