Kadogo is a very special silverback indeed - he is Innocent ’s favorite. He is the only bald mountain gorilla in the world. He was born bald. Bald and very small, and so he was named ‘Kadogo’; the Swahili word for ‘small.’

Despite being a playful and curious creature by nature, Kadogo has had his share of scrapes. In July 2009 the team tracking the Munyaga Group heard two silverbacks fighting, screeching and breaking branches in the distance. The team, including Rangers Yaya Mburanumwe and Martin Kazerezi, followed the tracks in the direction of the noise and soon found fresh blood on the forest floor.

Then they found Kadogo. He had scratches on his head and bite wounds to both of his feet which were bleeding quite a bit and bothering him. Kadogo spent a lot of time licking his wounds and cleaning his feet and, as a consequence, he could keep up with the group. By September of that year he had fully recovered.