Uganda starts counting its critically endangered mountain gorillas

Friday, April 27, 2018

Uganda has started counting its population of critically endangered mountain gorillas. It’s good news that their numbers are steadily rising, boosting prospects for its tourism industry that relies heavily on the primates.

 
The last census in 2011 showed that Uganda had 480 mountain gorillas in two protected areas. The others are in neighboring Rwanda and Congo’s forested mountain areas.

 
A census team has been traversing Uganda’s Bwindi Impenetrable National Park from March this year, collecting the gorillas’ dung and examining their nests for hair samples and other clues. Their data will be subjected to genetic analysis in Europe, and is far more reliable than a head count. The census ends in mid-May and results are not expected for several months.

 
The habituated gorillas — those comfortable in the presence of humans — in Bwindi Impenetrable National Park and nearby Mgahinga National Park have become Uganda’s main tourist attraction. The region’s mountain gorilla population dropped sharply in the past century due to poaching, illness and human encroachment. Mountain gorillas have been listed as critically endangered since 1996, although their numbers are now growing.

 
In the past few years, many of Uganda’s gorillas died of natural causes, with some falling from trees and others killed in battles between males fighting for territory or dominance.

 
However, their numbers are now steadily growing.

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