Gorillas in the Mist Breed Back from the Brink

NEW YORK, New York, January 20, 2004 (ENS) - So few mountain gorillas exist today that each endangered animal one is counted as precious by conservationists. Unlike their more numerous lowland cousins that are falling victim to bushmeat hunting and disease, mountain gorillas have been slowly increasing in number over the past 14 years.

Mountain gorillas survive in two distinct populations in the mountain ranges of Central Africa. Now the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS), based at New York's Bronx Zoo, has released the encouraging results of a census taken late last year of one of those populations.

The census of the Virunga Volcanoes mountain gorilla population has found that the animals have increased their numbers by 17 percent since 1989, according to conservation authorities in Uganda, Rwanda, the Democratic Republic of Congo, and WCS scientists.

The results indicate a total of 380 gorillas, up from 324 individuals in 1989, the last time conditions were stable enough to conduct such a census.

Between September and October of 2003, the census was conducted by staff from the Uganda Wildlife Authority, the Office Rwandais de Tourisme et Parc Nationaux, the Institut Congolais pour la Conservation de la Nature, each of which manages a portion of the Virunga landscape, and other organizations.

Gorillas in the Virunga Mountains (Photo courtesy Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund International)

Participants recorded data on all gorilla nests and other signs, which were then used to establish the current estimate of 380 gorillas.

Facing the threats of sporadic wars and poaching, the mountain gorillas of the Virungas have climbed back from a low of approximately 260 individuals in 1978, when many believed the mountain gorilla would become extinct. These are the animals made famous by the film "Gorillas In The Mist," about the long term research of Dr. Dian Fossey in the 1970s and 1980s, a time when the gorilla population declined due to poaching and habitat loss.

When considered against the backdrop of regional instability during the past 10 years, the increase is even more encouraging for conservationists.

"This success would not be possible without an effective, collaborative effort across international borders," said WCS Conservationist Dr. Bill Weber, author of "In The Kingdom of Gorillas" and leader of the 1978 census.

"To successfully protect this population under such challenging conditions speaks volumes about the commitment and determination of park personnel in conserving their natural heritage," he said.

There are two main species of gorilla, which include five subspecies, explains the Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund which helped to support the census. The western gorilla includes two subspecies and numbers approximately 100,000, located in west and central Africa. The western lowland gorilla is the species commonly found in zoos.

The eastern gorilla species includes three subspecies and is found in Rwanda, Uganda, and the Democratic Republic of Congo. One of the eastern gorilla subspecies, the eastern lowland gorilla, numbers about 12,000, with very few in captivity.

Two populations of mountain gorillas exist, one in Virunga, and another of 320 mountain gorillas in Uganda's Bwindi Impenetrable National Park, which brings the current worldwide total of mountain gorillas to 700 individuals.

Although far fewer in number than their western relatives, mountain gorillas have had a profound effect on both the public and the naturalists who have encountered them.

While collecting specimens in Africa for the American Museum of Natural History in the early 20th century, U.S. explorer Carl Akeley became concerned about the future of the mountain gorilla. To secure their future he helped to establish Africa's first national park, now Parc National des Virunga, in 1925.

In 1959, George Schaller, senior vice president of WCS's Science and Exploration Program, conducted the first ecological study of mountain gorillas, estimating the total population at that time to be 450 individuals.

In 1979, WCS's Weber and Dr. Amy Vedder helped establish the Mountain Gorilla Project, the forerunner of the International Gorilla Conservation Programme, that combined pioneering ecotourism and education programs, with a more traditional anti-poaching effort.

WCS continues to protect mountain gorillas through applied research on key conservation challenges, and by providing support for the national protected area authorities and the Institute of Tropical Forest Conservation in Uganda.

"The continued recovery of the mountain gorilla in the Virunga Volcanoes is great news at a time when it is desperately needed," said Weber. "It is also a remarkable example of effective conservation during times of both war and peace."

Additional supporters of the census were Berggorilla und Regenwald Directhilfe, the Mountain Gorilla Veterinary Project, and the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology.