48 pieces · AnimalsPhoto by Joe McKenna, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons. An eastern lowland gorilla (Grauer's gorilla) infant in the Cimanuka group at Kahuzi-Biega National Park, Democratic Republic of the Congo — the same critically endangered subspecies as the rewilded mother and baby reported from Virunga in 2026, photographed at a different Congolese park.
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An Orphaned Gorilla Was Returned to the Wild — and Became a Mother
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An Orphaned Gorilla Was Returned to the Wild — and Became a Mother
The eastern lowland gorilla, also called Grauer's gorilla, lives only in the mountainous forests of eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo. It is the largest of the four gorilla subspecies and the largest living primate, and it is classified as critically endangered. So the news reported at the start of October 2026 was a genuine first: one of the first eastern lowland gorillas ever successfully returned to the wild had given birth, on 21 May, on Mount Tshiaberimu in Virunga National Park.
The mother, Lulingu, was recovered from the illegal wildlife trade at eighteen months old — the youngest orphan ever brought to GRACE, the only sanctuary in the world for rescued eastern lowland gorillas. She was raised there with round-the-clock care before another gorilla, Pinga, took over as her surrogate mother. At the end of 2024 Lulingu and three other females were moved from the sanctuary in North Kivu to Virunga, and in December 2024 they were released, joining a wild silverback's family group — the end of a rewilding process that had run for more than five years, led by GRACE and Virunga National Park with local communities and support from Gorilla Doctors and Re:wild. Her infant was fathered by that wild silverback, which is the clearest possible sign that she integrated. The monitoring team tracked the pregnancy without ever touching her, collecting urine from leaves and testing it with ordinary human pregnancy tests. None of the four released females has needed veterinary treatment for illness or injury since going back to the forest, and rangers report seeing Lulingu nursing, cradling and playing with the baby. The birth matters beyond one animal: the gorilla population on Tshiaberimu is small and isolated, and new genes are exactly what it needs.
The photograph is a young eastern lowland gorilla in Congolese forest, and as a jigsaw it is a classic subject-against-foliage problem. Start with the face — the eyes, the creased brow and the broad grey muzzle are the only warm, smooth, high-contrast area anywhere in the image, and they will go together quickly. Work outward to the hand resting against the chest, which gives you another patch of grey skin and clean finger lines. After that you are dealing with two large, awkward regions. The gorilla's coat is almost uniformly black, so colour is useless there and direction is everything: read which way the fur is lying and match the grain rather than the shade. The background is the opposite problem — bright green blades crossing at hard angles over a dark, out-of-focus understorey. Those blades are your friend, because each one is a long straight line that can only continue one way, so build the leaves as chains and let them close the gaps around the animal.
How to play
- Tap Play A Rewilded Gorilla's First Infant puzzle to open the puzzle board, then choose your piece count and difficulty.
- Drag pieces from the tray onto the board and snap them into place until the full image is complete. Works with mouse on desktop and touch on mobile.
- Use the Preview button on the play screen to peek at the full reference image whenever you need a hint.
- When you finish, check your solve time on the completion screen and share it with friends to see who can beat your record.
Frequently asked questions
- What happened, and why is it a first?
- Lulingu, one of the first eastern lowland gorillas ever successfully returned to the wild, gave birth on 21 May on Mount Tshiaberimu in Virunga National Park, Democratic Republic of the Congo. She was one of four females released there in December 2024 after a rewilding process of more than five years. The infant was fathered by a wild silverback from the group she joined, which means she did not simply survive in the wild — she integrated into a wild population and bred there.
- What is an eastern lowland gorilla?
- Gorilla beringei graueri, also known as Grauer's gorilla — a critically endangered subspecies endemic to the mountainous forests of eastern DR Congo, found nowhere else. It is the largest of the four gorilla subspecies and the largest living primate. Important populations live in Kahuzi-Biega and Maiko National Parks, the Tayna Gorilla Reserve, the Usala forest and the Itombwe Massif. A 2016 estimate put the wild population at fewer than 3,800, though a 2021 survey suggested a figure of up to 6,800.
- How did anyone know she was pregnant?
- Non-invasively. A monitoring team has followed the family group closely since the release, watching feeding behaviour and collecting urine samples from leaves, then testing them with ordinary human pregnancy tests to detect the raised hormone levels associated with pregnancy. No handling and no veterinary intervention were involved — and according to the field veterinary team, none of the four rewilded females has needed treatment for illness or injury since being returned to the wild.
- Was this photograph taken at Virunga?
- No. It shows an infant of the same subspecies — an eastern lowland gorilla, from the Cimanuka group — but it was photographed at Kahuzi-Biega National Park, a separate Congolese park and one of the subspecies' main strongholds, rather than on Mount Tshiaberimu. We publish only openly licensed images, and this one is by Joe McKenna under a CC BY 2.0 licence via Wikimedia Commons, credited beneath the picture.