Rwanda's Gorilla Naming Ceremony Kwita lzina is a time-honoured tradition in which Rwandan families hold a ceremony to name newborn babies. For three decades prior to the first official gorilla naming ceremony in 2005, park rangers and researchers named Rwanda's baby mountain gorillas as part of the ongoing work to monitor and ensure the wellbeing of each individual gorilla in their family and habitat. 

Kwita lzina was also introduced to create greater awareness of the importance of conservation and to also appreciate the role of communities for their on-going and invaluable support to conservation. It has become one of the most important annual conservation events on Rwanda's calendar and is attended by around 30,000 community members and thousands of international, regional and local guests each year. 

Source: Rwanda Development Board