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The world’s smallest population of mountain gorillas—a subspecies of the eastern gorilla—is split in two and scientists have debated whether they may be two separate subspecies. A bit more than half live in the Virunga Mountains, a range of extinct volcanoes that border the Democratic Republic of Congo, Rwanda, and Uganda. The remainder can be found in the Bwindi Impenetrable National Park in Uganda. Since the discovery of the mountain gorilla subspecies in 1902, its population has endured years of war, hunting, habitat destruction, and disease—threats so severe that it was once thought the species might be extinct by the end of the twentieth century.
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However due in large part to decades of ongoing efforts and collaboration by the International Gorilla Conservation Programme (IGCP), a unique coalition of three international conservation organizations, WWF, Conservation International (CI), and Fauna & Flora International (FFI), mountain gorilla numbers have been increasing despite these continuous challenges. Together with FFI and the African Wildlife Foundation (AWF), WWF was one of the founding members of IGCP, and along with national and local partners, contributed to this conservation success story and continues to ensure the long-term survival of mountain gorillas.
As their name implies, mountain gorillas live in forests high in the mountains, at elevations of 8,000 to 13,000 feet. They have thicker fur, and more of it, compared to other great apes. The fur helps them to survive in a habitat where temperatures often drop below freezing. But as humans have moved more and more into the gorillas’ territory, the gorillas have been pushed farther up into the mountains for longer periods, forcing them to endure dangerous and sometimes deadly conditions.
The recovery of mountain gorilla populations, despite ongoing civil conflict, poaching, and an encroaching human population in one of Africa’s most volatile regions, is a huge conservation achievement. However, although mountain gorillas are the only great apes whose population size is increasing, they remain a conservation-dependent species and continue to need protection and habitat management if they are to survive.
Sales Gorilla founder Patrick Tinney will be donating a percentage of proceeds from this website to help protect the endangered mountain gorilla. We have attached a link to the World Wildlife Fund so that you may donate to the African Mountain WWF to help save and protect this majestic mammal who shares 80+ percent of our human DNA. Please give generously to the WWF.