This blog was written by Dr. Eddy in DRC.

Humba eating a leaf given by an adult female.Humba group has 14individuals and its home ranger is in the Bukima area of the Mikeno sector in Virunga National Park. In my opinion, Humba is the best and most peaceful family to visit. The silverback Humba is always quiet and well habituated to human presence as well as the rest the group member. Humba’s family has one blackback named Nyakamwe who is second in command will very soon become a silverback. Nyakamwe plays a very important role in the group during interactions with other groups, like Kabirizi. He defends the group sometimes while Humba is taking away from the rest of the group and vice versa.Humba

During my most recent visit, we found the leader Humba and his deputy Nyakamwe lying sleeping deeply and quietly in one place while the rest of the group was eating in different area which had plenty of food in it. Humba didn’t really care about our presence but Nyakamwe gave us a look and vocalized, then continued to sleep.

Baby in Humba group.After observing the two big guys, we continued to observe the rest of the group. The adult female Gato with her young baby Kanyangara and the juvenile Kanyaruna were moving together. Another adult female, Bonane, was resting with her baby. At 6 meters away we saw two sub-adult gorillas, Matembela and Mahindure resting and playing sometimes together. After an hour and 20 minutes of observation we saw all  14individuals of the group. When we left Humba was awake and eating, being followed by the rest of the group.

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