There are now more than 1,000 of the animals in the wild, up from an estimated population of 680 a decade ago.
IUCN confirmed that mountain gorillas have been increasing at an unprecedented rate, such that they should no longer be designated as critically endangered wild animals in the world.
IUCN monitors the level at which the world’s leading animal and plant species are preserved based on the evidence and analysis of experts.
IUCN on Wednesday announced that gorillas in the Central African Republic, Uganda and the Democratic Republic of Congo were removed from the group of the ‘critically endangered’ to “endangered” based on the hazards that still threaten them to reproduce.
Mountain gorillas live in lush and misty forests along a range of dormant volcanoes in East Africa. Their habitat falls inside national parks spanning parts of Rwanda, Uganda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
40 years ago, Dr. Diane Fossey who became popular in Rwanda for the care of wildlife and environmentalists were pained by the fact that a mountain gorilla community known as ‘Group 4′ became extinct as a result of poaching.
Group 4 was the first gorilla community to be researched on in Rwanda by the Research Institute and the Karisoke Research Center under the supervision of Dr. Fossey.
Fossey, who died in 1985, had projected that the primates may be extinct by 2000. Instead, their populations have been slowly increasing thanks to sustained and well-funded international conservation efforts.
Anna Behm Masozera, the director of the International Gorilla Conservation Program based in Kigali said that they have made progress in terms of their protection, and allowing an environment where mountain gorillas can continue to thrive and grow.
“But it’s important to note that mountain gorillas’ numbers could still slip back very quickly. We still have just two fragile and small populations split between two national park areas,” he noted.
Several factors have enabled mountain gorillas’ modest rebound, said Masozera.
The three governments have stepped up enforcement of national park boundaries – areas where hunting, logging, and paved roads are illegal.
The Government of Rwanda recently announced the expansion of the Volcanoes National Park from 160 km, by an increase of ¼ in less than five years.
In May 2017, Rwanda Development Board (RDB) doubled the cost of visiting gorillas from $750 to $1500 for all people, aiming at finding investments in gorilla protection projects.
Last year, Rwanda’s touristic revenues hit $438 million, with an increase of $34 million compared to 2016.
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