On this day we celebrate Gorillas!
To coincide with World Gorilla Day, we’d like to invite you to get to know more about these amazing apes. We've got some simple and fun ways to show your support; from learning some fascinating facts about gorillas, to crafting a recycled gorilla mask.
One Home, One Hope
One Home, One Hope
Exactly 1,063 mountain gorillas are known to remain in the wild today. These great apes – who we share 98% of our DNA with - were on the brink of extinction in the early 1970s, numbering barely 400.
In the 30 years since, WWF’s partner organisation, the International Gorilla Conservation Programme (IGCP) has led efforts to protect and restore mountain gorillas and their one and only home in the mountainous forests of central east Africa.
But major threats persist: habitat degradation and destruction, disease transmission, injury and death as non-target species of poaching, human-wildlife conflict and climate change induced alterations of habitat all pose a risk to the survival of the world’s last remaining mountain gorillas.
IGCP is currently working with partners to plan for the next census – a comprehensive survey across mountain gorilla habitat to determine an exact figure for the population of Gorilla beringei beringei. The census is conducted every 5-6 years and this will be the first since 2018.
To carry out the census, teams of people hike through the forest no more than 500m apart, following a predetermined route called a ‘recce’ (a reconnaissance route) combing the area for gorilla signs and nests (gorillas make nests to sleep in every night from leaves and branches, either on the ground or in the trees). These 'sweeps' take around 8 weeks to carry out and are performed twice to help ensure accuracy. Teams collect gorilla faecal samples from every nest they encounter, which are sent off to a lab for DNA testing to make sure each individual gorilla is counted only once.
Collaborative conservation efforts between IGCP (supported by WWF-UK) and national park authorities has seen the abundance of mountain gorillas steadily increase since the 1980s. This increase meant mountain gorillas were moved from the ‘critically endangered’ to ‘endangered' category in the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species, in 2018.
Safeguarding the future of the iconic species and the unique mountain ecosystem they uphold requires continued protection and monitoring, achieved only by the dedication of local conservation teams, collaboration, and rallying international support for gorilla conservation.
Test your gorilla knowledge
Top 10 facts about gorillas
World gorilla day activities
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Make a recycled gorilla mask
Show your wild side by creating a striking gorilla mask.
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