Susa Gorilla Group

Aside from Uganda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Rwanda, a nation of a thousand hills, is one of the three nations in the world that are home to mountain gorillas.

One of the biggest apes in the monkey family, mountain gorillas are an endangered natural species. The human DNA of mountain gorillas is 98% similar to that of chimpanzees and baboons.

The rainforests of Volcanoes National Park, which is situated in northwest Rwanda and is approximately two hours from Kigali Airport, are home to these endangered animals.

The Virunga region, which includes the three Virunga volcanoes Karisimbi, Mikeno, and Bisoke, is home to Volcanoes National Park.

Only 300 of the 400 mountain gorillas that live in the Virungas inhabit the gently sloping forest slopes of the volcanic mountains in the Volcanoes National Park.

There are ten habituated mountain gorillas in Volcanoes National Park, and they are usually accessible to visitors.
Only eight tourists hike with the Susa family group each day, and they are supposed to spend exactly one hour with the gorilla family, making them one of the families for gorilla habituation.

The Susa family is one of the hardest mountain gorilla groups to hike and resides at a comparatively higher elevation.

Dian Fossey, an American zoologist who had spent time researching the mountain gorillas in Rwanda with her research station located in Karisoke, made the family famous and conducted a search for them.

Including the three male gorillas and three silverbacks, the family’s size was recently lowered from 42 to 28 members.

The Susa River, which flows through the region where this gorilla family resides, inspired the family’s name. The Susa family, which includes some of the oldest habituated gorillas still alive, is well-known for its twin mountain gorillas, Impano and Byishimo.

Since this family is difficult to find and requires a lengthy trip, it can only be traveled by courageous, physically fit people who have a passion for gorilla trekking.

To make trekking easier for the tourists, the rangers and guides go into the jungle first to find the family.

Trekking with this family is quite thrilling, and visitors can take in the action as they watch the twin babies play and leap around.