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Mountain Gorilla
Overview
Common Name: Mountain gorilla
Scientific Name: Gorilla beringei beringei
Location: Central Africa
© Martin HARVEY / WWF-Canon
The total population of the mountain gorilla is about 700 individuals, split almost evenly into two groups—one in the Virunga range of volcanoes on the Uganda-Rwanda-DRC border and the other in Bwindi Impenetrable National Park, Uganda. Some primatologists believe the Bwindi gorillas may be a separate subspecies. Conservation efforts have led to an increase in the Virunga population by 14% in the last 12 years, while the Bwindi population has increased by 12% over the past decade. Despite this success, the mountain gorilla remains threatened.
WWF works to:
WWF's 40 years of work to save the mountain gorilla and its forest habitat in the mountains of heart of Africa represents one of its longest operating flagship species programs. Early gorilla surveys and aid to protected areas in the Albertine Rift ecoregion started in the 1970s. In 1991, the effort evolved into today's International Gorilla Conservation Programme (IGCP), a joint initiative of the African Wildlife Foundation (AWF), Fauna and Flora International (FFI) and WWF.
Spotlight: Bisidi Yalolo: Motivated by the support of the people
Bisidi Yalolo
© WWF / Jikkie Jonkman
Bisidi Yalolo works in the Environmental Program for Virunga National Park (PEVi), run by WWF and the Virunga park authority. In 1996, his office in Goma, which is shared by WWF and IGCP, was bombed. A project officer was killed with her children and the remaining staff had to flee the city. Yalolo walked for 18 days and 620 miles before reaching safety in Kenya.
"The villagers were so happy to see me when I resurfaced after being in Kenya," he recounts. "Chief, you are still here!" they exclaimed. That is what keeps me going; the support of these people."
Most of the villagers in this region are hanging onto life by their fingertips," says Yalolo. "They need land and natural resources to survive. The only way for these people to save gorilla habitat is to develop economic activities that not only take pressure off the forests, but also allow them to meet their daily needs."
The PEVi program has established buffer zones around Virunga National Park from which local communities can obtain wood. Tree nurseries and plantations have proved a popular source of income. Vegetable and honey production, improved livestock husbandry and solar cookers are also helping to improve people's livelihoods and ease pressure off the park.
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