Mountain gorillas are the only great ape whose numbers are rising

What is the background?

Every other great ape in the wild — chimpanzees, other gorilla subspecies, orangutans, bonobos — is declining. Mountain gorilla population recovery stands apart as the one confirmed exception, the result of decades of sustained conservation work across three countries.

What happened?

Mountain gorillas numbered fewer than 300 individuals in the 1980s, pushed to the edge of extinction by poaching and habitat loss. Comprehensive censuses conducted between 2018 and 2022 confirmed a population of approximately 1,063 individuals, with ongoing monitoring in 2026 suggesting continued modest growth toward roughly 1,100.

The population is split across two areas: Uganda’s Bwindi Impenetrable National Park holds roughly 459 to 500 gorillas, while the Virunga Massif — spanning Rwanda, Uganda, and the Democratic Republic of Congo — holds around 604, according to the most recent census from the Greater Virunga Transboundary Collaboration.

How did it happen?

Recovery has been driven by three sustained, parallel efforts: relentless anti-poaching patrols across all three countries’ park systems, habitat protection preventing further encroachment on the gorillas’ remaining forest range, and revenue from regulated gorilla trekking tourism that funds the ranger patrols and community programmes keeping the population safe.

Because mountain gorilla habitat spans national borders, the Virunga Massif census specifically required coordination between Rwanda, Uganda, and DR Congo’s park authorities through the Greater Virunga Transboundary Collaboration — a single country’s conservation effort alone could not have delivered a range-wide recovery.

Why does it matter?

A population recovering from under 300 to over 1,000 individuals — more than tripling — while every other great ape subspecies continues to decline, demonstrates that primate conservation failure is not inevitable when anti-poaching enforcement, habitat protection, and sustainable tourism funding are sustained together over decades, not years.

Tourism revenue funding the conservation work also means the gorillas’ economic value to surrounding communities is now tied directly to their survival, giving local economies a stake in continued protection rather than in encroachment or poaching.

What were the key results?

• Mountain gorilla population grew from under 300 in the 1980s to roughly 1,063 confirmed by 2018-2022 censuses
• Ongoing 2026 monitoring suggests continued growth toward approximately 1,100
• Bwindi Impenetrable National Park (Uganda) holds an estimated 459-500 gorillas
• The Virunga Massif (Rwanda, Uganda, DR Congo) holds around 604 gorillas
• Mountain gorillas are the only great ape subspecies with a growing wild population
• Recovery driven by anti-poaching patrols, habitat protection, and tourism revenue
• Cross-border coordination delivered through the Greater Virunga Transboundary Collaboration

What happens next?

Park authorities across Rwanda, Uganda, and DR Congo plan to continue joint anti-poaching patrols across the transboundary range.

The Greater Virunga Transboundary Collaboration is expected to conduct further censuses to confirm whether growth continues toward 1,100 and beyond.

Tourism authorities in all three countries are expected to continue regulating trekking permits to balance visitor revenue against disturbance to gorilla groups.

World Animal Rescue Network, which funds partner-led veterinary response, snare removal, and conflict mitigation for mountain gorillas through its Rwanda and Uganda programmes, said it will continue tracking census and health data as the population grows. Readers who want to help can donate to fund veterinary response and snare removal in gorilla habitat.

Conservation groups including the Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund said they will continue monitoring gorilla health and group dynamics as the population grows.