Endangered mountain gorilla gives birth to rare twins in Congo:

An endangered mountain gorilla has given birth to twins in the Virunga National Park in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo, whose remarkable biodiversity has long been threatened by the region’s litany of conflicts.

According to scientists, less than one percent of mountain gorilla pregnancies result in twins, with the Democratic Republic of the Congo recording a previous case in 2020, also in the UNESCO World Heritage-listed Virunga reserve. In a social media post, the park called it a “rare and notable event.”

“The two newborns are boys,” park manager Methode Uhoze told News by telephone on Thursday.

“Despite the challenges, life triumphs,” the Congolese Institute for Nature Conservation, which manages the DRC’s national parks, said on social media, posting a photo of the mother holding the two tiny babies in her arms.

According to guards, a team of trackers spotted the twins on Saturday, with tracking and protection measures in place to increase their chances of survival.

The twins were born to a 22-year-old female named Mafuko, who is part of the Bageni family of mountain gorillas, the park said. Currently the family has 59 members, the largest on the reserve.

Mafuko gave birth to a total of seven newborns, including a set of twins in 2016, but those twins died a week after birth, the reserve said.

Mafuko was born into the Kabirizi family in 2003, but her mother was shot dead in 2007, according to the park. In 2013, the Kabirizi family split and Mafuko joined the Bageni family. Three years later, his sister Tumaini joined the family, the park said.

“The birth of these twins represents an important development for the Bageni family dynamic and for ongoing conservation efforts to support the continued growth of the endangered mountain gorilla population within Virunga National Park,” the reserve said in a statement.

Virunga Park, opened in 1925, has the distinction of being the oldest nature reserve in Africa.

The reservation, which stretches across 3,000 square miles near the borders with Rwanda and Uganda, includes territory controlled by the M23 militia.

The M23 has seized large areas of eastern Congo with Rwandan backing and has expanded its influence in the region in recent months.

The Virunga forests are also believed to have been used as a hideout by fighters from the Allied Democratic Forces, who have pledged allegiance to the Islamic State jihadist group.

It is estimated that just over 1,000 mountain gorillas live in the wild.

According to the reserve authorities, the Virunga park was home to 350 great apes in 2021.

Eight more mountain gorilla births were recorded in Virunga in 2025, according to park spokesperson Bienvenu Bwende.