Rare gorilla twins born in conflict-hit Virunga National Park in DR Congo

A mountain gorilla has given birth to twins in the Virunga National Park in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo.

Scientists say fewer than one per cent of pregnancies in the endangered primate result in twins.

The remarkable biodiversity in Virunga, Africa’s oldest nature reserve, has survived despite decades of conflict in the region.

Images provided by the park show mom, Mafuko, holding the tiny sons she gave birth to earlier this month.

Wardens spotted the babies a few days ago and say monitoring and protection measures have been put in place to increase their chances of survival.

The International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) says mountain gorillas are only found in Virunga and parks in neighbouring Uganda and Rwanda.

About 1,000 of the primates are estimated to live in the wild.