Mountain Gorillas on the Rise: A Conservation Success Story

The world's mountain gorilla population has increased from approximately 250 to more than 1,000 in the last 50 years due to heroic conservation efforts largely funded by tourism. The mountain gorilla, which lives in the forested mountains of East Africa, is the only great ape species with a growing population—a true sign of conservation success. However, has mountain gorilla conservation been too successful? What does their increasing population mean in such a restricted range? Do we have to worry about inbreeding? Expedition Leader Mark Jordahl will discuss these important questions and more during this webinar on the still-endangered mountain gorillas of Uganda and Rwanda. He will also talk about the potential impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on these close cousins of ours, and why conservation efforts need to be intimately tied to public health and economic development in the communities surrounding the gorilla parks, in order to ensure their future survival.


Originally presented April 27, 2020