Also known as the Susa B group, the Karisimbi gorilla family broke off from the original Susa “A” because of continuous fights. It has a total of 10 individuals and it resides along the Karisimbi volcano slopes that stands at 4507 meters and features as the highest mountain peak of Rwanda.
The group is made up of 10 individuals and it always stays in the slopes of Karisimbi Volcano.
History
Since their split from the Susa A group in 2008, at the time of its creation it had 13 members. It was led by Nyagakangaga. The family registered multiple births and it population increased to 15 members. this an increase in the family. The Karisimbi group lives in the higher ranges of Mount Karisimbi, the highest volcano in the Virunga Mountains. On June 28th, 2009 Nyagakangaga who was among several subordinate Silverbacks took 13 individuals and moved away to form his own family. The family was later named Karisimbi in 2010 at the Kwita Izina. The group was named Karisimbi since it lived around Mount Karisimbi in Volcanoes National Park.
In 2012, the Karisimbi Family lost a fraction of its members who formed another group called Isimbi. Today, Karisimbi group is composed of an unknown numbers it crossed to DRC border on October 7th, 2016. By the time of its departure to the Virunga National Park of DR Congo, its members had risen to 10 including 5 Silverbacks, 1 Adult female, 2 Blackbacks, 1 Sub-adult female, 1 Juvenile.
Tracking the Karisimbi Family
Hiking Karisimbi is one of the unique things that made this tracking this family more rewarding than most gorilla groups. It entailed rising towards the highest point in Rwanda from where you can take in views of thousands of majestic hills.
This gorilla family was recommended to trackers with a reasonable degree of physically fitness. Sometimes the gorillas move uphill making it hard to get to them by tourists. This means that you could spend a day full day tracking for these unique creatures.
The Karisimbi Group is better suited to visit for more serious hikers. It appears that they have established their home range high up on the slopes of the Karisimbi caldera. Tracking this gorilla family may sometimes be prohibited because of its distant location.
To make the trekking a little easy, trackers first go to the jungles tracing where the gorillas are and are always able to tell where mountain gorillas would be the next day. If they expect the family to be extremely far, it’s trekking is stopped.