The Pablo family is named after the dominant silverback gorilla called Pablo, who led the group for several years before being succeeded by Cantsbee, who passed away in 2017. Cantsbee was then succeeded by his 23-year-old son, Gicurasi, who continues to lead the group to this day.
The family is monitored and observed daily by staff from the Dian Fossey Fund and is open to tourists for trekking in Volcanoes National Park. This family can be found along the slopes of Mount Karisimbi, an extinct volcano standing at 4,507 meters, making it the highest of the Virunga volcanoes.
Trekking to the Pablo gorilla family has been described by many trekkers as a tough hike due to the steep terrain of Karisimbi Volcano, thick vegetation, and undergrowth.
The Pablo gorilla family has been under close observation by the Dian Fossey Fund since 1976, originating from Group 5, which was studied by the legendary gorilla heroine Dian Fossey herself.
Over time, Group 5 grew larger and split into two in 1993, forming the Pablo group. Today, the group is one of the largest, comprising 26 mountain gorillas. At one point, the group reached its highest number of 64 gorillas, some of whom later migrated to the nearby Susa gorilla family.
Pablo is a historic family from the early 1980s when it was studied by the famous primatologist Dian Fossey. Led then by the youthful silverback Pablo, who had a close relationship with Dian Fossey, which she later wrote about in her book “Gorillas in the Mist”: “Pablo’s sense of frolic was infectious, and his outgoing personality freely expanded within his first year, attracting many other immature gorillas to him.”
After Cantsbee disappeared between 2016 and 2017, the Pablo group split, with the eighteen-year-old Kureba, a youthful silverback, leaving with a few individuals to form his own group. The remaining family was led by silverback Gicurasi, who had taken over from his father, Cantsbee, and continues to lead to this day.
The Pablo group is known to be an interesting family and perfect for infant development, as it contains more infant gorillas than any other group in Volcanoes. It comprises over 6 young gorillas, in addition to sub-adult females, silverbacks, and several black backs, all of which make this group entertaining and highly active.
