Mountain Gorilla Numbers on the Rise
New Count Released From Survey Increases Total Mountain Gorilla Population
By UC Davis News and Media Relations on December 16, 2019
"A 2018 survey shows that mountain gorilla numbers have increased in Bwindi Impenetrable National Park, Uganda, and Sarambwe Reserve, DR Congo, according to the Uganda Wildlife Authority. The 2018 Bwindi-Sarambwe mountain gorilla survey found a minimum of 459 mountain gorillas in these regions, an increase from the previous survey estimate in 2011 of 400.
When combined with the 2015-2016 population survey results of 604 mountain gorillas in the Virunga Massif, the total world population of endangered mountain gorillas now stands at 1,063.
'Mountain gorillas are the only great ape in the wild whose numbers are increasing but their total population number is small so we must remain vigilant,' said Kirsten Gilardi, Gorilla Doctors’ executive director, chief veterinary officer and co-director of the Karen C. Drayer Wildlife Health Center at the University of California, Davis. 'Given ongoing risks to mountain gorillas such as habitat encroachment, potential disease transmission, poaching and civil unrest, this increase should serve as both a celebration and a clarion call to all government, NGO and institutional partners to continue to collaborate in our work to ensure the survival of mountain gorillas.'"