August 2015 - Cristina Berselli Nature Photography

Mountain Gorilla silverback  "Charles"- M5321
 (Gorilla beringei beringei)
Volcanoes National Park, Rwanda - August  2015
70-300mm
[1]

"The President" Charles: of Umubano Group. "Umubano meaning "neighborliness" and as a family of 11 individuals: 1 Silverback; 1 Sub adult male; 3 Adult females and 6 Babies. Umubano were originally Amahoro members but broke off after the dominant silverback (Ubumwe) was challenged by Charles, now the leader of Umubano.
As Charles matured into a silverback of the same rank as Ubumwe, he could not stand being given orders and decided to stage a fight and challenge Ubumwe. The fight went on for weeks and then months. Finally, Charles managed to snatch from Ubumwe a few females and formed his own group; thus Umubano was formed. Since then, he has commanded respect and recognition from Ubumwe. We have observed, on various occasions, interactions between the two silverbacks, but no fighting has been seen since the great battle ended. Each Gorilla Group Family has their own disctinct personality and that is why that many choose to trek more than one Gorilla Group.
The trek to the Umubano Gorilla family Group is of medium difficulty and can be done by most of those who are coming to trek Gorillas. It was exciting to be touched four times to these gentle giants and be involved in their friendly chores! An unforgettable experience ...

If you want to see other shots about it go to ... Africa - Rwanda

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