Rare twin mountain gorillas born in DRC
In the eastern reaches of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, two newborn mountain gorillas were found early this year, clinging to their mother in Virunga National Park, reports Elodie Toto. Unusual for gorillas, the infants are twins, both male.
Their mother, Mafuko, is known to rangers. She has given birth to twins before. Those infants died within days. This time, the park says the newborns appear healthy, and additional monitoring has begun. For those who have spent decades watching mountain gorillas struggle back from near extinction, the timing matters.
“For me, it is a huge sign of hope and a great way to start the new year,” said Katie Fawcett of the Gorilla Rehabilitation and Conservation Education Center (GRACE Gorillas).
Hope in Virunga is never uncomplicated. The park sits amid armed conflict, illegal charcoal production, and poaching. Rangers patrol under constant threat. Gorillas have been killed by men seeking fuelwood or territory, not trophies.
The species has surprised before. From a few hundred animals in the 1980s, mountain gorillas now number more than 1,000 across the region, enough for the IUCN to lower their risk category. Two infants do not change the arithmetic much, but they reinforce the sense that recovery, though fragile, remains possible.