Are Mountain Gorillas Going Extinct? Mountain gorillas are an endangered species of primates. They live on the Virunga mountain slopes along the borders of Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo. They also live in Bwindi Impenetrable National Park and Mgahinga National Park in Uganda.
Mountain gorillas are natural vegetarians. They mainly eat leaves, shoots, roots, stems, fruits, bamboo, and insects. A male adult gorilla can eat up to 30 kilograms of plants per day, and an adult female can eat up to 18 kilograms per day.
Mountain gorillas have small eyes, broad chests, long and powerful arms, a protruding abdomen, and a prominent crest on top of their skull.
Mountain gorillas are large creatures. A male weighs about 270 kilograms, and a female weighs about 100 kilograms.
Gorillas grow to a height of 1.3 meters to 1.8 meters and can live for about 35 to 40 years in the wild.
Mountain gorillas are very peaceful creatures. They never attack unless they are threatened.
These magnificent creatures live in families, which means they are social animals. A family has about 5 to 30 members and is led by a dominant male called a silverback.
The silverback plays important roles, such as protecting the family, mating with the females, and deciding feeding and sleeping times.
Are Mountain Gorillas Going Extinct?
Over the years, their numbers greatly reduced due to their low reproduction rate and human activities like deforestation, poaching, and bushmeat hunting.
This caused the mountain gorilla population to drop, leading to a worldwide effort to conserve them.
Some organizations involved in this effort include:
- Rwanda Development Board
- Uganda Wildlife Authority
- International Gorilla Conservation Programme
- African Wildlife Foundation
These joint efforts led to an increase in the mountain gorilla population, saving them from extinction.
According to the mountain gorilla population census, the number of mountain gorillas increased from 1,004 in 2018 to 1,063 in 2024.
The different gorilla conservation teams have also introduced measures to ensure the continued survival of mountain gorillas. These include:
- Creating awareness about gorilla safety.
- Imposing serious penalties for bush-meat hunting.
- Providing free medical services to mountain gorillas through Gorilla Doctors, which has greatly improved their health.
It is safe to say mountain gorillas are not going extinct because of the serious conservation measures in place.
