Join us celebrating a milestone year for the 18th annual Kwita Izina gorilla naming ceremony! With so many milestones to celebrate, join us in Kinigi, Musanze this September 2rd 2022, as we name 20 new baby gorillas! #KwitaIzina2022

Kwita Izina 2022 happened live in Rwanda’s Volcanoes National Park, the home of Rwanda’s endangered mountain gorillas. When names are given to young gorillas born within the year, Rwanda holds the Kwita Izina annual ceremony. After being held virtually the prior two years due to COVID-19, the ceremony returns to Kinigi, the headquarters of Volcanoes National Park.

Kwita Izina is based on a well-known Rwandan custom of naming children in front of an audience that includes family and friends. 354 mountain gorillas have received names since the ceremony's inception in 2005. The 18th Kwita Izina ceremony was held in Rwanda on September 2, 2022. The naming of these young gorillas has greatly improved their protection because it makes it simple for trackers and rangers to keep an eye on them regularly in the wild. Additionally, the ceremony raised international as well as local levels of awareness about the need to protect wildlife.

Rwanda’s Kwita Izina gorilla naming ceremony began as a small local tradition and celebration but has since gained popularity on a national and international scale. The ceremony now draws a large number of prominent international guests each year, including athletes, celebrities, diplomats, and environmentalists. Some of these visitors are chosen and given the opportunity to suggest names for the baby gorillas.

The Kwita Izina 2022 event, which featured the naming of twenty young gorillas as Namers of Kwita Izina 2022, included high-profile guests such as Prince Charles as well as well-known people from various fields and countries.

Mountain gorillas are one of the four subspecies of gorillas and are found only in the Virunga Mountains of Rwanda, Uganda, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, as well as Bwindi Impenetrable Forest National Park in southwest Uganda. According to the most recent census of gorillas, there are approximately 1,064 mountain gorillas. The average mountain gorilla is approximately 1.8 meters tall and weighs 170 kilograms. Gorillas eat primarily bamboo shoots, roots, and wild fruit and have 98% of our DNA.

Volcanoes National Park is part of the Virunga Mountains and shares borders with Rwanda, Uganda, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. It is perched in the northwest part of Rwanda and is famous for protecting the critically endangered mountain gorilla. In addition to more than 350 mountain gorillas, Volcanoes National Park safeguards numerous other species like golden monkeys, bird species, mammal species, and more. Five of the Virunga Massif volcanoes can be hiked in the Volcanoes National Park, such as Mount Karisimbi, Mount Bisoke, Mount Sabyinyo, Mount Gahinga, and Mount Muhabura, to name a few.

Volcanoes National Park consists of a diverse mosaic of evergreen bamboo forest, open grassland, swamp, and heath montane ecosystems. Volcanoes national park Other thrilling activities that tourists can experience in and around Volcanoes National Park include golden monkey tracking, bird watching, hiking the Virunga mountains, canoeing, mountain biking, and village visits.