A Grauer’s gorilla reintroduced to the wild in the Democratic Republic of Congo has given birth to her first baby, offering a rare conservation success story for one of Africa’s most threatened great apes.
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Lulingu, a Grauer’s gorilla (Gorilla beringei graueri), gave birth in May 2026 after being reintroduced to Virunga National Park in eastern DRC in 2024.
The birth is particularly significant because Lulingu was once a rescued orphan. Conservationists at the Gorilla Rehabilitation and Conservation Education Centre (GRACE) cared for her for years before she was returned to the wild.
‘The baby and the mother are doing perfectly well. It really makes us happy. We are proud of her, it is also a bit of our success,’ Jackson Kabuyaya Mbeke, country director of GRACE, told Mongabay.
‘Imagine, we knew her as a baby, we watched her grow, be rehabilitated her, and now she is a mother.’
From rescued orphan to wild mother
Lulingu arrived at GRACE in 2016 when she was around 18 months old. She had been rescued from an illegal wildlife trafficking network by the Congolese Wildlife Authority and the NGO Gorilla Doctors.
At GRACE’s 16-hectare sanctuary, she was given space to forage, socialise and develop natural behaviours alongside other rescued gorillas. The sanctuary aims to prepare animals for eventual release into suitable forest habitat.
Lulingu was among four Grauer’s gorillas reintroduced to the wild near Mount Tshiaberimu in Virunga National Park in October 2024. Mongabay reported at the time that the release was the largest reintroduction of eastern gorillas ever carried out in Africa.
Her successful birth suggests that she has adapted to life in the wild.
‘The fact that Lulingu has had a baby is a sign that she has adapted well to life in the wild,’ Mbeke told Mongabay.
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A significant birth for a threatened species
Grauer’s gorillas, also known as eastern lowland gorillas, are found only in the forests of eastern DRC.
They are the largest of the gorillas and are classified as critically endangered. Their numbers have declined dramatically because of threats including habitat loss, hunting and the effects of prolonged conflict.
A 2016 estimate placed the population at fewer than 3,800 animals, down from an estimated 16,900 in 1994. Mongabay notes that the figure is now dated, with insecurity making it difficult to conduct reliable population surveys in some areas.
That makes the successful reproduction of a reintroduced female particularly encouraging for conservationists.
GRACE is now considering whether more rescued gorillas could eventually be returned to the wild.
‘Thanks to this success, we are now looking at whether we will reintroduce more gorillas into the wild. We are in the preparatory phase,’ Mbeke said.
Conservation continues amid conflict
The birth comes against a challenging backdrop.
Virunga National Park, Africa’s oldest national park, lies in a region affected by prolonged armed conflict. Security problems have made it difficult for conservation teams to patrol and monitor parts of the park, while poaching, illegal resource extraction and habitat destruction remain concerns.
Despite these challenges, conservationists continue working to protect the park’s wildlife and restore species to areas where they once lived.
Lulingu’s new arrival is also expected to become part of a community conservation effort. Local communities will be invited to suggest names for the baby, with a vote planned before the name is announced at a ceremony.
For conservationists who watched Lulingu grow from a rescued infant into a wild mother, the birth represents more than a new gorilla. It is evidence that carefully managed rehabilitation and rewilding can give rescued animals another chance in their natural habitat.
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