VIRUNGA AND BWINDI GORILLA CENSUS PUTS LATEST NUMBERS AT 1,063
Mountain gorilla baby at Bwindi forest. Photo Credit: Volcanoes Safaris
Data released recently from the 2018 Bwindi-Sarambwe population surveys of the mountain gorillas, known as census, shows a positive increase in gorilla numbers in the famous Bwindi Impenetrable gorilla national park in Uganda and the Virungas in both Congo and Rwanda.
Mountain gorillas in Bwindi Impenetrable Gorilla National park have increased from 400 to 459 in the last eight years according to the gorilla census
The Bwindi-Sarambwe gorilla population survey also showed that out of the 91 mountain gorillas groups in the wild, 51 are resident to the Bwindi Forest. The remaining 41 groups are shared between Uganda (Mgahinga Gorilla National Park), Rwanda and the DR Congo.
Over 1,063 mountain gorillas were counted and this is the largest number of mountain gorillas ever recorded in the transboundary Bwindi-Saranbwe ecosystem, one of the two remaining jungles where these endangered primates exist.
VIDEO: Gorilla Trekking at Bwindi National Park, Uganda – Travelling Accountant
Half of the world’s mountain gorillas are found in Uganda. Besides the 459 gorillas found in 50 groups, there were 13 solitary individuals. These gorillas are either bachelors or elderly.
Mountain gorillas however remain an endangered species and require special protection, in particular in the Virunga National Park in Congo which more often than not resembles a war zone with militias battling it out among themselves as well as with the Congolese national army and UN peacekeepers over control of the priceless mineral resources found inside and outside the park.
The gorilla census was conducted by the protected area authorities in Uganda and the Democratic Republic of Congo (Uganda Wildlife Authority and l’Institut Congolais pour la Conservation de la Nature) under the transboundary framework of the Greater Virunga Transboundary Collaboration.
Photo Credit: Twitter/WWFScotland | Greg Zaret
Thanks to the supported from the national and international conservation organisation partners and funders of the gorilla census
Added information about the mountain gorillas in Uganda’s two dedicated national parks, Bwindi and Mt. Mgahinga, which are now thought to be home to more than half of the overall gorilla population in the region, can be found via or by clicking on www.responsibletourismcompany.com
Collaborative conservation efforts that deliver benefits for people and wildlife can be successful.
Thank to Rwanda Development Board aka RDB, International Gorilla Conservation Programme (a coalition of Conservation International, Fauna & Flora International and WWF), Mammalian Ecology and Conservation Unit (MECU) of the UC Davis Veterinary Genetics Laboratory, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, The Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund, Institute of Tropical Forest Conservation, Gorilla Doctors, Conservation Through Public Health, Wildlife Conservation Society Uganda Country Office, WWF Uganda Country Office, and Bwindi Mgahinga Conservation Trust.
The census was funded by Fauna & Flora International, WWF, and Partners in Conservation at the Columbus Zoo & Aquarium.
If you are a wildlife photographer and looking for something special in 2019, join one of our gorilla trekking trips to Uganda or Rwanda to see rare mountain gorilla in its last remaining habitat. People who spend an hour with gorillas often describe the brief experience in almost religious terms. If you wanted to spend more time with the mountain gorillas, inquire about permits for the gorilla habituation programme – this new Gorilla Habituation Experience, a once-in-a-lifetime kind of day spent tracking some of the last remaining mountain gorillas on Earth.
