A mountain gorilla has given birth to twins in war‑torn eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), a national park said on Wednesday, calling the event “a major event” for the endangered subspecies.
The twin males were born to a 22‑year-old female named Mafuko. The births were discovered on 3 January, and Virunga National Park said the infants “appeared to be in healthy condition at the time of the observation.”
The park warned that caring for twin gorillas can be especially challenging, “particularly during the early months when infants are entirely dependent on their mother for care and transport.” The newborns are being closely monitored to ensure their survival.
Pictures released by the park showed Mafuko holding both infants, sitting on the ground and partly obscured by branches. Mafuko was born into the Kabirizi family but joined the Bageni family six years after her mother was killed by “armed individuals” in 2007.
“The birth of these twins represents a major event for the dynamics of the Bageni family and for ongoing conservation efforts to support the continued growth of the endangered mountain gorilla population within Virunga National Park,” the statement said.
Mafuko has now had seven offspring, including a previous set of twins which died a week after birth in 2016. The Bageni family now numbers 59 members, making it the largest in the park, the statement added.
Conflict effect on wildlife
The Virunga National Park region in eastern DRC has long been affected by armed conflict and rebel activity, complicating conservation efforts and endangering both people and wildlife.
The area around the park has seen renewed fighting in recent years, particularly involving the March 23 Movement (M23), a Rwanda‑backed rebel group that has seized control of significant territory near the park, including key towns such as Rutshuru, Bunagana and Kibumba. However Rwanda deny backing the group.
M23’s advance into these areas, including parts of the provincial capital, Goma, has forced the suspension of tourism and limited ranger patrols in rebel‑held zones.
The rebel group's resurgence is rooted in decades of instability in eastern Congo, where multiple armed groups have operated since the First and Second Congo Wars in the 1990s and early 2000s.
Other groups, such as the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR) and various local militias, have historically controlled or contested areas of the park and its surroundings, often profiting from illegal resource trades and contributing to insecurity.
The ongoing conflict has taken a heavy toll on wildlife and conservation work. Rebels and other armed actors restrict access to certain park sectors, enabling increased poaching and illegal exploitation of natural resources, and have been implicated in attacks on rangers.
As a result, biodiversity in Virunga has declined and hundreds of rangers have been killed over the decades protecting the park.
Storm Kristin has killed at least five people and left more than 850,000 residents of central and northern Portugal without electricity on Wednesday (...
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi's Liberal Democratic Party is likely to increase its number of parliamentary seats and gain a majority in the lower hous...
UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer met Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing on Thursday (29 January) for talks he hopes will deepen economic ties, sign...
U.S. President Donald Trump urged Iran on Wednesday (28 January) to come to the table and make a deal on nuclear weapons or the next U.S. attack would...
Life will be particularly tough for Ukrainians over the next three weeks due to plunging temperatures and a compromised energy infrastructure that has...
In southern Lebanon’s Bkassine forest, once famous for its pine nuts, a silent crisis is stripping trees bare and leaving workers without livelihoods.
The peak of Japan's Mount Fuji was capped with snow for the first time this winter on Thursday, reaching the milestone 21 days later than the average since records began in 1894, the meteorological agency said.
Ocean acidification, caused by rising CO₂, is silently reshaping marine life, threatening shellfish, coral reefs, and coastal communities. Scientists warn its impacts could ripple through food chains, economies, and human livelihoods unless urgent action is taken.
Two men were sentenced to more than four years in prison on Tuesday for felling Britain’s iconic 'Sycamore Gap' tree, a world-famous landmark whose striking silhouette was once featured in a Hollywood film.
France’s National Assembly has approved a bill banning access to social media for children under 15, a move backed by President Emmanuel Macron and the government as part of efforts to protect teenagers’ mental and physical health.
The S&P 500 edged to a record closing high on Tuesday, marking its fifth consecutive day of gains, as strong advances in technology stocks offset a sharp selloff in healthcare shares and a mixed batch of corporate earnings.
Sanctions are a long-used tool designed as an alternative to military force and with the objective of changing governments’ behaviour, but they also end up hurting civilian citizens.
Residents in Syria’s Kurdish-majority city of Qamishli have stepped up volunteer patrols amid growing pressure from the country’s Islamist-led government, expressing deep mistrust of Damascus despite a fragile U.S.-backed ceasefire.
High-level diplomatic consultations were held in Istanbul, Türkiye, on Monday as Ankara seeks to solidify the fragile progress of the Gaza ceasefire and accelerate the delivery of life-saving assistance to the strip.
Storm Kristin has killed at least five people and left more than 850,000 residents of central and northern Portugal without electricity on Wednesday (28 January), as it toppled trees, damaged homes, and disrupted road and rail traffic before moving inland to Spain.
Several people, including children, were reported missing in New Zealand's north island on Thursday after a landslide struck a coastal campsite amid heavy rain that caused evacuations of people to safety, road closures and widespread power outages.
At least four people were killed on Tuesday as floods swept across Tunisia during the worst torrential rain for more than 70 years in some regions, and there were fears the death toll could rise, authorities said.
The world has already entered an era of global water bankruptcy, with irreversible damage to rivers, aquifers, lakes and glaciers pushing billions of people into long-term water insecurity, according to a major United Nations report released on Tuesday.
Chilean President Gabriel Boric declared a state of catastrophe in two southern regions of country on Sunday as raging wildfires forced at least 20,000 people to evacuate and left at least 19 people dead.
You can download the AnewZ application from Play Store and the App Store.
What is your opinion on this topic?
Leave the first comment