Rwanda is one of the world’s poorest and most densely-populated countries, with population growth placing pressure on forests and natural habitat. But despite that, mountain gorillas are making a comeback in Rwanda. The World Economic Forum explains: In the 1980s, fewer than 300 mountain gorillas in Rwanda remained in the Virunga mountains. Today, thanks to […]

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Venture into Virunga National Park with Smithsonian writer Paul Raffaele as he examines the threats facing mountain gorillas in the Democratic Republic of the Congo

In the Virunga National Forest, the mountain gorilla population sits in the middle of a war zone in the Democratic Republic of the Congo as forest rangers track and keep a watchful eye on the threatened primates Music: Kevin MacLeod

The same device used to detect early warning signs of heart disease in humans will now benefit two male sub-adult gorillas at the Smithsonian’s National Zoo.

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During the course of a year, a western gorilla in the Lossi Forest of Northern Congo stuffs its face with a profusion of fruit, including figs, […]

The post Gorillas Aren’t Tricked By a Faux Sugary Fruit Thanks to a Mutation appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

The mountain gorilla population is rebounding in the Virunga Volcanoes Region, according to census results announced by the African Wildlife Foundation.

Mountain Gorillas in Uganda and Rwanda

Long victimized by poaching and deforestation, the primate species is in the midst of a surprising rebound that is sparking new hopes of recovery

Once a step away from extinction, their survival was a rare success story. But groundbreaking gorilla conservation is now in peril

• Ecotourism collapse threatens communities and wildlife

As he clambers down the forested ravine, soil slipping beneath his boots, Dr Fred Nizeyimana knows they are close. “I can smell them,” he says, just before the mountain gorillas come into view high in the canopy, plucking leaves and chomping on the vegetation. An adult female slides down a tree, a flash of black fur and elongated limb. More follow, with infants and juveniles in tow. A grunting silverback descends to join its family, the branches buckling beneath approximately 180kg (400lb) of iconic primate.

EXCLUSIVE: As BBC documentary The Primates hits our screens, experts warn there are only a few ways

Mountain gorillas have become the only wild apes whose population numbers are known to be improving.

The robotic undercover agent was made in such a way that it could replicate all basic mannerisms of a real-life gorilla.

The move has seen gorilla tourism in Africa suspended for present and the closure of sanctuaries for other apes - including orangutans, which are also endangered.

Coronavirus presents a 'clear and present danger' to wildlife that could push vulnerable species 'over the edge', a leading expert from Birmingham University warned last night.

As the coronavirus infects more people around the world, Congo’s Virunga National Park, home to about a third of the world’s mountain gorillas, is barring visitors until June 1, citing “advice from scientific experts indicating that primates, including mountain gorillas, are likely susceptible to complications arising from the Covid-19 virus”.