17 October 1902 - discovery of the mountain gorilla
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- ORTPN Mountain Gorilla article [pdf, 292 KB]
- The world's last mountain gorillas at risk from forest clearing [mp3, 3.12 MB]
- Gorillas [mpg, 1.80 MB]
The mountain gorilla, Gorilla beringei beringei, became known to science on 17 October 1902.
In the 100 years since then, these animals have had to endure uncontrolled hunting, war, disease, destruction of their forest habitat, and capture for the illegal pet trade. These factors led to a dramatic decline in numbers. Indeed, there were fears that the mountain gorilla would become extinct in the same century it was discovered.
With the alarm raised, dedicated conservation initiatives were started to save this Critically Endangered gorilla.
Numbers increasing
This ground-breaking work by conservation groups has seen the population grow from 620 in 1989 to around 700 today.
Half the population is found in Uganda’s Bwindi Impenetrable National Park, and the rest in habitat shared by Mgahinga National Park in Uganda, Parc National des Volcans in Northern Rwanda, and the southern sector of Parc National des Virunga in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).
Habitat loss remains one of the greatest threats
More than 100,000 people live in the remote areas where mountain gorillas are found.
Their need for land to cultivate has reduced the forest in which the gorillas live to virtual islands in the middle of human settlements.
Poaching is also a problem, both for meat and for live infants for the live animal trade.
Working to help gorillas, by helping people
In order to combat this and other threats, WWF, Fauna and Flora International (FFI), and the African Wildlife Foundation (AWF) set up the International Gorilla Conservation Programme (IGCP) in 1991.
IGCP, together with local communities and park authorities in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Rwanda, and Uganda, works to protect and effectively manage the habitat and the gorilla population, while taking into account the needs of the local population.
