Sabinyo Mountain Gorilla Family: Named after Mount Sabyinyo, a piece of the great Virunga Volcanoes that translates to “old man’s teeth” in Kinyarwanda, Sabyinyo gorilla family stays in Volcanoes National Park and comprises of 9 members that are frequently found in the gentle foothills of Mt. Sabyinyo and Mt Mgahinga

Mount Sabyinyo, which is a part of the enormous Virunga Volcanoes, is the inspiration for the naming of the nine-member gorilla family that lives in Volcanoes National Park and goes by the name Sabinyo. The name Mount Sabyinyo literally translates to “old man’s teeth.” They can be observed frequently on the gentle slopes of Mount Sabyinyo and Mount Mgahinga. People find it easy to approach the Sabyinyo group and ask to be assigned to a trek because it is one of the groups that is located the closest to the park and is often located at the park’s edges. On a good day, you may have access to this group in as little as two hours. If you act quickly, you may even have access sooner.

In the past, members of this gorilla family were referred to as Amavubi, which is the word for “wasps” in the native Kinyarwanda language. This particular family was also the one that was the most challenging to adjust to.

Nobody knew where it came from. With the unexpected death of a prominent silverback who commanded group thirteen in 1992, many females from group thirteen were kidnapped and later joined by females from group 11 and two silverbacks to start a new group, which was eventually given the name Sabyinyo.

The Sabyinyo group is led by the dominant silverback, who was older, larger, and undeniably stronger than the other two silverbacks in the group as well as the other gorillas in the group. The family is well-known for its giant silverback, Guhonda, who is the largest silverback in the park and weighs approximately 220 kilograms. Guhonda belongs to this family. In order to preserve his position as the dominant silverback in the family, Guhonda has isolated Ryango, the family’s primary rival, from the rest of the members.

There is one young male mountain gorilla, two young female mountain gorillas, and three adult female mountain gorillas present. Everyone has an interest in going to see the Sabyinyo gorilla group because they are such an impressive family. It begins with exciting activities such as ascending through the dense vegetation and forested slopes of Mt. Sabyinyo and Gahinga, which allowed us to have an amazing gorilla experience that I personally will never forget.

Because of the proximity of their family to Sabyinyo Silverback Lodge, which is considered to be one of the finest lodges in Volcanoes National Park, we recommend that you reserve a night there if you want to experience a truly deluxe gorilla trek, assuming that you have the financial means to do so.

You may get your permits by going through one of the tour companies that we have recommended, and while you’re there, you can check out some of the ongoing research that was done by Dian Fossey, who was so dedicated to mountain gorillas.