Super User 13 October 2023

Best Travel Guide To Senkwekwe Gorilla Orphanage, Virunga National Park In DR Congo

Take a wildlife Safari in the Virunga National Park in eastern DR Congo and enjoy a tour of the Senkwekwe Gorilla Orphanage. Situated at Virunga National Park’s headquarters at Rumangabo, the Senkwekwe Centre is the world’s only facility for orphaned mountain gorillas. With the expert staff that provides daily care for the orphans, who were each separated from their families due to the impact of poaching, the Senkwekwe Centre is a unique sanctuary offering the gorillas the chance to lead happy and secure lives in their forested enclosure.

Visiting the Centre allows visitors to get close and personal with the primates – sometimes even more than gorilla trekking. The only difference is that the gorillas at the Centre live in a sealed section of forest.

An enormous silverback called Senkwekwe inspired the name of this facility. Senkwekwe was slain by poachers as he sought to defend his family and reclaim an animal trafficker’s kidnapped baby. The Center is situated in a forest, so the primates may have a taste of life in the wild.

Gorilla orphans from the eastern lowlands that reside in Kahuzi Biega National Park also are temporarily housed at the institution before being returned to their natural habitat.

The Senkwekwe Centre has grown in size as more orphans were introduced into the Centre. The orphanage is located in an ideal place that is very spacious. It is a large section of forest with fruits and vegetation for the gorillas to feed on.

Gorilla Orphans at the Center:

Currently, there are about 7 orphaned gorillas at the Centre. Most of these orphaned gorillas were obtained from Virunga and Kahuzi Biega National Park after losing their parents to poachers, rebels, and pet traders.

History and Famous Gorilla Residents of the Senkwekwe Center:

In early 2009, Park Rangers regained control of Virunga after a period of armed conflict. Shortly after, Park staff began raising awareness of two young orphan mountain gorillas that were in their care. Orphans Ndeze and Ndakasi had been forced by the circumstances of war to live in a tiny compound in the nearby city of Goma. Unlike their natural environment, Goma is heavily polluted, noisy, and largely built on a lava flow devoid of vegetation.

Once the Southern Sector was once again secure, a team set out to raise money to build a care facility at the Park headquarters in Rumangabo. The site chosen for the facility was perfect: lush forest, teaming with wildlife, expansive – and safe.

At the end of 2010, two more orphan mountain gorillas, Maisha and Koboko, were transferred to the Senkwekwe Center. They came from Rwanda where they had been living in a small facility. The four gorillas settled in nicely and soon became a tightly-knit family. Sadly, both Koboko and Maisha are no longer at the Center, having passed away due to health complications.

The circumstances that led to Matabishi being abandoned in a cornfield in June 2013 are unknown, though it is suspected due to his injuries that he had been captured and restrained by poachers who sought to trade him illegally. Since recovering from his injuries at the Senkwekwe Center, Matabishi has continually grown in both confidence and stature, leading to his natural self-proclamation as the group’s dominant gorilla.

In 2017, Rangers found Mazuka caught in a snare. She had been trapped for a few days; her foot was badly hurt and septic and needed to be amputated, despite the tremendous efforts of our Rangers and gorilla doctors. Even with her disability, Mazuka had three happy years at Senkwekwe Center, before passing away in March 2021 following a short illness.

Sadly the Senkwekwe Center lost another mountain gorilla in September 2021, Ndakasi having succumbed to prolonged illness. There remain two gorillas at the center, Matabishi, and Ndeze, who are enjoying a semi-wild enclosure that better reflects their wild habitat, constructed with the help of the GRACE foundation in 2022.

Although Virunga’s Park Rangers make great efforts to reduce the threats that mountain gorillas face, the Senkwekwe Center is always ready to take in mountain gorillas who become orphaned through snares, conflict, or by any other means.

The Daily Activities at the Center:

As gorillas are large powerful creatures, it can be a difficult task to care for them – and a clear daily routine is important for the orphans. Wake-up begins around 6:00 a.m. when the gorillas begin to play and receive their breakfast. They are let out into the garden at around 7:30 am where they spend the majority of their day playing and eating. When they were much younger, constant care was needed as they were still very young to be on their own, but today they can be left free without a caretaker within the garden.

At 4:00 pm it is time to return to the enclosure for the night. This entails a bribe of more food to get the orphans back from their playground. Here they remain until the following morning. Dinner comes in the form of porridge with added nutrients and probiotics, which is served at around 5:00 p.m.

They are put to bed with a bunch of fresh leaves for them to build a basic nest. The leaves come in the form of wild celery, which is also edible.

Volunteers who want to learn more about mountain gorillas are welcome at the Senkwekwe Gorilla Orphanage.

To support gorilla conservation, you may sponsor one of the orphans at the Gorilla Sanctuary or donate to the organization. Tourists staying at the luxurious Mikeno Lodge are welcome to visit the Center at no cost.

Management of the Gorilla Orphanage:

The Senkwekwe Gorilla Orphanage is managed by the Virunga Foundation, which also manages the Virunga National Park. The gorilla orphanage is open to tourists who are staying at the Mikeno Lodge at no cost. The Virunga National Park works closely with other wildlife conservation organizations like the Gorilla Doctors and Gorilla Fund International to raise funds.

How to visit the Senkwekwe Mountain Gorilla Orphanage Centre:

The Senkwekwe Gorilla Orphanage Centre is located within the Virunga National Park in the Democratic Republic of Congo. It is built close to the park offices and the luxury Mikeno lodge.

Visiting the Senkwekwe Centre is free but only possible for tourists who are booked at Mikeno Lodge. Other lodges like the Kibumba Tented Camp and the Bukima Tented Camp are built too far away from the Centre.

However, special arrangements can be made on a case-by-case basis from the hotel or with the help of the tour operator. Visiting the Senkwekwe Center is just an additional experience for visitors who mainly come to hike Mount Nyiragongo or do gorilla trekking in Virunga National Park.

Tourist Activities at the Center:

While at the Centre, you can watch as the gorillas are fed or see them make their nests and play with the caretakers. Visitors are allowed to feed the primates under the supervision of the caretakers. Volunteers are always welcome at the Centre but one needs to apply through the Virunga Foundation. Any donations need to be sent through the official website of the Virunga National Park.

Arrange and Book with Ultimate Wild Safaris for the safari tour of Senkwekwe Gorilla Orphanage in the DR Congo.

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