– credit, Virunga National Park
The Bageni family has a pair of blue balloons outside their mailbox, after this Congolese gorilla clan welcomed twins.
Now numbering 59 individuals, the twins were born to an adult female named Makufu, who will be closely monitored during the babies’ childhood.
Mountain gorillas are a critically-endangered subspecies of the eastern gorilla. Their strongholds concentrated in the sub-Saharan African countries of DRC, Uganda, and Rwanda.
Among their most guarded haunts is the Democratic Republic of the Congo’s Virunga National Park, considering the security environment in the country and the threat of the animals from poaching.
Makufu the now 7th-time mom, used to be part of the Kabirizi family of gorillas, which suffered from poaching, including of her mother.
Nonetheless, mountain gorillas now number around 1,000 individuals, up from 400 in the 1980s, the Independent reports.
“Twin births among mountain gorillas are rare and present additional challenges, particularly during the early months when infants are entirely dependent on their mother for care and transport,” park officials said in a statement.
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“Following the births, additional monitoring and protection measures will be deployed to closely observe the twins and support their health and survival during this critical early period.”
The boys are the first births of this year, and as they appear to be in healthy, robust condition, it’s hoped they will mark an auspicious year for the clan and the species at large.
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