The birth of twin mountain gorillas in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) is raising hopes for the survival of one of the world’s most threatened great apes. “For me, it is a huge sign of hope and a great way to start the new year,” Katie Fawcett, science director with the DRC-based Gorilla Rehabilitation and Conservation Education Center (GRACE) told Mongabay in a phone call. The twins were delivered by a mother gorilla named Mafuko and were discovered Jan. 3 in Virunga National Park, in the DRC. The two newborns are male. Both appeared to be in healthy condition, the park team shared in a press release. “It is very rare. Since I was born, I think it has happened fewer than 10 times. It is a very great and unusual event,” Fawcett said. In 2025 GRACE successfully rewilded three gorillas in Virunga National Park. Mountain gorillas (Gorilla beringei beringei) are found only in the DRC, Rwanda and Uganda where they live almost entirely in the national parks of East Africa’s Virunga Mountains. Mountain gorillas are one of two subspecies of eastern gorillas (G. beringei). They are considered endangered, while eastern gorillas as a whole are critically endangered, according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). Virunga park authorities are celebrating the twin birth as a success from “ongoing conservation efforts to support the continued growth of the endangered mountain gorilla population,” the park said in a statement to Mongabay. However, caring for the twins remains a…This article was originally published on Mongabay
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