According to a report by the International Union for Conservation of Nature in 2016, the total population of mountain gorillas living in the wild is about 880. These remaining critically endangered gorillas live within four national parks in the central African countries of Uganda, Rwanda, and the Democratic Republic of Congo. For decades, the survival of mountain gorillas has been threatened by human activity—by habitat loss due to farming, by war and unrest that can cause both physical harm and habitat loss, and by poaching—either intentional trapping or unintentional harm caused by traps set for other animals. Conservation efforts in recent years appear to have encouraging results, as the mountain gorilla population has grown from a low point in the early 1980s, when only about 254 were counted in the Virunga Mountains. The work to protect the gorillas involves a combination of supporting the neighboring communities, the promotion of responsible tourism, and active protection against poaching.
Mountain Gorillas at Home
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Read moreA baby mountain gorilla sits on a branch inside Virunga National Park, the oldest national park in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. #
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Read moreThe border, where farmland meets the Bwindi Impenetrable Forest and National Park in Uganda. #
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Read moreA mountain gorilla from the family of mountain gorillas named Amahoro, which means "peace" in Kinyarwanda, the Rwandan language, forages for food high in a tree in the dense forest on the slopes of Mount Bisoke volcano in Volcanoes National Park, northern Rwanda, on September 4, 2015. #
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Read moreA member of the Amahoro family of mountain gorillas takes a rest in the dense forest on the slopes of Mount Bisoke volcano in Volcanoes National Park, Rwanda, on September 4, 2015. #
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Read moreA female mountain gorilla sits in a tree in Bwindi Impenetrable National Park on September 23, 2009, bordering Democratic Republic of Congo and Rwanda. #
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Read moreAfter being occupied by the rebel movement CNDP under rebel Congolese Tutsi General Laurent Nkunda for more than a year, this was the first sighting of a mountain gorilla by Congolese Conservation Authorities in North Kivu, DRC, on November 25, 2008. The gorilla sector of the park was occupied by the rebel movement in September of 2007 and nearly all park rangers had to flee the fighting. Emmanuel De Merode, the Director of Virunga National Park, negotiated with CNDP and General Nkunda to return the ICCN rangers to the Park. #
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Read moreA view of part of the southern sector of Virunga National Park, photographed from CNDP rebel-controlled Rumangabo, DRC, on November 24, 2008. #
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Read moreA baby mountain gorilla clings to the back of its mother on Mount Bisoke volcano in Volcanoes National Park, northern Rwanda, on September 4, 2015. At the time, Rwanda named 24 baby mountain gorillas in an annual naming ceremony that reflected the African country's efforts to protect the endangered animals, which attract large numbers of foreign tourists to the volcano-studded forests where they live. #
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Read moreAn adult female mountain gorilla from the Kabirizi family sits on a cliff in Virunga National Park, just north of the eastern Congolese city of Goma, on August 19, 2010. #
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Read moreA mountain gorilla walks a path in Uganda's Bwindi Impenetrable National Park. #
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Read moreEndangered mountain gorillas from the Bitukura family play inside a forest in Bwindi Impenetrable National Park in the Ruhija sector of the park, on May 24, 2013. #
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Read moreA gorilla watches as Ranger Sekibibi Bareke takes notes during a trip to the forest on the slopes of Mount Mikeno in Virunga National Park, Eastern DRC, on December 12, 2008. #
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Read moreTwo mountain gorillas lay on a bed of brush in a clearing on the slopes of Mount Mikeno in Virunga National Park on November 28, 2008. #
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Read moreAn endangered silverback mountain gorilla plays in the forest in Virunga National Park outside Goma, DRC, on September 30, 2006. #
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Read moreA gorilla picks foliage to eat in a clearing on the slopes of Mount Mikeno in Virunga National Park on November 28, 2008. #
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Read moreA baby mountain gorilla plays near another one and a female adult in a clearing on the slopes of Mount Mikeno in Virunga National Park on November 28, 2008. #
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Read moreA man walks through dense plant growth in the gorilla sector of Virunga National Park on August 6, 2013, in Bulima, DRC. #
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Read moreAn endangered silverback mountain gorilla rests in the forest in Virunga National Park outside Goma, DRC, on September 30, 2006. #
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Read moreA mountain gorilla from the Amahoro family chews on leaves under tall bamboo in the dense forest on the slopes of Mount Bisoke volcano in Volcanoes National Park, northern Rwanda, on September 4, 2015. #
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Read moreThe first sighting of new mountain gorilla babies in the family of Kabirizi on November 25, 2008. There appeared to be at least five new births in the family at the time, the first sighting of mountain gorillas in Virunga National Park by ICCN Congolese Conservation Authority rangers since the gorilla sector had been occupied by the rebel movement CNDP 15 months earlier. #
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