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A century of survival for the Mountain Gorilla
WWF
Nairobi, Kenya - Despite wars, poaching, disease, and dramatic shrinking of
their mountain habitat, one hundred years after their discovery, dedicated
conservation initiatives have ensured that numbers of the critically endangered
mountain gorilla are slowly increasing, WWF said here today.
The mountain gorilla, Gorilla beringei beringei, became known to
science 100 years ago (17 October). Uncontrolled hunting, destruction of
its forest habitat, and capture for the illegal pet trade, soon led to a
dramatic decline in numbers and fears that the mountain gorilla would become
extinct in the same century it was discovered. However, despite these dire
predictions, ground-breaking work by conservation groups has seen the population
growing from 620 in 1989 to approximately 674 today. Half of these gorillas are
found in Uganda’s Bwindi Impenetrable National Park and the rest in habitat
shared by Mgahinga National Park in Uganda, Parc National des Volcans in
Northern Rwanda, and the southern sector of Parc National des Virunga in the
Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).
“International and national efforts to protect this species have pulled the
mountain gorilla back from the brink of extinction," said Dr. Annette
Lanjouw, Director for the International Gorilla Conservation Programme (IGCP).
"However, if we want to ensure that mountain gorillas survive another one
hundred years, we must ensure that we lift the pressures that still threaten
their forest home."
Habitat loss remains one of the greatest threats to mountain gorillas. More
than 100,000 people live in the remote areas where mountain gorillas are found.
Their need for land to cultivate has reduced the forest to virtual islands in
the middle of human settlements. In order to combat this and other threats, WWF,
Fauna & Flora International (FFI), and the African Wildlife Foundation (AWF)
set up the International Gorilla Conservation Programme (IGCP) in 1991. Over the
past 10 years, the IGCP, together with local communities and park authorities in
the Democratic Republic of Congo, Rwanda, and Uganda, have worked to protect and
effectively manage the habitat and the gorilla population, while taking into
account the needs of the local population.
Eco-tourism is one of the key successes of this programme. In some years,
more than 10,000 tourists have visited the gorillas; IGCP helps promote
gorilla-based eco-tourism and works with local guides to ensure the visitors do
not adversely affect the animals. The ICGP strives to ensure that local
communities benefit directly from tourist revenues and are therefore more
involved in protecting the species.
"In the past century humans have hunted and captured this rare primate,
bringing it to the verge of extinction. Now we must be part of the solution.
Local, national, and regional solutions must take community needs and potential
benefits into consideration, if we are to build a secure future for this
species," said Dr. Susan Lieberman, Director of WWF's Species Programme.
Also see: Mountain Gorillas of Rwanda. More
For further information:
Liz Macfie: Tel +254 2 271367-9; 2710370/1; email: Lmacfie@awfke.org
Catherine Mgendi: WWF Eastern Africa: Tel: +254 2 577355 or 572630/1; email: cmgendi@wwfearpo.org
Matthew Davis: WWF Species Programme: Tel: +44 1483 412 572, email: mdavis@wwf.org.uk
Kyla Evans: WWF International: Tel: +41 22 364 9550, email: kevans@wwfint.org
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